EPT London Main Event Day 1b: Phillips Leads 1b Starters
215 starters took the field at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London on Day 1b of the PokerStars European Poker Tour London Main Event, joining the 177 players that took part in Day 1a to make a total field of 392 players, with a total prize pool of £2,038,400. Stars from all over the world converged on London for their shot at the EPT London title and the £611,520 first-place prize. 32 of the 392 starters will share in the winnings.
Among the notable players on Day 1b were Patrik Antonius, Daniel Negreanu, Liz Lieu, Roland de Wolfe and Steve Zolotow. Juha Helppi was in the field for a short time, but had his aces cracked by queens in one of the earliest hands and was the first player sent to the rail on Day 1b. 2006 EPT Baden champion Duc Thang Nguyen was another quick casualty, heading to the rail almost within the first orbit.
Daniel Negreanu had a fast start to his day, doubling up early when he called a bet on a flop of A♠3♣5♠. Negreanu's opponent led out when the turn brought the K♣, and Negreanu moved all in over the top. His opponent called, and when the river brought the 2♠, Negreanu revealed 3♠4♠ for the straight flush and the early double up. Negreanu made it through Day 1b, but with a slightly less than average stack.
Negreanu spent some time at one of the deadliest tables in the field, joining Liz Lieu, Trevor Reardon and Roland De Wolfe, which became even deadlier when Mel Judah was moved to the table late in the afternoon. Judah immediately mixed it up in a big pot with Lieu, going into the tank for a long time when Lieu pushed all in on a board of A♥9♦5♣10♥. After contemplating the hand for a few minutes, Judah finally folded and Lieu picked up a big pot.
Among the players eliminated on Day 1b were Ram Vaswani, Steve Zolotow, Joe Beevers and Max Pescatori. Pescatori got all his chips in with K♥K♠ and was called by an opponent holding 9♠9♦. The flop was a crushing blow for Pescatori, with 8♥9♥5♣, and he was drawing thin. The A♥ on the turn added eight more outs, but the 10♣ on the river sent the Italian Pirate to the rail.
Noah Boeken went out shortly after being crippled on a board of 8♠K♣J♥A♠6♠. His opponent raised all-in on the river, and Boeken called with K♥J♣. His opponent turned over K♠7♠ for the nut flush, and Boeken was on life support. He busted a few hands later. Boeken was soon joined at the rail by Steve Brecher, who lost a coin flip with J♠J♥ against his opponent's A♦K♠. The K♣ on the river sent Brecher home late on Day 1b.
90 players in all survived Day 1b, including Surinder Sunar, Erik Friberg, Alan Smurfit, de Wolfe and Anthony Phillips, who finished Day 1b as the chip leader, with slightly less chips than Nicolas Levi, the Day 1a chip leader.
The remaining players will merge into one field at 1PM London time on Thursday for Day 2 of the EPT London Main Event. Join us at PokerNews.com for all the live updates, interviews and chip counts from the Vic.
