PokerStars EPT Dublin, Day 2: Black, van den Berg, Obrestad Top Field
Day 2 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Dublin Main Event kicked off with 122 top pros from Ireland, Europe and worldwide converging on the Royal Dublin Society and looking for their shot at the title and the €532,620 first-place prize money. Among the notable pros returning for Day 2 were local favorite Andy Black, Team PokerStars pros Noah Boeken, Luca Pagano and Katja Thater, and 2007 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Champion Annette 'Annette_15' Obrestad.
Play was fast-paced to start the day, as the short stacks looked to make moves and the big stacks looked to solidify their positions. American online pro Alex Fitzgerald was one of the first to fall, getting all his money in with a coin flip against Michiel Brummelhuis and coming up short. Fitzgerald pushed all in pre-flop with A-Q, and Brummelhuis made the call with pocket sevens. A seven on the flop gave Brummelhuis a set and sent Fitzgerald to the rail early on Day 2. Soon after, Philip Hardy was dealt the classic cooler, kings against aces, and busted at the hands of Ian Cox.
Ben 'milkybarkid' Grundy got his chips in ahead of his opponent with A♠Q♣ versus A♥9♣, but a 9♠ on the board left him crippled. Soon after, Grundy got the rest of his chips in with A♠5♣ against A♦Q♥, but missed his return three-outer and went to the rail. Other notable eliminations early in Day 2 were Nicholas Levi, Thor Hansen, Alan Smurfit, Brandon Schaefer and Katja Thater.
Liam Flood ran into Andy Black midway through Day 2 and came out the worse for wear. After a pre-flop raise from Flood, Black re-raised and insta-called Flood's all-in move. Flood's J♥10♥ was well behind Black's Q♥Q♠, and no help came on the board for Flood, who was eliminated. Not long afterwards, Black doubled through Mike McDonald after McDonald called Black's all-in on a board of 7♠3♥4♥. McDonald's 6♠7♣ was no good against Black's 9♣9♠, and Black began to build his monster stack. Black continued to accumulate chips throughout Day 2, and finished the day as the chip leader.
Annette 'Annette_15' Obrestad started the summer as one of the most feared and respected online tournament players. After winning the Main Event at the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe, Obrestad quickly earned the respect of her brick-and-mortar peers. She spent Day 2 of the EPT Dublin event proving beyond all doubt that her win in London was no fluke, as she built a massive chip stack by the end of the day. Early in Day 2, Obrestad caught a fortunate river to eliminate Bart Wetsteijn, when Wetsteijn was all in holding K♠K♥ to Obrestad's A♥9♣. The board came down 2♥7♣9♦2♣A♣, giving Obrestad the better two pair and sending Wetsteijn to the rail. Later on, Obrestad eliminated Mike McDonald in a coin flip when her A♥Q♠ outdrew McDonald's J♥J♠ to send McDonald to the rail.
Dave 'El Blondie' Colclough was the bubble boy, busting in 25th place to end the play for Day 2. With a flop of 8♣3♠5♠, Colclough raised all in after Reijo Manninen led out at the pot. Manninen went into the tank before he finally called, revealing 10♠7♠ for the flush draw, as Colclough turned over K♥8♥ for top pair. The J♠ on the turn gave Manninen the flush and sent Colclough to the rail on the bubble of the EPT Dublin event, his third bubble finish in 14 EPT events, with zero cashes for the otherwise successful British poker star.
Of the 24 remaining players, the star power is gathered around the chip stacks, with Andy Black, Thierry van den Berg and Annette Obrestad holding down the top three spots. Other notable players surviving Day 2 included Noah Boeken, Johnny Lodden and Luca Pagano. The top ten chip stacks looked like this when play ended for the night:
Andy Black – 350,000
Thierry van den Berg – 280,000
Annette Obrestad – 260,000
Simon Munoz – 245,000
Casper Hansen – 190,000
Ludovic Lacay – 170,000
Johnny Lodden – 150,000
Kenneth Hicks – 135,000
Daan Ruiter – 105,000
Martin Green – 101,000
Join PokerNews at 2PM Dublin time as we bring you all the hand histories, bad beats and bustouts on the way to the final table at the PokerStars EPT Dublin main event.
