PokerStars EPT San Remo Day 1b: Josipovic in Front
The field for Day 1b of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) San Remo Main Event was even larger than Day 1a, with 600 players joining the 578 from Day 1a. Among the competitors were 2008 WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate, Team PokerStars Pros Hevad Khan, Isabelle Mercier, Katja Thater, Luca Pagano, and Lee Nelson, and the lovely Patrik and Maya Antonius. The Antonius duo even managed to draw the same table, a situation that the tournament staff quickly corrected, as early in most tournaments family members are not typically seated together. The EPT champs were also well-represented on Day 1b, as Baden winner Julian Thew and London champ Michael Martin also took to the felt.
With such a star-studded field, there were destined to be some big names going busto early. Markus Golser showed up with a broken hand from a skiing accident during the PokerNews Alpine Cup, and his tournament hopes were soon as broken as his bones, as Golser made an early exit. Other early eliminations included Evelyn Ng, Sebastian Ruthenberg, and Johnny Lodden.
Shirley Rosario never got on track on Day 1b, and her tournament ended when she got the last of her chips in with pocket kings, well ahead of her opponent’s pocket queens. But the bad luck continued for Rosario as her opponent connected with a four-flush to send her to the rail. Other notable eliminations included Patrik Antonius, Peter Eastgate, Hevad Khan, and Lee Nelson.
Life wasn’t all bad for the big poker names on Day 1b, though. Isabelle Mercier was just one of the pros who finished the day with a healthy stack, along with Marcel Luske, Bill Chen, and Stevie Chidwick. Mercier started a late surge when she busted an opponent, her pocket tens holding up against his K♠J♣ on a board of 3♣5♦9♣3♠8♥. Luca Pagano kept the action going right up to the closing bell, moving all in preflop with K♥Q♥ on one of the last hands of the day. He got one caller, and saw the bad news when his opponent tabled A♥Q♠. Pagano came from behind on the 9♠K♠9♦ flop, and scored a late double-up when the turn and river ran out 4♣ and 5♥.
When the last bet was called and the last river dealt, 263 players survived Day 1b, with Ljubomir Josipovic holding the overnight chip lead, sitting on approximately 75,000 in chips. Among the notable survivors were Theirry van den Berg, Michael Martin, Pascal Perrault, Katja Thater and Maya Antonius.
Join PokerNews at 2PM local time as the survivors from the two flights of Day 1 combine to move the field one day closer to the money and one step closer to the EPT San Remo champion.
