PokerStars.fr France Poker Series Snowfest Day 2: Mellet Takes Lead Going into Day 3
Day 2 of the PokerStars.fr France Poker Series Snowfest Evian Main Event concluded much later than expected. Thirteen players were still in contention for a spot at the final table when play finally ended around 4 a.m.
French amateur Gilles Mellet bagged up the biggest stack at the end of this seemingly never-ending day, and will come back as the Day 3 chip leader on Sunday at Casino d'Evian. He will begin Day 3 with a little over one million in chips, just a few more than his closest competitor, Morgan Franz.
Of the 115 contenders who began Day 2, Avdia Burim was arguably the saddest, ending up one spot short of the money, as 48 others were ensured a €1,500 minimum payday, with his exit on the money bubble.
Of the three Team PokerStars Pros still in the field, Matthias de Meulder was the only one who survived, as Eugene Katchalov and Julien Brecard made their exits, with only the latter cashing for €1,600 in 36th place.
Antonia Alomar, Laurent Cardonna, Paul Guichard, Thomas Calfelis, Fabrice Gouget, Anthony Hnatow and Day 1a chip leader Nicolas Beker were also eliminated from the Main Event. Paul Testud (40th, €1,600) and his younger counterpart Pierre Drochon (28th, €1,650) were able to min-cash on Day 2, but could not advance.
The 13 survivors of Day 2, including WPT champ Guillaume Darcourt and poker pro Thibaud Guenegou, will be back on Sunday to make the best possible run for a seat in the final table, and take a stab at the €70,000 prize promised to the winner.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|
| Gilles Mellet | 1,020,000 |
| Morgan Franz | 1,011,000 |
| Ludovic Marguerat | 837,000 |
| Vincent Rey | 690,000 |
| Gregory Raffalli | 628,000 |
| Guillaume Darcourt | 577,000 |
| Matthias De Meulder | 542,000 |
| Veronika Pavlikova | 530,000 |
| Serge Didisheim | 424,000 |
| Thibaud Guenegou | 422,000 |
| Damien Denis | 379,000 |
| Amine Chadli | 154,000 |
| Marilena D'Amico | 12,000 |
The action begin 1400 CET (0600 PST) and PokerNews will be on location to provide live coverage and updated chip counts until the champion is finally revealed.
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