PokerStars.com EPT London High Roller Day 2: 12 Remain with Sabini On Top
European Poker Tour High Roller events have consistently been pulling in big numbers and big names over the last couple of years, and the latest event in London was no different. With the late-entry system players could register as late as the start of Day 2, so the field was boosted by six new entries and three re-entries. The former included Phil Hellmuth and November Niner David Benefield, while Tony Bloom, Stephen Chidwick, and Salman Behbehani made up the latter.
After 10 more levels of action, just 12 players remain with Carla Sabini managing to reclaim her chip lead right at the end of the day thanks to two big pots. The first was against Sofia Lovgren and the other Dan Shak. Sabini finished the day with 1.346 million.
Other players who made it through to the final day and are guaranteed a minimum of £26,155 include Jason Lavallee (1.224 million), Sorel Mizzi (1.205 million), David "Devilfish" Ulliott (750,000), last year's winner of this event, Talal Shakerchi (346,000), and the last remaining Team PokerStars Pro, Luca Pagano (282,000).
The day started with a bang when Shannon Shorr made a big bluff after a ruling that resulted in his opponent min-raising instead of calling a river bet. Shorr proceeded to push all in in an attempt to make his opponent fold, but unfortunately for the American he was unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Shak took the chip lead for the early part of the day, crippling Jason Mercier with the J♥J♦ against the Team PokerStars Pro's KxQx for a large pot. Mercier would be eliminated soon after, joining an illustrious rail that included names such as Eugene Katchalov, Randal Flowers, Paul Volpe, and Tobias Reinkemeier.
One of the highlights of the day was a ridiculous hand that played out between Frederik Jensen and Behbehani. Behbehani's continual banter and joking around with "slow-rolling" came back to haunt him, albeit in an entirely good-natured way.
Elsewhere, "Devilfish" looked to turn back the clock to his glory days, briefly taking the chip lead after winning a huge pot with the 8♦5♦ on a 2♥5♣10♣5♠Q♥ board against last year's winner, Shakerchi. He also gave us perhaps the quote of the night — “What the f**k is game theory optimal!?!?”
On Saturday, the High Roller will play to a winner, starting earlier than the Main Event at 12 p.m. local time. With £357,700 for first place, this will prove no laughing matter. Join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team for all the live updates as this tournament plays out to its thrilling conclusion!
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