2014 PokerStars.net EPT Vienna Main Event Day 4: Will It Finally Be Lodden's Time?
A total of 50 players started at 12 noon for the fourth day of the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Vienna Main Event. The plan was to play either five 90-minute levels or down to 16 players, whichever would come first. The way things started off, it looked like the latter would be the end of the day, but when it came to it, five full levels were played out and 17 players remained at at 9 p.m. local time.
Pablo Gordillo, the Spanish player who started out the day as the chip leader, continued right where he left off on Day 3. He won pots left and right, eliminating Mathias Rinnhofer in the process. Not only was he running good, he was also playing extremely well. He showed he knew how to play his cards in a hand with Julian Herold where he successfully called a big river bet with a mere pair of sixes on a dangerous board.
Former World Poker Tour Montreal winner Jonathan Roy was the second player to bust. Roy, who went deep in the EPT Prague Main Event (28th for €21,200), finished in 49th for €14,600 after his pocket tens couldn't hold up against Timo Pfutzenreuter's ace-queen. That would just be the start of it for Pfutzenreuter, who continued knocking people out. The second scalp he collected was the one of Timothy Davie.
One remarkable hand was a three-way all-in pot where no one was eliminated without it being a split. Though Michel Abecassis, Dmitry Morozov and Michael Tabarelli all survived the encounter, it wouldn't do them much good. Before the end of the day, all three were gone.
Roman Korenev wasn't feeling too well today. At least that's what we concluded after seeing him cough from time to time and take a shot of cough syrup during one of the breaks. Maybe he was getting a little ill, but a leopard can't change its spots. Korenev, who made the final table of the EPT in Berlin last year, pulled of a double check-raise. His opponent, Sebastian Trisch, was about the only one not impressed.
One-time chip leader Jozsef Olah wouldn't make it to Day 5. After hanging around with a short stack for quite some time, his luck eventually ran out. His king-ten couldn't improve against Miltiadis Kyriakides' pocket sevens and that was that.
For Dan Murariu, Day 4 was pretty successful. He won a big hand with aces versus kings, and he also kicked out Stephen Chidwick. Chidwick wasn't the only household name to be eliminated today, either. Team PokerStars Pro Marcel Lüske was sent packing early on, and so was Jude Ainsworth.
The only Team PokerStars Pro to make it to Day 5 was Johnny Lodden. The Norwegian had his ups and downs before ending the day a couple hundred thousand under average.
Lodden has had several deep runs in EPT main events, but he has yet to capture the elusive title. He placed third in the 2013 EPT Grand Final Main Event, eighth in the 2008 EPT Budapest Main Event, ninth in the 2011 EPT Sanremo Main Event, 13th in both the 2007 EPT Dortmund Main Event and the 2012 EPT Prague Main Event, 14th in the 2006 EPT Barcelona Main Event, and 17th in both the 2007 EPT Dublin Main Event and 2008 EPT Grand Final Main Event, just to list the top-20 finishes he's had. He's already locked up another one here, but will surely be chasing a third final table.
Just 17 players remain with Pfutzenreuter leading the way. Will Pfutzenreuter hold his ground? Or will Gordillo end up on top and become the first Spanish EPT winner? First, they'll have to fight off some more guys on Day 5, as the EPT Vienna Main Event plays down to a final table of eight. Join us again on Friday for Day 5 coverage starting at noon local time.
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