2014 PMU.fr WPT National Paris Day 1a/1b: Wilhelm and Makaci Lead
On Thursday, players took to the felt for the first two starting flights in the 2014 PMU.fr World Poker Tour National Paris Main Event. The day consisted of Day 1a starting at 10 a.m. local time, and then Day 1b kicked off at 8 p.m. local time.
Following Day 1a, it was Guillaume Wilhelm topping the field. He remained the overall leader after Day 1b's flight saw Franck Makaci bag up less chips.
Wilhelm Tops Day 1a
Wilhelm ended Day 1a as the leader with 177,700 in chips. It was a day that saw many players come and go, and one that also included PMU Poker Team Pro Damien Lhommeau. Lhommeau finished on 139,100, which was good enough for second place. Belhardj Samir was in third with 133,100.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilhelm Guillaume | 177,700 |
| 2 | Lhommeau Damien | 139,100 |
| 3 | Belhardj Samir | 133,100 |
| 4 | Merceron Nicolas | 118,800 |
| 5 | Lezzi Antony | 117,400 |
| 6 | Benhamou Brian | 116,600 |
| 7 | Ouzilou Stephan | 113,000 |
| 8 | Hijazy Nabil | 112,900 |
| 9 | Luong Hoa Vinh | 110,400 |
| 10 | Abed Redouane | 105,000 |
Day 1a started with a dozen players queueing and shivering outside the Cercle Clichy Montmartre. At the start of play, there would be 80 eager players huddled around the historic and ornate card room, and by the end of the day that number reached a final tally of 146. Of those, 72 survived to advance to Day 2a.
Wilhelm, a French poker pro, spent most of the day as the chip leader having gathered a stack early on and using it to command the table. It was an impressive display from Wilhelm, who was constantly in action putting pressure on smaller stacks. He once showed the table his A♣A♥ and on another occasion made a check-raise with the A♣5♣ on the turn of a board reading 5♠4♣8♠3♥ before again showing the table his cards.
Other notables who survived and thrived on Day 1a included Erwann Pecheux with 85,900 and Quentin Lecompte with 83,000.
Makaci Leads Day 1b
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
Makaci finished on top of the leader board after 10 45-minutes levels of play on Day 1b, bagging up 146,000 in chips. David Lascar finished second place with 140,300, and Georges Viaud rounded out the top three with 126,300.
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franck Makaci | 146,000 |
| 2 | David Lascar | 140,300 |
| 3 | Georges Viaud | 126,300 |
| 4 | Michel Serrero | 111,000 |
| 5 | Michel Moysan | 103,300 |
| 6 | Mathieu Gourmelen | 99,300 |
| 7 | Dan Djorno | 94,700 |
| 8 | Jean-Pierre Simonini | 89,200 |
| 9 | Saber Harrazi | 88,600 |
| 10 | Thomas Dutertre | 86,700 |
Makaci took the lead in Level 2 when he was involved in a three-way all-in pot on the turn of a board that read A♠K♦J♥Q♥. Makaci held the A♥10♥, and his two opponents had the 10♣9♥ and the J♦10♦. While all three players currently had a Broadway straight, Makaci was freerolling the lot with his flush draw. As it turned out, Makaci spiked his card on the river — the 3♥ — to triple up. From there, he cruised through to the end of the day.
As for the overall lead, that still belonged to Day 1a's Wilhelm. He remained the man to catch after finishing on 177,700.
Overall, 62 players from Day 1b made it through to Day 2. There are two more starting flights still to run for those who failed to still advance, so this field is only going to grow, grow, grow.
Day 1c and Day 1d will take place on Friday, with Day 1c already in action after kicking off at 10 a.m. local time. You can follow live coverage from Paris by clicking here.
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