PokerStars EPT Prague €10,300 High Roller Day 1: Another Record Shattered in Prague
With a big €50,000 Super High Roller, a record-breaking €5,300 Main Event, and a buzzing Hilton Prague Hotel for all side events during the 2014 European Poker Tour Prague festival, people could only imagine how big the €10,300 High Roller would get. It proved to be another big one when it was all said and done, as last year's record field of 137 players and 39 reentries was smashed, with 231 entries and 63 reentries on Day 1.
Registration will remain open till 11:45 a.m. local time Tuesday morning, and after that, and only after registration closes, a table draw will be released.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | 318,300 |
| 2 | Martin Kabrhel | 316,000 |
| 3 | Amir Mozaffarian | 298,400 |
| 4 | Thomas Holm | 281,800 |
| 5 | Daniel Shak | 267,900 |
| 6 | Ole Schemion | 266,300 |
| 7 | Simon Ravnsbaek | 244,700 |
| 8 | Kevin MacPhee | 244,300 |
| 9 | Alessio Isaia | 243,600 |
| 10 | Henrik Hecklen | 241,000 |
The amount of notables in an event like this is as long as you'll find anywhere. Every table had at least one player who had won a major event, the World Series of Poker Main Event champion Martin Jacobson and runner-up Felix Stephensen were present, there were tons of former EPT winners, and millions and millions of dollars in tournament earnings were represented.
Not only was the amount of notables long, but the list of remarkable hands witnessed was extensive as well. One of the most impressive hands witness invalided Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier making a straight flush in a three-way pot that involved Govert Metaal with a full house and a third player, Andrey Andreev.
Grospellier had opened before the flop, and Metaal made the call in position. Andreev called from the small blind, and then he checked to Grospellier on the Q♥A♠10♥ flop. The French Team PokerStars Pro bet 2,500, Metaal made the call, and Andreev called.
All three men checked the A♣ on the turn and so the 9♥ was seen without a charge. Andreev checked again, and Grospellier bet out 12,200. Metaal thought for a little bit and then just called. Andreev called as well. Grospellier proudly showed his J♥8♥ for a straight flush. Metaal confidently turned over the 10♦10♠, but then realized seconds later that he was beat. Andreev double checked his cards one last time, flashed an ace, and mucked to give Grospellier the pot.
Team PokerStars Pro Online's Isaac Haxton fired two bullets, but saw them both gone before the dinner break. Benny Spindler and several others tried twice, but they had no chips to bag at the end of day, either. EPT Prague €50,000 Super High Roller winner Leonid Markin was the first to bust, then reentered and didn't do much better on his second bullet.
Andrew Chen, Dermot Blain, Mukul Pahuja, and Jean-Noel Thorel also busted before the day's finish.
On the contrary, Dan Shak, Ole Schemion, Kevin MacPhee, Jonathan Little, Ankush Mandavia, and Mike Watson all bagged up very good stacks to take into Day 2.
There are 137 survivors after the first 10 levels of play, and the tournament will resume at 12 p.m. local time with the goal being to play down to 8 players, or 10 levels, whichever comes first. The first level will be 1,000/2,000 with a 300 ante and the levels will again be an hour long. Play should be done at about 11:45 p.m. at the latest on the penultimate day of play from Prague.
While you wait for Day 2 to begin, be sue to check out the following "My First EPT" video with voice of the tour, James Hartigan:
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