2015 PokerStars EPT Grand Final Super High Roller Day 1: Kurganov Tops; Schemion 2nd
The opening day of the €100,000 Super High Roller at the 2015 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final came to a close Thursday following the first eight levels of action. When it was all said and done, Igor Kurganov emerged as the chip leader with an even 1 million in chips.
Of the 64 entries tallied, 44 remained. Other notables who advanced from Thursday's start to the event were Ole Schemion (930,000), Erik Seidel (857,000), Fedor Holz (536,000), Talal Shakerchi (392,000), Phil Ivey (360,000), and Daniel Negreanu (273,000). Last year's winner, Daniel Colman, moved on with 248,000.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Igor Kurganov | 1,000,000 |
| 2 | Ole Schemion | 930,000 |
| 3 | Erik Seidel | 857,000 |
| 4 | Quan Zhou | 792,000 |
| 5 | Justin Bonomo | 683,000 |
| 6 | George Danzer | 615,000 |
| 7 | Fedor Holz | 536,000 |
| 8 | Anthony Zinno | 527,000 |
| 9 | Tobias Reinkemeier | 492,000 |
| 10 | Mikita Badziakouski | 486,000 |
Kurganov is no stranger to success at the EPT Grand Final. He has six cashes from this festival, with the earliest coming in 2011 when he took second in the €10,300 Turbo High Roller for €123,000 in Madrid. In 2012, he amplified his EPT Grand Final winnings in a big way by capturing the title and first place in the €25,500 High Roller to the tune of €1.08 million.
In 2013's stop, Kurganov placed 74th in the Main Event for €16,000 and seventh in the €25,500 High Roller for €154,700. He followed those results up the next year with two more — first taking third in this event, the €100,000 Super High Roller, for over €1.128 million and then cashing in 52nd place in the Main Event for €24,400.
All told, Kurganov has hauled in over €2.526 million from the EPT Grand Final.
One thing that will be working against him is the fact that through the first three editions of this event, only one Day 1 chip leader has cashed — Jason Mercier in 2013 when he took second for more than €1.115 million.
Speaking of Mercier, he bagged 142,000 to advance to Day 2.
Two other players who advanced were George Danzer (615,000) and Anthony Zinno (527,000). Both of these players are playing their first super high roller event and did very well on Day 1 to bag up over double the starting stack. Now we'll wait to see if they can ride the early momentum to a big result.
Day 2 will commence at 12:30 p.m. local time, and PokerNews will be back for more live coverage straight from the tournament floor. Registration and reentry will remain open until the start of Day 2, so the field size will likely increase before things kick off.
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