2015 WSOP Europe Day 12: Norman Leads, But Hellmuth Falls On Day 1b of the Main Event
Day 1b of the 2015 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event attracted 209 players, which means with Day 1a's 109 brought the total field up to 318. After six levels of play, just 127 remain, meaning along with Day 1a's 57 survivors, 184 players will return to action on Day 2.
Day 1a chip leader Niall Farrell will begin with the most chips holding 157,000, but starting second with 125,000 will be Day 1b chip leader Peter Norman. Relatively unknown, Norman's only WSOP cash was $32,242 for a 289th-place finish in the 2013 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.
Top 10 Day Start-of-Day 2 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niall Farrell | 157,000 |
| 2 | Peter Norman | 125,000 |
| 3 | Artur Koren | 107,575 |
| 4 | Andrew Keathem | 106,225 |
| 5 | Viacheslav Goryachev | 105,200 |
| 6 | Thierry Gogniat | 103,150 |
| 7 | Ardit Kurshumi | 101,700 |
| 8 | Lauri Varonen | 98,375 |
| 9 | Maxime Adam | 97,000 |
| 10 | Stefan Huber | 96,400 |
One man who failed to find success on Monday was 2012 WSOP Europe champ Phil Hellmuth. According to updates from the event, the 14-time bracelet winner fell after opening for 1,200 under the gun, leaving himself just 525 behind. Akin Tuna called from the cutoff, and then called when Keven Stammen three-bet to 3,300 from the button. Hellmuth called off in between.
Both Stammen and Tuna checked it down as the board ran out A♠10♦8♠10♥J♦ and Hellmuth tabled the Q♦Q♠. Stammen mucked, but Tuna tabled the A♦7♦ for the winner.
"I don't like Germany anymore," Hellmuth sighed before taking a leave from the tournament.
Others who fell on Day 1b were Anthony Zinno (read about his elimination in the 2015 WSOP Europe 888 Hand of the Day), Barny Boatman, Ole Schemion, Jeff Madsen, Shaun Deeb, Dan Smith, Bryn Kenney, Ivan Luca, Christoph Vogelsang, and Greg Merson.
The 2012 WSOP champ fell in Level 5 when Yorane Kerignard opened for 900 under the gun, Adrian Allain called from middle position, and Merson came along from the big blind. The Q♣4♠3♠ flop saw Merson check, Kerignard bet 1,500, and Allain fold. Merson called and then led out for 2,400 when a Qx paired the board on the turn. Kerignard moved all in, and Merson called off holding a queen, which was ahead of Kerignard's 9♠7♠. That changed when the 2♠ spiked on the river to flush Merson out of the tournament.
While many fell, plenty of notables advanced from the Day 1b field including Roberto Romanello (91,900), Craig Varnell (81,425), Dimitar Danchev (78,300), Kevin MacPhee (73,600), Scott Davies (62,250), Liv Boeree (59,150), Stammen (57,800), and Dzmitry Urbanovich (54,950).
Day 2 action will kick off at Noon local time on Tuesday. PokerNews will bring you a recap upon completion of play.
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