Stani & Deliver
Some silent but curious action saw William Thorson's stack slip to 37,000 and Kevin Stani's rise to 45,000.
It looked as though Thorson (button) had called a bet from Stani (small blind) on the turn of the board but was contemplating a 3,800 bet from Stani on the river when we arrived. Thorson thought about it for a long time, jiggling his leg and occasionally looking at his hole cards, before folding.
Stani, who as you may recall took down the inaugural EPT Tallinn way back in, er, earlier this month, is one of a horde of previous EPT winners who've decided to take another shot at the top spot today. Among the Day 1b field who know what it feels like to win one of these are Liv Boeree, Jan Skampa, Carter Phillips, Bjorn-Erik Glenne, Max Lykov, Christophe Benzimra, Salvatore Bonavena, Noah Boeken, ElkY and Sebastian Ruthenberg, as well as reigning Vilamoura champion Antonio Matias. As each EPT goes by and a new champion is crowned, the pool of people eligible to become the first person ever to win two EPTs increases. Jan Skampa, Allan Bække and Arnaud Mattern have all come heartbreakingly close to it, but so far no-one has ever actually done the double. Whoever does it first will be propelled instantly to poker legend status. Please, watch this space.