Day 5 Ends with Neilson Leading Final Table
The final table is set here in San Remo, Italy for the 2011 PokerStars.it EPT San Remo. Today was another short day on the schedule as the field of 24 players got down to eight in very little time.
At the end of the day, Australian Daniel Neilson led the way with 6.7 million in chips. He quietly chipped his way up throughout the day before ending the night by sending Team PokerStars Pro Johnny Lodden home in ninth place. Neilson has been on a nice little run here in Europe recently. A few weeks ago, he placed 45th in the EPT London Main Event for £13,000 and is now set to make a whole lot more cash as he eyes the €800,000 top prize here.
When the day began, Chris McClung had a ton of chips with 3.148 million. Instead of sitting here writing about how he ran over the field, all we can do is wonder where all his chips went. McClung's ultra-aggressive style had him with his foot on the gas all day. In fact, it seemed like he just never slowed down from Day 1. Today, that style seemed to get the best of him and allowed him to grant numerous double ups to his opponents. McClung went out in 14th place.
One of the players McClung doubled was Kevin MacPhee. MacPhee will enter the final table with 1.115 million in chips and has a shot at becoming the first-ever two-time EPT champion. Back in 2010, MacPhee won EPT Berlin, which has also been referred to as EPT Gunfest due to the armed robbery attempt on the tournament.
With 14 other players falling short of this final table besides Lodden and McClung, we lost a ton of talent. Team Pro Lex Veldhuis hit the rail in 15th place, former EPT champion Mike McDonald went out in 18th and 2011 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event champion Elio Fox fell in 23rd.
Final Table Seating Assignments
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrey Pateychuk | 3,105,000 |
| 2 | Kevin MacPhee | 1,115,000 |
| 3 | Barny Boatman | 2,490,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Neilson | 6,700,000 |
| 5 | Rocco Palumbo | 1,160,000 |
| 6 | Yorane Kerignard | 2,145,000 |
| 7 | Dimitar Danchev | 4,435,000 |
| 8 | Jan Bendik | 3,980,000 |
Everyone left has locked up at least €63,694, but there's still plenty more to win than just that. The title and first-place prize of €800,000 still hangs in the balance, so be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the live coverage starting tomorrow at 2:00 PM local time.