It was an action-packed start to the €25,000 EPT High Roller as the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour presented by Monte-Carlo Casino®️ starts to wind down. There were a total of 183 entries over the course of the first 10 levels of play and just 95 players bagged up chips to move on to Day 2.
Argentina's Alejandro Lococo bagged one of the biggest stacks with an impressive 361,500, good for 241 big blinds. Close on his heels were Juan Pardo (302,000), and Romain Lewis (251,000) who finished in the top five.
Lococo is no stranger to these types of fields, having won the €1,100 No Limit Hold'em Eureka Main Event at EPT Barcelona for €417,820 just over a year ago, Lococo will look to continue his run good to add to his already $2.3 Million in live tournament earnings.
Lithuania's Marius Kudzmanas bagged the chip lead with a stack of 364,000. Not much is known of Kudzmanas, but his spectacular play on Day 1 showed he will be a force to be reckoned with.
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marius Kudzmanas | Lithuania | 364,000 | 243 |
| 2 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 361,500 | 241 |
| 3 | Juan Pardo | Spain | 302,000 | 201 |
| 4 | Romain Lewis | France | 251,000 | 167 |
| 5 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | Turkey | 239,000 | 159 |
| 6 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | 228,500 | 152 |
| 7 | Sam Grafton | United Kingdom | 223,000 | 149 |
| 8 | Felipe Fontoura | Brazil | 213,500 | 142 |
| 9 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | Lithuania | 212,500 | 142 |
| 10 | Marton Czuczor | Hungary | 206,000 | 137 |
Day 1 Action
The action got underway at 12:30 p.m. local time with 41 players in their seats for the 50% registration fee rakeback offered by PokerStars. Despite the single reentry format, the number of entries grew consistently throughout the day.
Last year's event attracted a total of 179 entries, and that number has already been surpassed. With late registration and reentries still open until the start of Day 2, that figure will be sure to grow significantly.
Many of the biggest and best names in poker joined the field throughout Day 1. Some who were in the mix but not fortunate enough to find a bag included WSOP Main Event Champion Martin Jacobson, Women in Poker Hall of Fame inductee Maria Ho, and nine-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel to name a few.
Many other big names who ran deep and bagged up a stack for Day 2 include PokerStars Ambassador Sam Grafton (223,000), High Stakes regular Seth Davies (176,000), and Ben Heath (228,500), who eliminated Jean-Noel Thorel on his last bullet in the final level of the day.
Late registration will remain open until the start of Day 2 for those that still wish to play or for those that still have a reentry available to them. Day 2 will begin at 12:30 p.m. local time at Sporting Monte-Carlo, where another ten levels will be on the schedule. The PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the tournament floor to bring you all live updates throughout the day.
