Sabishchenko & Lodge Lead the Way After Day 2 of the EPT Paris €5,300 Main Event
Day 2 has come to an end in the €5,300 Main Event at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris, and Rostyslav Sabishchenko is the chip leader after the day's five and a half levels of play.
A total of 1,606 entries made for a prize pool of €7,708,000, making this the sixth-biggest EPT Main event ever in terms of entries. Of the total entrants, 174 remain and all players who return for Day 3 are now guaranteed at least €10,650. The prize pool is set and the eventual winner will walk away with €1,170,000.
Sabishchenko is the current chip leader with 900,000 chips and he'll be looking for his biggest live poker score yet when he returns on Thursday. Close behind is Harry Lodge, followed by Niklas Astedt.
Frederik Thiemer, Fabrice Bigot, and Omar Del Pino all have over 700,000 chips. Also in the top ten chip stacks are Alexandros Kolonias, who has over $4.1 million in live winnings and Andrew Lichtenberger, who has over $14 million in winnings.
2023 EPT Paris Main Event Top 10 Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 3 Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rostyslav Sabishchenko | Ukraine | 900,000 | 180 |
| 2 | Harry Lodge | United Kingdom | 845,000 | 169 |
| 3 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | 812,000 | 162 |
| 4 | Frederik Thiemer | Germany | 786,000 | 157 |
| 5 | Fabrice Bigot | France | 764,000 | 153 |
| 6 | Omar Del Pino | Spain | 703,000 | 141 |
| 7 | Alexandros Kolonias | Greece | 653,000 | 131 |
| 8 | Aurelien Russo | France | 633,000 | 127 |
| 9 | Andrew Lichtenberger | United States | 631,000 | 126 |
| 10 | Mark Roovers | Netherlands | 624,000 | 125 |
Day 2 Notables
Lodge had an incredible run throughout Day 2, and he managed to spin up from his 18,000 starting stack to his current spot in second place. His turning point came when he found trip fours on the river to bust Andrew Hulme to join the big stacks. He later picked up a flush on the river to eliminate Pavel Plesuv on the bubble. Lodge will return with 845,000 chips and the chance to make a run at his first EPT title.
PokerStars Ambassador Sam Grafton had a decent run, doubling up just before the dinner break when he picked up pocket aces to beat Marc Uzan's Big Slick. Grafton ultimately made it into the money before he bowed out, but his fellow ambassadors Benjamin Spragg, Alejandro Lococo, Laurie Tournier, and Parker Talbot all fell before the bubble.
Among the other notables in the field with stacks above average are Manig Loeser and Teun Mulder. The latter started the day as the chip leader and he will be looking to climb back up to the top when play resumes on Day 3. Loeser is one of many former EPT champions that will return on Day 3—a list that also includes Adrian Mateos, Frederik Brink, Roberto Romanello, Simon Brandstrom, Piotr Nurzynski, and Mike Watson.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,170,000 | 10-11 | €85,400 | 40-55 | €21,450 |
| 2 | €780,100 | 12-13 | €71,150 | 56-71 | €18,650 |
| 3 | €535,850 | 14-15 | €59,300 | 72-95 | €16,200 |
| 4 | €412,200 | 16-17 | €49,550 | 96-119 | €14,100 |
| 5 | €317,050 | 18-20 | €43,100 | 120-143 | €12,250 |
| 6 | €244,000 | 21-23 | €37,450 | 144-174 | €10,650 |
| 7 | €187,650 | 24-27 | €32,600 | ||
| 8 | €144,300 | 28-31 | €28,350 | ||
| 9 | €111,000 | 32-39 | €24,650 |
Players will return for Day 3 at 12:00 local time with blinds at 2,500/5,000 with a 5,000 ante and approximately 45 minutes remaining in Level 16. Be sure to tune in to PokerStars for live streaming on YouTube and Twitch, and keep it with PokerNews for live coverage straight from the tournament floor.