Teun Mulder raised to 7,000 in the hijack and got called by Nikita Kuznetsov on the button. Fedor Holz then three-bet to 27,000 from the small blind. Only Kuznetsov called.
The flop came and Holz bet 12,000. Kuznetsov called and the duo checked the turn.
On the river, Holz bet another 19,000 and got quickly called by Kuznetsov.
Holz showed , but Kuznetsov showed for a winning pair of aces.
Mike Watson opened to 7,500 in the hijack and Jean-Noel Thorel three-bet to 25,000 on the button. Watson called and they went heads-up to a flop of . Watson checked to Thorel who threw in a bet of 50,000 and Watson jammed all in for 173,500. Thorel quickly called and the cards were on their backs.
Mike Watson:
Jean-Noel Thorel:
Watson was ahead for the moment but Thorel still had some outs to catch up. The on the turn and the on the river gave both players a full house but Watson held the better of the two to double up.
After mentioning to the PokerNews reporting team before the break that he hadn't been over starting stack all day, PokerStars Ambassador Sam Grafton has finally cracked that mark thanks to a hand with Tom Orpaz.
The duo got into a preflop raising war that saw about 200,000 in the middle before the dealer spread beside the meaty pot.
Grafton checked from under the gun and Orpaz checked behind in the cutoff.
They checked again on the turn, but on the river, Grafton now bet 75,000, which was most of his remaining stack.
Orpaz quickly called and saw that he was pipped on the river.
Grafton turned over for the winner, while Orpaz showed his slightly inferior
Alex Kulev raised it up in the cutoff and Stephen Chidwick three-bet to 25,000 on the button. The blinds folded and Kulev called to see a flop of .
Kulev checked to Chidwick who bet 25,000 and Kulev check-raised to 65,000. Chidwick called and the rolled off on the turn. Kulev jammed all in for 234,000 and Chidwick snapped him off.
Alex Kulev:
Stephen Chidwick:
Kulev had a combo draw and needed to hit against Chidwick's two pair. The river was the and Kulev made his flush to score a double-up through Chidwick.
Pedro Marques and Brian Kim were heads-up in a three-bet pot and the dealer fanned the flop of . Marques checked in the cutoff and Kim threw in a bet on the button. Marques jammed all in for 208,000 and Kim instantly called off his stack of 204,000.
Brian Kim:
Pedro Marques:
Marques was behind but had some outs with a straight draw. He didn't need that as the on the turn gave him a set of sevens. The on the river bricked out and Kim was ousted late on Day 1.
Galen Hall raised it up in early position and was called by Timothy Adams on the button and Gregoire Auzoux in the small blind. Nick Petrangelo three-bet to 43,000 in the big blind and Hall responded with a four-bet to 107,000. Adams and Auzoux folded and Petrangelo five-bet ripped all in for 235,000 which was met by a snap-call.
Nick Petrangelo:
Galen Hall:
"I'm wrong," Petrangelo announced sheepishly turning over his hand. The flop of gave Hall two pair but Petrangelo picked up a flush draw. The on the turn changed nothing but it was the on the river that gave Petrangelo a flush.
"Sorry," Petrangelo mumbled as he raked in the double-up.
After eight levels of action featuring the elite of the elite in the poker world, two-time EPT Super High Roller champion Timothy Adams tops the Day 1 chip counts of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris €50,000 Super High Roller with 1,184,000 in chips.
The Canadian finished just ahead of the only two other players to cross a million chips, Dimitar Danchev of Bulgaria with 1,112,000 and Russian Nikita Kuznetsov with 1,017,000.
The trio all won big hands late in the day to make their push for the top of the leaderboard, but it was Adams’ elimination of Jean-Noel Thorel that put him at the top of the heap heading to Day 2.
€50,000 Super High Roller Top Ten Day 1 Chip Counts
Rank
Name
Country
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Timothy Adams
Canada
1,184,000
197
2
Dimitar Danchev
Bulgaria
1,112,000
185
3
Nikita Kuznetsov
Russia
1,017,000
169
4
Jules Dickerson
France
821,000
136
5
Alex Kulev
Bulgaria
642,000
107
6
Conor Beresford
United Kingdom
500,000
83
7
Sam Greenwood
Canada
489,000
81
8
Joao Vieira
Portugal
473,000
78
9
Ben Heath
United Kingdom
460,000
76
10
Nick Petrangelo
United States
433,000
72
Dimitar Danchev
Great Numbers for a Thrilling Day 1
By the end of the eight 60-minute levels played on Sunday, 33 of the 58 entries of the day remained, with registration still open until the start of Day 2 on Monday, February 20 at 12:30 p.m. Complete prize pool and payout details will be made available once registration closes.
The tournament is already a tremendous success, surpassing the 55 entries in the €50,000 Super High Roller at EPT Prague in December and the 39 from the same event at EPT London in October before the final batch of late registrants even hop in on Monday.
Players had a single reentry available to them which many used Sunday, while among those to use both entries that won’t be returning is none other than Fedor Holz, whose second entry evaporated after a flopped straight over straight cooler late in the day.
Among those who didn’t make it through Day 1, but could make a reappearance Monday with a fresh 250,000 chips (41 big blinds) are PokerStars Ambassador Sam Grafton, EPT Paris €25,000 High Roller championTeun Mulder, Thomas Muehloecker, Rui Ferreira, and Galen Hall to name just a few.
The Day 2 Plan
Players will return to the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile at 12:30 p.m. local time, and action will resume at Level 9 with blinds of 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. They will play into the money with the top 15% of the field getting paid, then from there, the intention will be to play to a final table of eight.
Players will receive 20-minute breaks every two levels, with a 75-minute dinner break scheduled after Level 14.
Keep your browsers locked on PokerNews as our live reporting team will be there to cover all the action as the brightest stars in poker continue their chase of the prestigious EPT Paris 2023 Super High Roller title.