Daubaris and Silva Dominate Day 1 of EPT Prague €10,200 NL Hold'em
The first day of the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague is nearly over, with play nearing its conclusion in the two opening flights of the €1,100 Eureka Main Event. Alongside that tournament, Day 1 of €10,200 NL Hold'em also took place, and the proceedings from the first stage of the event have all wrapped up inside the Hilton Hotel, Prague.
The first eight levels of play saw 17 entries create the €164,900 prize pool, with the likes of PokerStars ambassador Ramon Colillas, online crusher Niklas Astedt (90,500) and 2023 PSPC champ Aliaksandr Shylko (67,000) all in attendance.
Unfortunately for Colillas, he was one of the first casualties of the day and opted not to take advantage of the unlimited reentries bowed out after one bullet. Astedt started off strong but found himself at the registration desk after being eliminated following an incorrect hero call. Shylko also got off to a hot start, picking up aces and kings in quick succession, but he failed to prolong his momentum following the hopeful early stages. Astedt and Shylko did, however, find a bag. Both will be looking for a monumental spin-up as they will both come into Day 2 with less than a starting stack.
Ending the day as the biggest stack was Deividas Daubaris (553,500). The Lithuanian poker pro with just over $300,000 in live earnings had a bit of a shaky start, but after his first double-up, he went on an absolute heater and will start tomorrow's session as the chip leader.
Pablo Brito Silva's (384,000) run to the upper echelons of the chip counts mirrored Daubaris as the Brazilian saw his stack peak and fall in the first few levels before ending the day second in chips. The duo were on separate tables throughout Day 1 and hoovered up as many chips as they could. They were the only players to bag more than 100 big blinds, with Hwany Lee (215,000) rounding out the top three chip counts.
Robbie Toan (153,000) and Teun Mulder (126,000) were the only other players to add to the initial 100,000 they started with. Mulder was a late edition in the day and picked up a big pot off of Yulian Bogdanov (53,000), who props up the Day 1 survivors along with Steve O'Dwyer (59,000).
There were several other players who joined Colillas on the wrong side of the rail. The likes of Pavels Spirins, Paul Newey, Elias Abussamra, Jules Dickerson and Tsugunari Toma all saw their stacks go to someone else, however all hope is not lost as the late registration period is open for the first two levels of Day 2.
The second stage of the event will begin on Thursday, December 7 at 12:30 p.m. CET and will resume at Level 9, where the blinds will be 1,500/3,000 along with the 3,000 big blind ante.
End of Day 1 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deividas Daubaris | Lithuania | 553,500 | 185 |
| 2 | Pablo Brito Silva | Brazil | 384,000 | 128 |
| 3 | Hwany Lee | South Korea | 215,000 | 72 |
| 4 | Robbie Toan | Ireland | 153,000 | 51 |
| 5 | Teun Mulder | Netherlands | 126,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | 90,500 | 30 |
| 7 | Aliaksandr Shylko | Belarus | 67,000 | 22 |
| 8 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 59,000 | 20 |
| 9 | Yulian Bogdanov | Bulgaria | 53,000 | 18 |
As always, keep it locked in with PokerNews and return for Day 2, where the winner will be crowned.