Steve O'Dwyer Leads Stacked Field into $10,300 EPT High Roller Final Day
Day 2 of the $10,300 EPT High Roller at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus has concluded here at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, with the starting field of 215 entries reduced to 24 for the final day, after a frantic day of action comprising twelve 50-minute levels.
In a tough field containing many of the world's best players, Steve O'Dwyer leads the way at the close of play, having amassed an impressive stack of 2,235,000. He is closely followed by Diogo Coelho of Portugal (1,995,000), while Shankui Li of ChIna (1,725,000) completes the podium places.
O'Dwyer and Coelho steadily accumulated chips throughout the day, with Coelho moving towards the two million mark when his top pair held versus Michel Molenaar. Li caught some heat towards the end of the session, being on the right side of a huge cooler against Aliaksandr Shylko.
O'Dwyer is a true legend of the game, sitting 13th in the worldwide all-time money list with recorded cashes of over $44,000,000, and is aiming to capture a remarkable eighth EPT trophy.
Coelho is seventh in the Portuguese all-time money list, having accumulated almost $2,300,000 in live winnings, and he will be hoping to take his second trophy of the week, having triumphed in the $2,200 Eureka High Roller for over $350,000.
Li is also in fine form here at EPT Cyprus, having already secured his two biggest live cashes in the Main Event and the Eureka Main, and he will be aiming to secure his first six-figure score.
Plenty of other dangermen are also lurking in the top ten, including Niklas Astedt, Andras Nemeth and Stoyan Madanzhiev.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 2,235,000 | 89 |
| 2 | Diogo Coelho | Portugal | 1,995,000 | 79 |
| 3 | Shankui Li | China | 1,725,000 | 69 |
| 4 | Andras Nemeth | Hungary | 1,550,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Stoyan Madanzhiev | Bulgaria | 1,370,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Lars Kamphues | Austria | 1,335,000 | 53 |
| 7 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | 1,200,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Adrian Cazacu | Romania | 1,000,000 | 40 |
| 9 | Jelle Moene | Netherlands | 915,000 | 36 |
| 10 | Sebastian Malec | Poland | 910,000 | 36 |
Day 2 Action
The end of Day 1 field of 164 players was supplemented by 51 players taking advantage of max late registration on Day 2, bringing the field to 215 at the start of the day, and the total amount of entries to 456.
Those figures generated a $4,423,200 prize pool, with 63 places paid. A minimum cash is worth $18,300, while a spot at the final table guarantees a $92,400 payday. The winner meanwhile will take home the huge sum of $865,700.
Sonny Franco was the first player to exit on Day 2, and the knockouts came thick and fast as players such as Dimitar Danchev, Artur Martirosian, Nicholas Palma and PokerStars Ambassador Parker Talbot all departed before the first break.
At that point end of Day 1 chip leaders Parahat Nurmuhammedov and Ray Qartomy were still sitting atop the standings.
Jessica Teusl then went on a charge towards the top of the leaderboard, while players such as Sergi Reixach, Antoine Saout and PokerStars Ambassador Sam Grafton all failed to see the second break.
Astedt subsequently gained momentum, but took some damage in a cooler against Aleksejs Ponakovs. Astedt would recover however to ultimately end up in the top ten at close of play, and repaid the favor against the Latvian, check-jamming the river on the bubble and forcing a fold.
Roberto Romanello had a brief spell towards the top of the counts, but jammed the river into the nuts shortly before dinner break.
The bubble commenced shortly after the dinner break, and it was not a particularly long one. EPT Barcelona Main Event champion Stephen Song was the unlucky player to bust without a return on investment after his kings got cracked.
Romanello and Qartomy were among the players to exit with a minimum cash, while Nurmuhammedov and Ponakovs managed to get a pay jump but departed amongst the next batch of finishers. Players such as Elias Gutierrez, Teusl and Patrick Leonard subsequently exited in the last couple of levels of the day to set the final field for Day 3.
The players will return for the final day on Sunday, October 20 at noon local time to do battle until a winner is crowned. The players will return to 50-minute levels at Level 23, with blinds of 10,000/25,000, with a 25,000 big blind ante.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all your coverage of what is sure to be a thrilling day of high quality poker as we see who will capture the coveted EPT High Roller trophy.