[Removed:451] Leads 14 Players Returning for €3,000 Mystery Bounty Day 3
Day 2 of the €3,000 Mystery Bounty at PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris has just come to a close here at Le Palais des Congres, after fourteen 40-minute levels of play.
Only 14 players remain, all of whom will be hoping to take the title and winner’s prize of €298,796.
[Removed:451] of Belgium comes into Day 3 as the chip leader (5,425,000), some way ahead of Ram Faravash of Australia (4,270,000) in second and Tsugunari Toma of Japan (3,000,000) in third.
The top two seem relatively inexperienced and it will certainly be the biggest spot of their poker careers so far - Al-Sayegh has recorded live tournament earnings totalling $2,797, while Faravash has recorded live cashes totalling just over $1,000.
Toma is considerably more experienced, boasting live winnings of almost $3 million, his biggest result being victory in the €10,300 High Roller at EPT Prague in 2019 for €523,120.
Hossein Ensan of Germany is also still in the mix, and the 2019 WSOP Main Event champion will be hoping to add another major title to his resume. Day 1 chip leader Stephane Gabarre is still in the top ten.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Removed:451] | Belgium | 5,425,000 | 90 |
| 2 | Ram Faravash | Australia | 4,270,000 | 71 |
| 3 | Tsugunari Toma | Japan | 3,000,000 | 50 |
| 4 | Gediminas Uselis | Lithuania | 2,415,000 | 40 |
| 5 | Salomon Azria | France | 2,350,000 | 39 |
| 6 | Fehim Hajdari | Denmark | 2,270,000 | 38 |
| 7 | Hossein Ensan | Germany | 2,180,000 | 36 |
| 8 | Seonguk Huh | Korea | 1,770,000 | 30 |
| 9 | Pierre May | Germany | 1,595,000 | 27 |
| 10 | Stephane Gabarre | France | 1,300,000 | 22 |
Day 2 Action
170 players registered at the start of Day 2, swelling the field of 213 returnees from Day 1 to 383. In total the tournament attracted 997 entries, generating a prize pool of €1,682,936, with 143 places paid and a minimum cash good for €3,030.
Mystery bounties were in play from the start of Day 2, the top prizes being four of €50,000. Those were all claimed during the day, with Henok Tekle Mariam, Faravash, Kartik Ved and Seonguk Huh being the lucky recipients.
Bounties totaling €53,000 remain to be claimed, with two €10,000 and three €5,000 envelopes amongst them.
The knockouts came thick and fast at the start of the day, with notables such as Matas Cimbolas, Juan Pardo and Tom Vogelsang among those who started Day 2 but didn’t make the money.
A relatively short bubble burst when Stoyan Madanzhiev’s ace-king lost a flip in a race against Fahredin Mustafov’s pocket jacks.
Players such as Paul Trotter, Philippe Souki, Arnaud Enselme, and Scott Margereson were among those who made the money but exited before the end of the day.
Al-Sayegh made his charge for the chip lead late on, taking a huge pot off Fabrice Bigot with a rivered top pair and then eliminating Fouad Toujani shortly after when his queens held against Toujani's sevens.
Faravash was over the one million mark early after rivering a pair to knock out Elvis Petcu, and he continued to be one of the big stacks throughout the day.
Toma began to gain momentum when he cracked Sergey Lebedev's set of queens with a turned eight-high flush.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €298,796 | 7 | €46,680 |
| 2 | €186,720 | 8 | €35,910 |
| 3 | €133,370 | 9 | €27,620 |
| 4 | €102,590 | 10-11 | €21,240 |
| 5 | €78,910 | 12-13 | €17,700 |
| 6 | €60,690 | 14 | €14,760 |
The remaining 14 players will return on Friday, February 23rd at 12:30 p.m. local time for Day 3 to 40-minute levels and will play to a winner. Play will recommence at level 28, which features 30,000/60,000 blinds with a 60,000 big blind ante.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all your coverage of what is sure to be a thrilling conclusion to the event.