2024 PokerStars EPT Paris

€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2024 PokerStars EPT Paris

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
j2
Prize
€1,287,800
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€8,385,600
Entries
1,747
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
607
Players Left
200

Simon Wiciak Unveiled as PokerStars Team Pro on Day 1a of EPT Paris €5,300 Main Event

Level 10 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Simon Wiciak
Simon Wiciak

The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris stop has shifted into fifth gear, with the series' showstopper kicking off inside Les Palais des Congres. Day 1a of the €5,300 EPT Paris Main Event got off with a bang as it was announced that France's Simon Wiciak was the latest face to join the PokerStars Team Pro roster.

An EPT Main Event winner in the first two years of his live poker career, Wiciak has quickly become one to watch on the circuit. After ten levels of play, he bagged an above-average stack of 115,000, starting his new ambassadorship in fine fashion.

Two more representatives of the spadie brand will be joining Wiciak on Day 2 as Fintan Hand and Ramon Colillas also bagged chips at the end of the night. Both will return for the next stage with 50+ big blinds and are among the 200 players who made it over the first hurdle on the marathon to the title and riches.

An impressive 607 entries were registered throughout the day, but the slips collected fell short of last year's tally of 661. Today's field contributed €2,913,600 to the prize pool but that figure is already over $4 million as, of the time of writing, 254 more players have already booked their seat at the table for Day 1b.

Eero Rantala
Eero Rantala

On top of the chip counts sits Eero Rantala (299,000). The Finnish poker player wrapped up the opening session with 10 starting stacks.

One big blind behind in second is Grigorii Rodin and he's put himself in a prime position to pull off another deep run in a major EPT tournament. Rodin battled his way to the final table, finishing in sixth place for €209,000 in Prague just a few months ago. His stack began on an upward trajectory after compiling a trio of eliminations in quick succession.

EPT Paris Main Event Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Eero RantalaFinland299,000199
2Grigorii RodinRussia297,000198
3Guillaume NoletCanada295,000197
4Peter JorgneSweden286,000191
5Romeric RedjdalFrance278,000185
6Sergio CoutinhoPortugal268,000179
7Noa ChanFrance261,000174
8Miguel FariaPortugal228,000152
9Nicholas FunaroUnited States221,000147
10Jan KesanenFinland213,000142
Peter Jorgne
Peter Jorgne

Last year's runner-up is in the upper echelons of the chip leaderboard. Looking to go one better this time around, Peter Jorgne could do just that after his performance on the felt resulted in a top-five chip stack. The player to pip Jorgne to the post 12 months was Razvan Belea, who was in attendance today. Unfortunately for the defending champion, he'll have to exercise his single re-entry after being eliminated around the middle of the day.

Many Main Event winners were hoping to recapture glory once more, and several took one step closer to doing so. Robin Ylitalo, Dimitar Danchev, Artur Martirosian, Anton Wigg, Piotr Nurzynski, Davidi Kitai, Steve O'Dwyer, and Aliaksei Boika navigated their way into Day 2, although some will have more work cut out for them than the others.

EPT Main Event Winners Chip Counts

PlacePlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
26thRobin YlitaloSweden161,000107
38thDimitar DanchevBulgaria136,00091
53rdSimon WiciakFrance115,00077
54thArtur MartirosianRussia112,50075
91stPiotr NurzynskiPoland82,50055
121stDavidi KitaiBelgium64,50043
153rdAliaksei BoikaBelarus45,00030
165thSteve O'DwyerIreland36,00024

The clock is now ticking down to the start of Day 1b, which gets underway on Tuesday, February 20, at 12:00 p.m. CET. Players who were eliminated today can only re-enter once more, either by taking part in 1b or by taking advantage of the Day 2 late registration. Those firing their first bullet in 1b can re-enter once more in the flight or decide to wait until the last moment.

When play begins, each player will have a 30,000 starting stack. The day closes after ten one-hour levels have been completed. There is a 20-minute break after every two levels, with the 75-minute dinner break scheduled for around 6:50 p.m.

As always, be sure to return to PokerNews to follow all of the coverage from EPT Paris.

Tags: Aliaksei BoikaAnton WiggArtur MartirosianDavidi KitaiDimitar DanchevEero RantalaFintan HandGrigorii RodinGuillaume NoletJan KesanenMiguel FariaNicholas FunaroNoa ChanPeter JorgnePiotr NurzynskiRamon ColillasRomeric RedjdalSergio CoutinhoSimon WiciakSteve O'Dwyer