We said it would be a day chock full of the big names today, and we weren’t disappointed. This morning the greatest concentration of poker power since, well, yesterday, made its way to London’s Victoria Casino on Edgware Road for a battle royale on the baize. Nearly 300 came yesterday, the same came today making for an official field count of 596.The plan is to have just one player standing on Sunday so it was brutal combat all the way.
Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem
From Team PokerStars Pro alone the player list included World Champions Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem. Also Barry Greenstein, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Dario Minieri, Isabelle Mercier, Noah Boeken, Hevad Khan, Katja Thater, Marcin Horecki, Humberto Brenes and Andre Akkari.
That said nothing of the four Million Dollar Men of the pending World Series main event final, using the EPT as warm up to their big dance in the desert next month. It also said nothing of the PokerStars Ambassador Boris Becker playing in only his second EPT event.
After reading all that and taking a breath, back to the action.
As usual it was fierce, fast and merciless. EPTs offer no place to hide, no shade from harmful rays, and without a good stack life can get uncomfortable. That same story was in play for more than 200 players tonight, banished to the rail, left there to watch the vanquishers either fall victim themselves or stretch out a stack good enough to make a run on the money tomorrow afternoon.
So who were those fallers?
Greg Raymer was one of them, perhaps the victim of bad luck more than anything, holding the nuts on the flop only to be outdrawn two streets along.
Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer
Alberto Tomba
The EPT Barcelona winner Sebastian Ruthenberg met the same fate, as did other at various stages including Andy Black, Anthony Holden, Darus Suharto, Hevad Khan, Katja Thater, Dustin Mele, Alberto Tomba, Ylon Schwartz and Andreas Hoivold.
There was no question as to which was the fabled table of death and smack bang in the middle of it was the Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken. With him for the ride were the poker heavyweights Phil Ivey, Danny Ryan, Praz Bansi and Chris Bjorn, all making difficult work of the early levels and ultimately all beaten for good.
Next to Noah’s table was Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier whose day was also not the kind you’d plan. Reduced to a short stack early on, he was forced to push all-in a number of times, eventually succumbing mid way through the day. David “Chino” Rheem had the same result, Chris Moneymaker and Joe Hachem the same later.
But where there is defeat there is also success, however temporary, a sensation felt by Team PokerStars Pros Isabelle Mercier and Andre Akkari who spent the day side by side but made it through, like two marathon runners who, in the spirit of camaraderie, cross the line together. Barry Greenstein joins them, as does the Polish team member Marcin Horecki.
Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein
Peter Eastgate was the last surviving Million Dollar Man while the PokerStars players Stephen Chidwick and Ramzi Jelassi will both return tomorrow. Racing driver and PokerStars sponsored player Gualter Salles dodged heavy traffic and high speed collisions to do the same, as did former EPT winner Julian Thew and World Series H.O.R.S.E. champion Scotty Nguyen.
So to tomorrow. After the terra-forming of day one the tournament will take on a new landscape for day two, when the prospect of the money, the concentrated field and the raising stakes will make for a day of high drama at the tables.
