It turned out to be a small field this year at the 2012 World Poker Tour (WPT) Grand Prix de Paris. Just 96 players put down the €7,500 buy-in on Day 1A and only another 132 followed suit on Day 1B, creating a total field of 228 players. That is well below last year’s mark of 312. Nonetheless, it is still a WPT event, and at the famous Aviation Club de France no less, and the 143 players taking chips into Day 2 are certainly plenty excited to be doing so. French musician Grégoire Boissenot topped all Day 1B players with 95,000 chips, though Day 1A titan Jacques Enjoubault still retains the overall lead with 225,200.
The two starting flights stood in stark contrast to one another. On Monday’s Day 1A, three players – Enjoubault, Antony Lellouche, and Basil Yaiche – stood way out in front of the rest of the field with 225,200, 178,275, and 142,475 chips, respectively. The next closest was Pasi Heinanen with 100,500 and nobody else had over 100,000. As you can see, the three at the top were also quite spread out, as 47,000 chips separated Enjoubault and Lellouche and another 36,000 separated Lellouche and Yaiche.
On the flip side, the Day 1B chip leaders were bunched up and not a single player had over 100,000 chips. After Boissenot and his 95,000 chips, four players had stacks in the 80,000’s and eleven had stacks in the 70,000’s. Despite his standing at the top of the Day 1B, Boissenot enters Day 2 only sixth overall.
As for the cash, with 228 players, the prizepool amounts to €1,624,500. A total of 27 players will get paid. Here is a look at the prize structure:
1st – €400,000 (Includes a $25,000 WPT Championship seat)
2nd – €264,600
3rd – €170,065
4th – €125,775
5th – €94,615
6th – €75,765
7th – €62,575
8th – €50,010
9th – €37,640
10th-12th – €27,445
13th-15th – €22,595
16th-18th – €19,240
19th-21st – €16,835
22nd-24th – €15,065
25th-27th – €13,305
The remaining players from both Day 1 flights are currently gathered in a single field at the Aviation Club de France to compete in Day 2 of the WPT Grand Prix de Paris. The plan is to try to get down to 72 players in four or five levels, possibly skipping the usual dinner break. It is still quite a ways to the money, so the players are in for a grind as they work their way towards the final table.
World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Grégoire Boissenot – 95,000
2. Sami Zakhary – 87,375
3. Jérôme Douïeb – 86,875
4. Matthew Salsberg – 83,575
5. Peter Jetten – 83,575
6. Giacomo Fundaro – 79,300
7. Antoine Saout – 77,975
8. Michael Kwieck – 76,475
9. Florian Leconte – 75,225
10. Ovi Balaj – 74,800
World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris – Combined Day 1 Chip Leaders
1. Jacques Enjoubault – 225,200
2. Antony Lellouche – 178,275
3. Basil Yaiche – 142,475
4. Pasi Heinanen – 100,500
5. Juha Helppi – 96,200
6. Grégoire Boissenot – 95,000
7. Sami Zakhary – 87,375
8. Jérôme Douïeb – 86,875
9. Matthew Salsberg – 83,575
10. Peter Jetten – 83,575
