The 385 survivors from the two starting flights of the 2014 European Poker Tour (EPT) Deauville Main Event gathered together on Tuesday for Day 2. They did not know how far they would need to last to make the money, as registration remained open until the start of play. Thus, the payout schedule was still to be determined. When the final numbers came in, 671 players paid the €5,300 to play and nobody made the money before Day 2 came to an end. The man in the best position to cash on Wedensday is Italy’s Dario Sammartino, who leads the field with 427,700 chips.
Sammartino isn’t a household name (unless you are a classic professional wrestling fan), but he has a solid live tournament resume, earning over $800,000. He has already had success at EPT Deauville, placing third in the €2,500 France Poker Series High Roller Event for €63,800 ($87,314). His biggest cash came this past October when he finished second in the Italian Poker Tour San Remo €700 Main Event, a score of €95,000 ($130,849).
One of Sammartino’s bigger hands involved the help of the poker gods. After a flop of A♥-2♣-K♦, Mat Frankland bet 5,300 and Sammartino called. The 4♣ fell on the turn, prompting Sammartino to bet 9,000, a bet which Frankland called. When the 3♥ was dealt on the river, Sammartino bet 40,000 and Frankland called. Frankland never showed what he had, but Sammartino flipped over J♣-5♣ for a rivered straight.
He was also slightly involved in one of the odder hands of the day which occurred right at the end of the night. He raised pre-flop and Jamila von Perger shoved for 51,900. Carlos Queiroz Ferreira called, but he only intended to call Sammartino’s raise, not realizing that von Perger had gone all-in. He did verbally announce call, so the floor ruled that he was committed to that action. Ferreira’s hand wasn’t terrible – K-6 – but still kind of weak to be calling an early position raise. Von Perger held A-6, though, and that held up to allow her to double through.
With the 671 player field, the total prize pool amounts to €3,211,200, creating a first prize of €614,000. Payouts go down to 95th for a minimum of €9,500, so the money bubble will burst today, as just 137 players remain.
2014 European Poker Tour Deauville Main Event – Day 2 Chip Leaders
1. Dario Sammartino – 427,700
2. Zimnan Ziyard – 392,500
3. Norbert Szecsi – 386,900
4. Jonathan Abdellatif – 351,700
5. Eugene Katchalov – 345,700
6. Loredan Hanganu – 329,100
7. Sotirios Koutoupas – 317,100
8. Kamel Boukhalfa – 289,700
9. Anthony Lerust – 288,600
10. Patrick Bruel – 277,400
