The second starting flight of the 2014 European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monaco came and went on Sunday and by the time the day’s numbers were tallied, the Day 1B field, with 427 players, doubled the field of Day 1A. Registration was still open until the start of play today, and as Day 2 has already gotten going, the final numbers are in: 650 runners, creating a prize pool of €6,500,000. Leading the 241 survivors of Day 1B, as well as the 357 overall (plus nine entrants from Monday) is Hendrik Latz with 191,600 chips.
Latz has a short live tournament resume (stats thanks to TheHendonMob.com), having earned less than $50,000 in his career (oh what I would give to have that record). His biggest cash, coincidentally, came in this same event last year, when he finished 54th for €18,500 ($24,258).
As often happens with chip leaders in opening flights, Latz made it into the top spot near the end of the night. It wasn’t the largest pot in the world, but according to PokerNews’ report, with a board reading 5♦-3♦-8♣-Q♦-J♠ and about 25,000 chips in the pot, Lats bet 18,400 into Andrey Gulyy, forcing the Russian to fold. That took Latz up over 200,000 to 215,000 and though he fell back slightly after that, it was obviously good enough to give him the largest stack in the tournament.
Some of the recognizable names who made it through Day 1B include Davidi Kitai (who was in second behind Latz with 173,100), Scott Clements, Thomas Wahlroos, Johnny Lodden, Annette Obrestad, Barry Greenstein, Steve O’Dwyer, Bruno Fitoussi, Phil Ivey, Sam Trickett, Ivan Demidov, David Williams, Viktor Blom, Chris Moneymaker, Eugene Katchalov, and Liv Boeree, who just slid into Day 2 with the smallest chip stack of Day 1B.
A total of 95 players will see paydays in the EPT Grand Final with first place earning €1,240,000. Payouts will start at €19,200 and will hit six-figures once there are nine players remaining.
2014 European Poker Tour Grand Final – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Hendrik Latz – 191,600
2. Davidi Kitai – 173,100
3. Vladimir Troyanovskiy – 172,000
4. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz – 150,800
5. Nikolay Baranov – 144,300
6. Vincenzo Cortese – 136,100
7. Anton Makiievskyi – 135,600
8. Scott Clements – 123,300
9. Hao Tian – 120,300
10. Myro Garcia – 112,800
2014 European Poker Tour Grand Final – Combined Day 1 Chip Leaders
1. Hendrik Latz – 191,600
2. Samir Hadad, 178,100
3. Davidi Kitai – 173,100
4. Vladimir Troyanovskiy – 172,000
5. Talal Shakerchi, 159,500
6. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz – 150,800
7. J. C. Alvarado, 145,000
8. Nikolay Baranov – 144,300
9. Vincenzo Cortese – 136,100
10. Anton Makiievskyi – 135,600
