Just as the World Poker Tour’s season came to an end last week, so does the eleventh season of the European Poker Tour (EPT) this week with the EPT Grand Final Main Event in glitzy Monte Carlo, Monaco. The €10,000 + €600 tournament has a guaranteed first prize of €1 million. Leading the event after two starting flights is Jose Carlos Garcia with 182,800 chips, followed closely by Joao Simao, who has 179,100.
Day 1A of the EPT Grand Final Main Event saw 219 players register while Day 1B had a total of 337 players, bringing the total field to 556 after the two starting flights. Eight more players registered before the beginning of Monday’s Day 2 (the one advantage to trying to write about a European tourney while in the U.S. is that I can insert that update), so when all was said and done, 564 have competed for the title. That brought the prize pool to €5,640,000, allowing the first prize to just barely meet the guarantee naturally: €1,082,000. The top eight finishers will all receive awards in the six-digit range and a total of 79 players will make the money.
299 players survived the pair of starting days, so 307 began Day 2 with chips, when factoring in the late entrants.
As is always the case in a European Poker Tour event, the field is extremely diverse, with players from all over the world testing their skills on the felt. According to PokerNews.com, France is the most represented country (makes sense, given its proximity to Monaco) with 60 players, or 11 percent of the field. Russia is next with 55 players, followed by the United States with 52, the United Kingdom with 48, Germany with 42, and Italy with 35. Those six countries comprise about half of the tournament. Players from a total of 60 different countries are making an appearance in the event this week.
Day 2 is currently underway. The plan is to get through six 75-minute levels before bagging and tagging the chips.
European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event – Day 1A Chip Leaders
1. Jose Carlos Garcia – 182,800
2. Joao Simao – 179,100
3. Nicolas Chouity – 168,200
4. Steven Zhou – 158,000
5. Roger Hairabedian – 153,800
6. Charlie Carrel – 153,400
7. Mustapha Kanit – 138,800
8. Giuliano Bendinelli – 135,000
9. Andras Nemeth – 132,300
10. Ole Schemion – 121,600
European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event – Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Romain Paon – 161,900
2. Eric Sfez – 148,600
3. Samy Salah – 144,500
4. Felix Stephensen – 143,000
5. Alexandre Reard – 133,000
6. Lampros Vrakas – 127,200
7. Ihar Soika – 127,000
8. Bryan Paris – 103,500
9. Martin Kabrhel – 102,700
10. Alexsey Platonov – 100,600
European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event – Combined Day 1 Chip Leaders
1. Jose Carlos Garcia – 182,800
2. Joao Simao – 179,100
3. Nicolas Chouity – 168,200
4. Romain Paon – 161,900
5. Steven Zhou – 158,000
6. Roger Hairabedian – 153,800
7. Charlie Carrel – 153,400
8. Eric Sfez – 148,600
9. Samy Salah – 144,500
10. Felix Stephensen – 143,000
