The poker room at the Casino Copenhagen would not have been mistaken for Grand Central Station Monday, but that doesn’t mean things won’t eventually get hopping. Just 83 players paid the 35,000 + 2,250 Danish kroner (approximately $6,200 + $400 U.S. dollars) to play in Day 1A of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Copenhagen Main Event, though if previous years are any indication, Tuesday’s Day 1B should be quite active. No fewer than 400 runners have participated each year since 2007 and with most EPT stops holding strong compared to last year, chances are this one will resemble a major tournament by the time all is said and done.
Topping the field after the small Day 1A is Las Vegas’ Steve O’Dwyer with 190,975 chips. As blinds and antes are only set to increase to 300/600/75 next level, his more than 35,000 chip lead over second place contestant Lauri Varonen is quite sizeable. But as we’ve all learned, no chip lead, especially those after the first day, is safe in the game of poker.
O’Dwyer has been playing on the live tournament circuit for several years now, but it wasn’t until last year that he really cemented himself as a player to fear. During the first half of 2011, he had several strong finishes, including an 8th place showing in the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Uncasville stop ($32,330). It was after the World Series of Poker (WSOP), though, that he started cooking. In July, he won the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Bellagio Cup VII for over a quarter million dollars, then won the Pro-Am tournament of the first Epic Poker League event in August. Later that month, O’Dwyer placed 5th in the €10,000 No Limit Hold’em Single Reload event at EPT Barcelona for $67,568. He followed that up with a runner-up finish in the EPT London Main Event, winning $726,790 and then placed 6th in the €3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout at WSOP Europe, a $48,568 cash. Later in the year, Steve O’Dwyer took down the €1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Re-buy tournament at EPT Loutraki ($25,439) and placed second in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Venice Main Event ($128,063).
It’s not like he was some chump before 2011, either. He had a many five-figure cashes plus a $202,362 score for a 6th place finish in the 2009 WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. All told, Steve O’Dwyer has won just over $2 million on the live tournament circuit.
Day 1B of EPT Copenhagen kicks off at noon local time Tuesday. The survivors from the two starting days will combine for Day 2 on Wednesday, where after the tournament will continue through the week until the champion is determined on Saturday.
European Poker Tour Copenhagen – End of Day 1A Chip Leaders
1. Steve O’Dwyer – 190,975
2. Lauri Varonen – 165,150
3. Roberto Romanello – 115,475
4. Ilkin Amirov – 105,000
5. Niels van Alphen – 96,325
6. Danny Neess – 95,875
7. Albert Iversen – 94,175
8. Dmitri Tchernykh – 90,525
9. Melanie Weisner – 78,900
10. Anthony Hnatow – 70,500