The European Poker Tour (EPT) picked up again this week with two starting flights of the €5,300 EPT Deauville Main Event. Nearly half of Day 1A’s 199 players were eliminated at the Casino Barrière as 108 survived to advance to Day 2, while 227 of Day 1B’s 390 players made it to Tuedsay. The top of the leaderboard going into Day 2 is dominated by Day 1B players, as Guillaume Darcourt leads the way 167,800 chips, followed by second flight competitors Alessandro Valli (154,800) and Andrius Bielskis (150,200).
Guillaume Darcourt isn’t the most household of household names, but he is pretty well known across the pond and has enjoyed his share of success. In 2010, he won the World Poker Tour (WPT) Bucharest Championship event, earning €144,530 ($193,387) and in 2013 won the WPT National Event in Cannes. He has never won a World Series of Poker bracelet, but came very close, finishing third in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Triple Chance Event in 2010. For his career, Darcourt has won $1,265,577 according to TheHendonMob.com.
Contrast that to the Day 1A leader, Nathan Gozlan, whose only three live tournament cashes have been in tournaments with buy-ins of €500 or less. But that’s the great thing about poker – anyone can play, anyone can make a run.
Deauville has been on the European Poker Tour schedule since 2009. The inaugural Main Event in the French city saw 645 players create a prize pool of just over €3 million. Moritz Kranich took the crown, winning €851,400 in the process. The largest EPT Deauville Main Event took place in2011 during Season 7. The total field was 891 players, with Lucien Cohen taking the first prize of €880,000 out of a prize pool of €4,276,800.
Day 2 has gotten underway in France as the 335 remaining players come together in a single field. Registration was open until the start of play Tuesday, so the final field size and payout structure have yet to be published at the time this article was written.
2015 European Poker Tour Deauville Main Event – Day 1A Chip Leaders
Nathan Gozlan – 148,500
Alexander Ivarsson – 145,800
Emil Ekvardt – 133,600
Carlo Savinelli – 131,400
Patryk Slusarek – 123,300
Enrico Rudelitz – 120,500
Jouny Hanna – 118,700
Robert Schulz – 109,700
Franck Kalfon – 109,000
Benjamin Buhr – 106,500
2015 European Poker Tour Deauville Main Event – Day 1B Chip Leaders
Guillaume Darcourt – 167,800
Alessandro Valli – 154,800
Andrius Bielskis – 150,200
Michal Mrakes – 135,900
Stefan Schillhabel – 126,300
Jan Heitmann – 126,100
Bertrand Grospellier – 123,500
Stavros Kalfas – 116,100
Rob Strong – 115,500
Pierre Sakr – 113,300
2015 European Poker Tour Deauville Main Event – Combined Day 1 Chip Leaders
Guillaume Darcourt – 167,800
Alessandro Valli – 154,800
Andrius Bielskis – 150,200
Nathan Gozlan – 148,500
Alexander Ivarsson – 145,800
Michal Mrakes – 135,900
Emil Ekvardt – 133,600
Carlo Savinelli – 131,400
Stefan Schillhabel – 126,300
Jan Heitmann – 126,100
*Credit to PokerNews.com for tournament updates and info.
