With a crowd that was more than double the number of players of Day 1A, the European Poker Tour (EPT) Berlin Day 1B allowed the tournament to come oh so close to beating last year’s player totals. The 502 players on Tuesday added to the 243 on Monday made a total field of 745 runners, just 27 shy of last season’s number. Ending the day as both the Day 1B and overall leader was Cengiz Ulusu with 242,800 chips.
More players means more chips in play, so one might logically expect the Day 1B chip leaders to have larger stacks than their Day 1A counterparts. This is exactly the case with EPT Berlin as 8 of the top 10 on the leaderboard headed into Day 2 came from Tuesday’s Day 1B field. The two exceptions are the top two players from Day1A, Vladimir Geshkenbein and Jens Weigel.
The 745 total players created a prize pool of €3,725,000. Fifteen percent of the field, or 112 players, will make the money, with the eventual winner cashing in for €825,000. The top six finishers will all hit six-digit paydays. Here’s a look at the final table payouts:
1. €825,000
2. €500,000
3. €290,000
4. €220,000
5. €172,000
6. €133,000
7. €97,000
8. €72,000
Our chip leader, Cengiz Ulusu, is no stranger to success in Germany on the European Poker Tour. In 2009, before EPT Berlin was born, the German stop on the Tour was EPT Dortmund. It was there that Ulusu made the Main Event final table, placing 8th for €83,500. His was one of the more memorable bust-outs, too. Staring at a call or fold decision for his tournament life, Ulusu flipped a coin to determine his fate. Whatever side came up, it told him to call. Too bad it was the wrong side.
The 210 survivors from Day 1B will meet the 110 survivors from Day 1A in a combined field on Wednesday’s Day 2. Play is slated to begin at 12:00pm local time at the Grand Hyatt Berlin.
2012 European Poker Tour Berlin – End of Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Cengiz Ulusu – 242,800
2. Calvin Anderson – 205,100
3. Mario Puccini – 198,900
4. Davidi Kitai – 197,700
5. Joao Ribeiro – 196,600
6. Cesar Garcia Domínguez – 184,400
7. Marc Wright – 182,600
8. Brahim Oubella – 176,700
9. Daniel Smith – 173,600
10. Michiel Brummelhuis – 173,500
2012 European Poker Tour Berlin – Combined Day 1A and Day 1B Chip Leaders
1. Cengiz Ulusu – 242,800
2. Calvin Anderson – 205,100
3. Vladimir Geshkenbein – 201,600
4. Jens Weigel – 199,600
5. Davidi Kitai – 197,700
6. Joao Ribeiro – 196,600
7. Cesar Garcia Domínguez – 184,400
8. Marc Wright – 182,600
9. Brahim Oubella – 176,700
10. Daniel Smith – 173,600
