The first ever stop by the European Poker Tour in the coastal city of Loutraki, Greece, is proving to be a popular one – at least for some players – as the second day of play wraps up at the Club Hotel Casino Loutraki.
Day Two play began this afternoon (Greek time) with 232 players remaining from the original field of 336 runners. At the head of the pack was Germany’s Mario Puccini, but he faced severe challenges from former EPT champions such as Rupert Elder, Nicolas Chouity and Mats Gavatin. Also in the mix was one of the members Team PokerStars Pro, Romania’s Toni Judet.
One of the most interesting stories wasn’t about who was there but, rather, who wasn’t in their seat. American pro Tom Marchese had earned his seat to this tournament online but, surprisingly, failed to show up in Loutraki to play. With that said, his chip stack survived the Day One play and Tom Marchese’s “chair” would start off the action on Day Two.
As the day began, the prize pool for the €4000 event was announced. 48 players will take home some money for their efforts in Greece, with the minimum payout being “only” €6600. The players who make the traditional eight-handed EPT final table will have at least €27,000 in their pocket, with the eventual champion of this inaugural event taking down a nice payday of €347,000.
Ireland’s Jude Ainsworth was a mover in the early going, earning a knockout and a double up within the first half hour of action. First, Ainsworth dispatched Kenny Hallaert from the proceedings when his pocket Jacks outlasted a bit of a sweat from Hallaert’s pocket threes, then Jude doubled up through McLean Karr with pocket Queens against McLean’s Big Slick. Those hands would propel the former Irish Open champion to a successful day.
By the time Level 11 was in play, there were several top players who had departed the Club Hotel Casino Loutraki. Most painful of all was pro Jeff Sarwer, who saw his pocket Aces crushed by a measly K-10 when the hand made Kings up on the flop. Kent Lundmark, Chris Moorman, Eugene Katchalov and Chouity were also casualties of the early action, along with the chair of Tom Marchese.
Throughout his Day Two play, Judet seemingly was never threatened by the field. At one point, the Romanian’s chip stack eclipsed the 300K mark, making him the only player to sit at such a lofty point. Although he would sit back and glide into the end of the Day Two action, there are other players who are making their moves to challenge him.
Although he gave some chips up to Judet, Bulgaria’s Grudi Grudev is sitting decently at the end of the day in second place with 251,600 in chips. In total, eight countries are represented in the Top Ten at the end of Day Two:
1. Toni Judet (Romania), 288,200
2. Grudi Grudev (Bulgaria), 251,600
3. Zimnan Ziyard (United Kingdom), 238,900
4. Fahredin Mustafov (Bulgaria), 225,200
5. Robert Cezarescu (Romania), 221,900
6. Jacques Torbey (Lebanon), 219,600
7. Igal Augarten (Australia), 195,400
8. Pim Van Riet (Netherlands), 192,700
9. Jason Wheeler (United States), 178,500
10. Charalampos Kapernopoylos (Greece), 174,900
There are some notable names still in contention, including Kevin MacPhee (130,100), Johnny Lodden (115,100) and Ainsworth, who finished the day with 117,200 in chips. A disappointed Rupert Elder tweeted, “118,300 gg. Stuff didn’t work out last level,” after getting as high as 160K in chips. Players who will have some work to do include David Vamplew (67K), Ana Marquez (69K), Roger Hairabedian (54K) and Karr (33K), but they are still a part of the 100 players who will come back tomorrow.
Those survivors still have a great deal of work to do before any celebrating can begin. The money bubble still has to be reached (more than likely tomorrow) and the final table will be determined on Saturday. The championship of this latest stop on the EPT will be determined this Sunday, where the money, trophies and prestige will be awarded.
