Friday, 29th March 2024 07:28
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8:25pm: Banic takes Day 2?

There’s some last minute confusion after Ivan Banic tangled in a pot right at the bell, but we’re calling it for Banic tonight with 381,200 chips. Read the full Day 2 report here. — SB

8:25pm: Banic drops a few at the finish
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

On the last hand of the night, chip leader Ivan Banic got involved in a decent-sized hand versus Stefan Schillhabel that looked as though it might lose him the overnight chip lead.

It ended with Banic calling Schillhabel’s river shove after the board had completed Q♦ 10♥ 4♣ 7♣ K♦ . Schillhabel turned over J♣ 9♣ for a straight and Banic mucked, but he still has just over 380,000 and appears he may still be in front as the bagging commences. –MH

8:20pm: Jean picks off Stern
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

A big hand right near the end of Day 2 just played out between Ofer Zvi Stern and Mikael Jean.

Arriving on the river with the board showing 2♣ 7♣ Aâ™  Q♦ A♣ , Jean had bet 36,000 — somewhat less than the pot — and Stern shoved over the top, causing Jean to pause a bit before calling. Jean had a lock on the hand, though, with A♦ 7♦ while Stern had but K♦ Q♦ .

Jean bumped way up over 300,000 on that hand while Stern fell below 100,000, but the latter would win back some subsequently to end the night back up around 140,000. –MH

8:16pm: The power of positive thinking
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Getting it all in with king-ten off-suit versus an opponent’s pocket kings probably isn’t the way most of us would want to conclude a long day of tournament poker. But Jakub Michalak wasn’t too worried about it.

At risk for his last 24,700 with Kâ™  10♦ versus Yiannis Liperis’s K♥ K♦ , Michalak told those at the other end of the table he felt good about his hand. Sure enough the flop came 10♥ 10â™  5â™  to give Michalak trips.

“I told you!” he said with a grin.

The turn was the 2♥ and river the A♦ , and he survives here at night’s end with about 50,000 while Liperis slips to 30,000. Michalak couldn’t resist snapping a photo of the board with his phone, perhaps to serve as a kind of evidence supporting the power of positive thinking. –MH

8:15pm: Chip leader loses some
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Ivan Banic has dropped to 450,000 but still appears to be the likely end of day chip leader. He got involved in a three-way pot in which Michael Howard was all-in pre-flop for 21,200.

There was a side pot of roughly 26,500 between Banic and Mikhail Petrov and the flop fell Q♠ 4♣ 4♦ . Petrov check-called a bet of 21,500 from Banic. The 5♠ turn checked through and then Petrov bet 47,000 on the K♦ river. Banic released his hand immediately.

Petrov showed K♥ K♣ , whilst Howard held A♥ 8♥ and he was eliminated. –NW

8:13pm: Team PokerStars Online Mickey Petersen is flushed by Mike McDonald
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Hey Mickey you’re so fine, you got it in good but it was the end of the line. Hey Mickey!

Sorry about that. Being serious for a moment, Mickey Petersen has just been eliminated. Mike McDonald opened to 5,500 and it folded around to Petersen in the big blind. He then shoved for his last 27,200 and McDonald called with Aâ™  7â™  , which was way behind Petersen’s A♥ K♣ .

At least, it was behind. The board ran out 8♦ 10♠ 8♠ K♠ 3♥ and Petersen wished everyone good luck.

“I think that’s three EPTs in a row now!” said Petersen, suggesting McDonald has a habit of being his executioner. McDonald now has 378,000. –JS


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8.10pm: Five more hands
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

The clock has been paused and each table will play five more hands before play concludes for Day 2. — MC

8:07pm: Nice Timex to get aces
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Is there ever really a bad time to get aces? Probably not as long as they hold up and Mike McDonald managed that just fine.

He was in the cutoff and three-bet to 15,000 after Alexandre Rivero had opened to 5,100 from the hijack. The latter called to a 5♠ 7♣ K♦ flop where he check-called 15,000 from McDonald. Both players checked the Q♠ turn before Rivero led for 32,000 on the 9♦ turn. McDonald gave a little smile while thinking and then made the call.

His Aâ™  A♣ beat Rivero’s 8♣ 8♥ to see his stack rise to 340,000. Rivero dropped to 70,000. — MC

8:04pm: Margereson doubles through O’Dwyer
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

After Miltiadis Kyriakides opened to 5,000, Steve O’Dwyer did what he’s so accustomed to – show aggression with a 3-bet to 15,000. Scott ‘Aggro Santos’ Margereson, sat to O’Dwyer’s immediate left, then shoved for 89,200. Kyriakides looked like he wanted to play but couldn’t, however O’Dwyer made the call with A♦ K♦ and was up against Margereson’s Q♥ Q♣ .

The board ran out 7♦ 3♥ 2â™  8♣ J♣ and O’Dwyer is down to 75,000, while Margereson now has roughly 186,000. –JS

8:00pm: Battle of the Twitch streamers
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Jaime Staples and ElkY are two of the most successful poker Twitch streamers. They just clashed in a pot that played out on the TV table.

ElkY was all in pre-flop with 10♥ 10♦ and it was a classic race as Staples held A♦ K♠ . A 9♦ A♠ 6♣ flop put the Canadian in front, he made two pair on the K♦ turn and there was no help for ElkY on the 5♠ river.

135 players remain, 87 get paid. –NW

7:58pm: Buckley bets, Mateos concedes
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

The board showed K♥ 8♦ 2♦ 9♣ , and after Adrian Mateos had pushed out a bet of 7,500, he and Adrian Buckley looked across the wide table for several seconds before Buckley raised to 19,400. Mateos called, checked after the 4♣ river, then Buckley bet again, this time 22,000.

Buckley stared intently across at Mateos who tanked for more than a minute, spending some of that time looking back at Buckley and the rest rubbing his eyes as though Buckley’s bets had introduced a bothersome sting.

Finally Mateos folded, and Buckley showed his hand — 9♥ 9♦ . “Sick turn,” said Mateos. “I gave you respect for folding ace-king” said Buckley, alluding to his having shown his hand.

Buckley is up to 135,000 now, just ahead of Mateos who slips to 130,000. –MH

7:56pm: Late in the day fallers
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

It’s been a long Day 2 for the following players, but not quite as long as they’d hope as they’re all out. Szabolcs Mayer, Ji Zhang, Alfie Adam, Kacper Pyzara, Steve Watts, Miguel Use and Nicholas Palma will have to look for glory in side events from here on out. — NW

7:51pm: Monstad runs into a monster
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Vebjorn Monstad found a pretty good hand – Qâ™  Q♣ – to be precise, but unfortunately for the Norwegian Andrew Chen woke up with Aâ™  A♣ on the very same hand. The 8â™  9♣ 9♦ 7â™  7♦ board meant Chen doubled up to around 90,000 whilst Monstad dropped to about 104,000. — NW

7:49pm: Cody Kan canned
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody has fallen in the last level after losing his chips over the course of two hands.

He raised to 5,100 from the button and Jean-Noel Thorel defended his big blind. The flop fell 2♥ 8♥ 9♥ and the Frenchman led out for 10,200. Cody called to the 6♦ turn where he face another 20,000 bet. He tank folded and preserved his stack of just under 35,000.

Two hands later he was out.

Raiden Kan opened from under the gun and called after Cody moved all in from the hijack.

Kan: Q♥ Q♠
Cody: K♣ K♠

Cody was in great shape but Kan, who was a serial casher in Macau before doing the same in Europe, hit on the 4♥ Qâ™  7♣ 7♥ 8♥ board. He moved back up to 180,000. — MC

7:43pm: Please Sir…Mayer have some more?
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Szabolcs Mayer just had his stack crippled, but he’s already on his way to getting more chips back.

The Hungarian, who has more than half a million in tournament winnings according to Hendon Mob, opened to 5,000 which was called by Luca Pagano. Adran Buckley then shoved for 43,700, Mayer called and Pagano got out of the way.

It was the 7â™  7♥ for Mayer vs the A♣ K♦ for Buckley – the player at risk. The 10â™  J♣ 9â™  flop gave him gutshot possibilities, but it turned out Buckley wouldn’t need to hit a queen as the A♦ arrived on the turn. The Q♥ completed the board and Buckley doubled to around 90,000, while Mayer was left with just 7,800.

He’d double in the next hand though. Pagano raised, Mayer moved all-in for 7,500 and it was an easy call for Pagano with the 9♦ 9♥ . Mayer was in big trouble with the 8♥ 5â™  , but the Poker Gods were kind to him – he’d made a straight by the river and is up to around 17,000. –JS

7:35pm: Big stacks
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

We’ve just updated the chip count page and with roughly 45 minutes left in the day the top ten stacks are as below

Name Country Chips
Ivan Banic Croatia 399,000
Gilles Bernies Germany 315,000
Anthony Zinno USA 297,000
Alex Difelice Canada 290,000
Ivan Deyra France 283,000
Miltiadis Kyriakides Greece 275,000
Adrien Allain France 265,000
Mike McDonald Canada 256,000
Alex Komaromi Uruguay 253,100
Francisco Correia De Oliveira Portugal 245,000

7:25pm: Boeree on the bounce
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

A double up for Liv Boeree. She pushed pre-flop with Aâ™  K♥ and steered it past A♥ Q♥ . The Team Pro is now up to 110,000. — SB

liv_boeree_eptdub_16feb16.jpgBoeree back in the game
7:24pm: You have exactly one minute to read this update
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

The tournament clock is ticking down on the final level of Day 2, with just under an hour left to go. Meanwhile the clock is being called with increasing frequency, it seems, as players take their time making decisions.

On one table we saw the clock being called on Ofer Zvi Stern as he contemplated a decision in a hand versus Iliodoros Kamatakis. Eventually Stern folded.

Then on another the clock was called on Andras Koroknai following an all-in shove by Or Hadad. Koroknai waited until he had one second left, then folded as well.

Moments later a third instance occurred on yet another table. Kacper Pyzara had pushed versus Yiannis Liperis with the board showing 9♦ Q♥ 10♥ J♥ 6♣ , putting the latter to a decision for his tournament life, and eventually the clock was called on Liperis.

Unlike the others, Liperis called, showing Q♣ 9♥ for two pair, and that was good against Pyzara’s 3â™  3♦ . Liperis jumps to 90,000, while Pyzara is back down to 15,000.

3… 2… 1… the update is dead. –MH

7:25pm: Hey! Nice river Jude
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Jude Ainsworth was out of his seat ready to leave, but a river came to save his day. He let out most of the air he’d been holding in and retook his seat.

Iliodoros Kamatakis had opened the pot to 5,000 from the hijack and was flat called by Ian Hunter before Ainsworth (big blind) reraised 82,500 of his remaining 95,700. Kamatakis made a quick fold and Hunter set Ainsworth all in after some thought.

Hunter: 9♦ 9♥
Ainsworth: A♣ K♥

The board ran 10♣ Q♥ 2♦ 6â™  Jâ™  to make a relieved Ainsworth Broadway. Hunter dropped to 165,000. — MC

7:20pm: “Ambitious” bluff by Nordh is easily picked off by Pagano
Level 14 – Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

We picked up the action on the turn in a hand between Luca Pagano and Gustav Nordh. After the turn had made the board read A♣ A♦ 2♦ 4♣ , Nordh checked to Pagano who made it 22,000 into a healthy 15-or-so big blind pot. Nordh gestured with his chips like he was about to shove, but in the end ended up calling. We then saw the Jâ™  river and now Nordh shoved his last 38,000 in the middle. Pagano essentially snap called and Nordh actually mucked his cards – sliding to them to the dealer. Pagano showed 2♥ 2♣ for a deuces full of aces, but as he had called Nordh’s cards had to be revealed – the Q♦ 3♦ for a busted flush and straight draw.

luca_pagano_eptdub_16feb16.jpgLuca Pagano
After Nordh had left, several of the players on the table – including Adrian Mateos and Liv Boeree – agreed that the bluff was “ambitious”.

Luca Pagano 255,000 –JS

7:15pm: Lappin lost, but up
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

David Lappin admitted he didn’t have a clue what Alex Komaromi had when they both played out a hand to the river. But he’d kept that point to himself, which I suppose is what matters.

It had been Thiago Crema De Macedo who had opened the betting from under the gun, making it 4,200 to play. Seeing this Lappin then raised to 9,600 two seats along. Next to him was Komaromi from Uruguay. He looked at Lappin, and then asked the Irishman how much he was playing (41,000 at the start of the hand). Then he called. De Macedo, who started all this, passed.

The flop came 8♠ A♦ 5♥ . Check-check.

Then the turn, the Aâ™  . Check-check.

The river card was the 4â™  . Lappin took his time, then reached for his stack, picking off 13,100 and putting it out ahead of him. Komaromi, perhaps as mystified as Lappin would admit, passed.

“Hmm…” he said.
“I’ve no idea what you had,” said Lappin. “So confused.”

Lappin up to 60,000, while Komaromi has 230,000 as we head towards the last level of the day. — SB

7:12pm: Double down and out for Jacobson
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Former WSOP champ Martin Jacobson’s comeback was short-lived. There was no double up the next time he found himself all in.

The action folded around to him on the button and he committed his last 32,300 chips. Sven Magirius was in the big blind and flicked in a chip indicating a call.

Jacobson: 8♠ 8♥
Magirius: K♣ 10♦

The board ran 10♥ 3♥ 3♦ 4♣ 4♥ to make Magirius two pair. Jacobson screamed out how bad he runs and kicked a chair over. (Edit: He nodded politely and left without a murmur). — MC

7:10pm: Last one for the night
Level 14 – Blinds: 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)

Level 14 is now under way. It’s the last one of the day. Head over the the chip-count page to catch up with the latest stack sizes. There have been a few big movements over the past level or so.

7:08pm: Look elsewhere for the champion
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

It’s the end of the road for these folk: Felipe Ramos, Andrew Taylor, Martin Jacobson, Paul-Francois Tedeschi, Esa Karttunen, Chi Tang, Dominykas Karmazinas, Jannick Wrang, Roberto Gazzola.

7:05pm: Tedeschi taken out
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

French pro Paul Tedeschi has been eliminated by Charles La Boissonnire.

He had been nursing a short stack for quite a while; saw a stack he liked and made his moved. The problem was, La Boissonnire liked that same, 8♦ 10♦ Q♣ flop, even more and called the shove.

Tedeschi: J♥ 7♥ for a gutshot straight draw.
La Boissonnire: J♣ 9♣ for the nuts.

The board ran out A♥ 7♣ and Tedeschi blew some air through his lips before he left. –MC

7:01pm: A prize for Pyzara
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Following an Enrico Etienne Rudelitz open, Kacper Pyzara pushed all in for 13,100 from the small blind, then Alexandre Meylan called from the big blind. Meylan actually set out a few more chips than were needed to call, though not enough to raise, and so the floor helped sort out the action before Rudelitz took his turn.

Rudelitz called the push, too, and he and Meylan checked down the 9♦ K♠ 10♦ 8♣ 9♠ board. Pyzara showed Q♣ Q♠ , Meylan 4♦ 4♠ , and Rudelitz A♦ Q♥ , and Pyzara survived.

Pyzara has about 50,000 now, Meylan about 75,000, and Rudelitz is sitting on 90,000. There are 153 players remaining. –MH


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7pm: Straight benefits Williams
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

With about 30,000 in the middle and the board showing Q♦ 6♥ 5♣ 9♣ , Frank Williams checked, Kacper Pyzara bet 19,000, the Victor Ilyukhin called. Williams then check-raised all in for 82,700, Pyzara called the shove, and Ilyukhin took that opportunity to bail.

Williams turned over 8♣ 7♣ for a nine-high straight while Pyzara had a set of queens with Q♣ Q♥ . The river was the K♠ , and Williams earned the big pot.

Williams is up around 180,000 now, Pyzara drops down under 15,000, and Ilyukhin has about 75,000. –MH

6:55pm: Jacobson doubles through Urbanovich
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Down to just 17,000 Martin Jacobson moved all in with A♠ 5♥ and Dzmitry Urbanovich gave him a spin from the big blind with Q♠ 8♠ .

The 7♥ 9♦ 3♣ A♣ 2♣ board kept Jacobson alive and dropped Urbanovich to 103,000. –NW

6:52pm: Petrangelo – what a mess
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (200 ante)

Look around any poker room and you’ll find some works of art. Not on the walls, but in the way players stack their chips when they have a decent amount.

Not Nick Petrangelo though. He’s too busy bashing away on his iPad right now to stack the chips he keeps winning. C’mon, Nick – clean up a little, would ya?

He opened to 4,500 on the button and found one caller in Jean-Philippe Goulet-Ratelle from the SB. The first three cards out were the 9♣ 7♥ Q♠ and Petrangelo checked, giving Goulet-Ratelle the chance to bet 5,600. Petrangelo glanced up from his iPad and called, before going right back to the screen.

The turn was the Kâ™  . We’re not even sure he looked up, but Petrangelo checked again, as did Goulet-Ratelle this time. That brought us to the 2♥ river and now Petrangelo sprung to life, betting 13,700. That was enough to get the job done. Goulet-Ratelle now has 116,000, and Petrangelo has…God knows what. If I had to guess, I’d say 150,000.

If only he was as good at neat and tidy chip stacks as he as at typing on an iPad. –JS

6:49pm: Malone on the slide
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Stephen Malone had a great start to Day 2 and was the first player to pass the 300,000 mark. That must seem like a long time ago though as he lost a pot recently to drop to 60,000.

“I should’ve just folded,” he said to himself after he doubled up his neighbour Alexandre Rivero.

The pot started with a 5,000 middle position raise from Mickey Petersen. Malone flatted from the hijack before Rivero squeezed to 55,000 from the next seat along.

Petersen quickly moved out of the way to allow Malone time to think. Rivero only had 61,800 total so his re-raise was effectively a shove. Malone set him in and the cards were flipped up.

Malone: Aâ™  Qâ™ 
Rivero: A♦ K♥

The board ran 5♣ 4♥ J♦ 6â™  6♣ and Rivero’s big slick held up. — MC

6:48pm: Wang cracks Concepcion’s aces
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Kings do beat aces sometimes — nearly one in five times, say the odds — as a hand between Michael Wang and Jonathan “OMGjonyctt” Concepcion just proved once again.

Wang was all in with Kâ™  Kâ™  against Concepion’s A♣ A♥ , but a king on the flop helped Wang survive, doubling up to around 80,000. Concepcion now has 102,000. –MH

6:45pm: Adios
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Are you keeping up with all these? Because I’d hate to think I was wasting my time typing them all in. Here are the latest eliminations. The board shows 153 players left.

Out: Diogo Cardoso, Knut Karnapp, Stefano Terziani, Kitty Kuo, Mikko Turtiainen, Sam Greenwood, Adrian Gray, Marian Mitran. — HS

6:42pm: Nothing to Schopf at
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Martin Jacobson’s Main Event chances just took a serious turn for the worse. After Patrick Schopf opened from the button for 4,000, Jacobson raised to 12,600 from the small blind. Schopf then called.

The flop, which both players checked, came 10♠ 2♥ 7♥ . Then a turn card 7♠ . Jacobson bet another 15,000 which Schopf called for a 6♦ on the river.

It was at this point that Jacobson moved all in for about 70,000 more. Schopf tanked for a while, allowing those of us watching to figure he was moments away from folding. Far from it. He called with his last 36,000 chips.

Schopf showed Q♣ 10♣ and Jacobson moved his cards towards the dealer. But rules say in a situation such as this both players must show. K♥ 3♥ for Jacobson, now down to 17,600. Schopf meanwhile is up to 165,000. – SB

6:40pm: The fours are weak in this one
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Antoine Saout dropped to 96,000 after his pocket fours fared badly against the jacks of local lad Fergal Cawley.

The two had reached the turn where the board read K♥ 6♣ 7â™  5♣ and Saout checked from under the gun before calling a 15,000 bet from Cawley two seats along. The board completed with the 7♥ and both players checked. Cawley moved up to 200,000 after his J♣ Jâ™  was confirmed as the winner. — MC

6:35pm: Kapow! Karapanos KOs Karnapp
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

After Michail Karapanos raised and Michal Rudnik called, Knut Karnapp re-raised all in from the small blind for 46,000, then Karapanos re-raise-shoved for 61,400 total. Rudnik thought a short while before folding, then was visibly pleased at his decision once he saw the others’ hands.

Karnapp had a big one with A♣ K♦ , but Rudnik the biggest with A♥ A♦ . The 5♦ Q♥ 5♥ 10â™  6â™  runout meant Rudnik had won, and Karnapp — third-place finisher in the LAPT Bahamas event last month — wished the table well before departing.

Karapanos has 231,000 now while Rudnik is happy to have kept all of his 144,000. –MH

6:30pm: Boeree barreling
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Miguel Use opened for 5,500 from the small blind and Liv Boeree called from the big. Use then check-called three consecutive post-flop bets from the Team PokerStars Pro as the board came K♥ 6♥ 5♣ (Boeree bet 6,000), then 8♦ (she bet 15,500), and 6♠ (she bet 26,000).

With what did Boeree barrel? K♣ 6♦ for a full house, and Use mucked on the end. He has 44,000 now, while Boeree is up to 145,000. –MH

6.25pm: Wood worm for Christopher
Level 12 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Christopher Wood, who came third in UKIPT4 Dublin, has failed to find similar form this time in Dublin. He is out.

He was down to 24,000 when he three-bet all in from the hijack. Matias Ruzzi had opened to 4,000 from early position and made the call.

Ruzzi: K♠ Q♣
Wood: Qâ™  Jâ™ 

The board ran K♣ 6♥ 6♦ Q♥ 2♥ to make the Argentinian two pair. He moved up to 215,000 in chips. — MC

6:20pm: A no go for Kuo – it’s the Gong show
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Kitty Kuo is officially in the danger zone.

Jiachen Gong opened to 5,000 and had a plethora of callers – Kevin Killeen, Tim Adams, Kuo on the button, Adrian Gray in the small blind, and Simen Birkelund in the big.

The six players saw the J♥ Q♣ 8♠ flop come down, and both Gray and Birkelund checked to the raiser. Gong continued for 13,000 and it folded around to Kuo who called. Gray thought for a couple of minutes but eventually gave it up, and Birkelund mucked quickly.

Gong and Kuo went to the 6♦ and the former shoved with more chips than Kuo. She didn’t like giving it up but made the fold, and is now down to roughly 34,000, while Gong has 183,000. –JS

6:15pm: Latest despatch from the cemetery
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

As reported earlier, Kevin MacPhee is out and we’ve now lost another former EPT champion. Sebastian Pauli is also in the pile of slips of the damned. Latest bust outs:

Christopher Wood, Robert Heidorn, Joao Simao, Charlie Carrel, Kevin MacPhee, Yann Linka, Christopher George, Jesper Hoog, Michel Abecassis, Rafael da Silva Moraes, Ben Farrell, Adrian Attenborough, Walid Bou Habib, Dean Hutchison, Gianluca Escobar, Corey Hochman, Niels van Leeuwen, Jelcides Monteiro, Sebastian Pauli.

charlie_carrel_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

Charlie Carrel
 

6:10pm: Portaleoni’s kings hold versus Cody
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Rodrigo Portaleoni gets to keep his seat after just now surviving an all-in versus Jake Cody.

Portaleoni was at risk with K♦ Kâ™  versus the Team PokerStars Pro’s A♥ 10♥ , but a J♣ 5♥ 6♣ 7â™  3â™  was safe for the Italian and he moves to 56,000. Cody drops back to 47,000. –MH

6:05pm: Carrel falls to Bernies
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

He’s had a pretty incredible EPT Dublin so far, but Charlie Carrel has just been eliminated from the Main Event.

It started with a raise to 5,000 from Liv Boeree, which got a call from Adrian Mateos. Here’s when Carrel shoved on the button for his last 32,000. Gilles Bernies isolated and got Boeree and Mateos to fold and the cards were on their backs.

It was the 5♦ 5♥ for Carrel, but he was trailing the K♦ K♣ of Bernies and needed to hit. The board ran out 3♣ 9♦ 2â™  2♣ 6♣ and the 22-year-old prodigy couldn’t make it three big tournament scores in a row. Meanwhile, Bernies climbs to 304,000. –JS

6:02pm: “I’ll take it,” Greenwood says
Level 13 – Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

Ian Hunter opened from middle position, then Mikael Jean called from the small blind. Sam Greenwood followed by pushing his short stack in from the big blind, and both Hunter and Jean called.

Hunter and Jean then checked down the Qâ™  2♥ Q♣ flop, 10♦ turn, and 10♣ river, and Greenwood tabled his Aâ™  Kâ™  for two pair plus the ace kicker. That beat Hunter’s counterfeited 4♦ 4â™  and tied with Jean’s A♣ J♣ .

“I’ll take it,” Greenwood said afterwards, who now has 22,000. Hunter has 95,000, and Jean is up to 165,000. –MH


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6:00pm: MacPhee runs into aces
Level 13 – Blinds 1,000 – 2,000 (300 ante)

We have lost one former EPT champion from the field as Kevin MacPhee picked the wrong time to move all in.

There was a raise to 4,500 from Simen Birkelund, MacPhee then shoved for 29,200 from the cutoff and Jiachen Gong then called from the button. When action folded back to Birkelund he thought for about 30 seconds before folding.

MacPhee: K♣ Q♣
Gong: A♣ A♥

MacPhee knew he was in bad shape and he’d gathered his belongings and left the table by the time the turn of a 3â™  10â™  5♥ 8♦ 10♦ board was on the felt. –NW

5:55pm: Back
Level 12 – Blinds 1,000-2,000 (300 ante)

They have returned. And the news is that Mike McDonald has built his stack to about 300,000 now. — HS

mike_mcdonald_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

Mike McDonald
 

5:35pm: Break time!
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

It’s time for a 20-minute breather. — HS

5:30pm: Banic takes lead into the break
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Michel Abecassis fell to Ivan Banic just before the break to solidify his status as tournament chip leader.

Abecassis moved all in from the small blind for 24,100 and Banic called from the big blind with K♦ 7♣ . Abecassis opened J♠ Q♦ but the 2♣ 9♠ 8♠ K♣ 9♦ failed to come to his rescue.

ivan_banic_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

Ivan Banic
 

Top three stacks at the break:

Ivan Banic – 460,000
Anthony Zinno – 410,000
Adrien Allain – 320,000 — MC

5:28pm: An EPT at Bernies’
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

This table might be full of esteemed stars like Team PokerStars Pros Liv Boeree and Luca Pagano, as well as all-round sicko Charlie Carrel and EPT Grand Final champ Adrian Mateos, but right now Day 1A chip leader Gilles Bernies has way more than any of them.

We’ve seen him win plenty of pots today, and often without showdown. In one hand just now against Mateos, he check-raised Mateos’ 9,000 bet to 21,000 with the board showing 5â™  A♥ 6♣ 4â™  . He took it down and added to his stack, which now contains 210,000.

“Show one! I just want to see one, one time!” said Nicholas Palma. Bernies clearly has all the players intrigued. –JS

5:25pm: Killeen lives to fight another day
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

“Time on table 16” was the cry from the dealer so I scuttled over to see what was going on. Turns out Jiachen Gong had set Kevin Killeen all in for his final 30,000 on the turn of a 4♥ 4â™  J♥ 6♣ board.

While Killeen was thinking Kitty Kuo was kind enough to fill me in on the betting action. Pre-flop Gong had raised and Killeen had called in position. On the flop Gong had check-raised Killeen and then set him in on the turn.

There was no need for a countdown though as Killeen mucked his hand. –NW

5:22pm: Please accept my deepest tanks
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Kind of an interesting one to share involving Ofer Zvi Stern and David Vamplew. The story involves tanking, by the way.

Stern opened for 3,500 from early position, Vamplew called from the next seat, and the big blind came along as well. All checked the Q♣ 10♥ 10♠ flop and when Stern bet 5,000 on the 9♣ turn only Vamplew called. All of that took less than a minute.

The river brought the 8♣ and a relatively quick bet of 10,500 from Stern. Vamplew then made it 29,000.

Roll in the tank.

Stern took a few minutes deciding how to respond to Vamplew’s raise, starting out deep within his hood and eventually coming out of it to examine Vamplew’s stack, chat him up a bit, then count out and grab up calling chips.

In agony (it seemed), Stern held the chips up to his eye for a while, as though trying to see the answer within them. He then began holding them out before him a couple of times — a gesture one player afterwards suggested should have bound him to a call — and as he did one of the chips actually fell from his hand over the betting line.

At that Stern gave in, letting gravity determine his decision, and spilled the other chips along with it while saying he had actually wanted to fold. He knew it was a call, and there was kind of a collective exhale all around when Stern showed K♦ J♣ , Vamplew K♥ J♦ , and as both had king-high straights they chopped the pot.

The floor was called over afterwards to answer a theoretical — would it be a call if someone held chips out as Stern did? The floor said there’d be a warning to the player to stop doing so, and that depending on the situation a player could potentially be so bound.

Stern has 155,000 at present and Vamplew 115,000. And the table has a topic to discuss for another hand or three. –MH

5:20pm: Ruzzi on a roll
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Yang Zhang opened for 3,600 on the button, getting callers from Matias Ruzzi in the small blind and Adrian Buckley, who wears a kind of comic strip hoodie, in the big.

The flop came 9â™  7♥ 2♣ . The blinds checked to Zhang who didn’t realise for a minute. When he did he bet 5,000, which both Ruzzi and Buckley called.
The turn came 5â™  . This was checked all round for a Qâ™  river card. Ruzzi checked to Buckley who bet 17,000. That forced a fold from Zhang. Ruzzi paused, then called.

10♦ 8â™  and a busted straight draw for Buckley, Aâ™  Q♣ and top pair for Ruzzi, who moves up to 175,000. Zhang and Buckley drop to 52,000 and 37,000 respectively. – SB

5:18pm: Queens for an EPT Queen
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Former EPT Sanremo champion Liv Boeree has got back to a six-figure stack after winning a battle of the blinds versus another player who has an EPT title, Adrian Mateos.

The action folded around to the Team PokerStars Pro in the small blind and she put in a raise. Mateos called to a K♦ 4â™  5♥ flop where he raised Boeree’s 4,300 continuation-bet up to 12,000. Boeree tanked for several minutes before electing to call. No more chips found their way into the middle as the 4♥ 6♣ turn and river were checked through.

liv_boeree_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

Liv Boeree
 

Boeree opened Qâ™  Q♦ and moved up to 102,000 after Mateos mucked, dropping to 66,000. — MC

5:16pm: Another raft of eliminations
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

About 189 players remain in this event as the bust-outs continue. The latest to fall are the following: Toby Joyce, Jamie O’Connor, Vincent Lahalle, Slaven Popov, Rafael Porzecanski, Aurelie Quelain, Idris Ambraisse, Kyle Frey, Joel Micka, Mahmood Rasheed, Kamram Aliyev, Francois Billard, Jeff Gross, Bart Verbanck, Victor Begara, Johannes de Vries, Sandrine Zeitoun, Czeslaw Szerszen, Walter Treccarichi, Ronan Gilligan, Steven van Zadelhoff, Olof Haglund, Guillaume Diaz, Tomas Geleziunas, Oliver Morelato, Ross Loggie, Bruno Lima, Ilan Hannich, Fuad Serhan, Guy Tomaselli, Thomas Miller.

By this time tomorrow, we’ll be deep in the money. Only 87 players get paid. — HS

5:15pm: The look of Moorman
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

You know how you can just feel when someone is looking at you? Well we can just feel when Chris Moorman is looking to four-bet.

On a flop of 4♥ 2♥ 3â™  and with 16,500 already in the middle, Moorman led for an even 10,000 into garishly-hoodied US player Adrian Buckley. Buckley is clearly a brave man as he opted to three-bet Moorman – a min-raise to 20,000.

And here’s where we just sensed it. It took a few minutes, but there it was. A four-bet to 45,000.

Moorman took it down, and is now sitting with 172,500. –JS

5:10pm: Welcome to the Emerald Isle for the Red Dragon
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

We don’t see Raiden Kan very often in Europe, but he is one of Macau’s best known tournament players and a legend on the APPT. The vast majority of his near $900,000 tournament winnings have come on that tour.

Kan is over here in Dublin this week, however, and has about 230,000 chips in the Main Event today. He has come 15th, 11th and 15th in the three side events he has played to date, so is clearly in the zone. — HS

5:07pm: Dzmitry Doublanovich
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Moments after that hand with Elky (see below), Urbanovich found himself in a big preflop all-in confrontation with Aurelie Quelain who is sitting between those two.

dzmitry_urbanovich_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

Dzmitry Urbanovich: Double up
 

Quelain had picked up A♦ K♣ , but unfortunately for her Urbanovich had woken up with A♥ A♣ , and after a K♥ 4♥ 7â™  7♥ Q♥ the Polish pro had suddenly doubled back to about 100,000 even. Meanwhile Quelain falls to less than 10,000. –MH

5:05pm: T-(turn) Rex
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Artem Litvinov, in his first appearance on the EPT for some time, opened for 3,400 under the gun. Next to him was Jarrod Rex who called, as did Ivan Deyra in the big blind. The saw a flop: 4♠ A♥ A♣ .

Deyra checked to Litvinov who bet 5,800. Rex called while Deyra got out of their way before the 6♥ turn. Litvinov, playing a stack of around 90,000, checked this time. Rex, playing about the same, bet 12,500.

Litvinov didn’t fold immediately, but instead looked at his cards once more before pausing in thought for a minute. But he’d play no further part.
Rex up to around 100,000. – SB

5:03: Petersen is jack the lad
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Team Online’s Mickey Petersen won a hand versus Tudor Purice to see his stack rise to 140,000.

He opened from under the gun and picked up two callers including Purice in the big blind. The flop fanned 10♦ 8♥ 2♦ and Petersen continued for 5,500. Only Purice check-called before both checked the Q♦ turn. The board completed with the 4♦ and Petersen opened J♦ J♥ for a flush after his 10,000 bet was called. Purice mucked and his stack dropped to 100,600. — MC

5:01pm: 2014 WSOP Main Event champion doubles up
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

I arrived at the table to see the hand already over but the facts were laid bare for all to see. Martin Jacobson had been all in and at risk for 51,600 with pocket queens and Sven Magirius had tried to send him home with A♦ K♣ . Magirius failed. The board ran 4♥ 2♠ 4♠ 10♠ Q♣ board. -NW

martin_jacobson_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

Martin Jacobson
 

Sven Magirius, 125,000
Martin Jacobson, 107,200


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5pm: ElkY and Dzmitry wowing the crowd
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Dzmitry Urbanovich opened for 3,500 from the button and earned a couple of callers in Aurelie Quelain (small blind) and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (big blind).

The flop fell 6♠ 2♣ 3♦ , and it checked to Urbanovich who continued for 5,500 and only ElkY stuck around. Both players then checked the A♦ turn.

The river brought the K♣ and ElkY checked. Urbanovich took a few seconds, then pushed out a bet of 7,200. The Team PokerStars Pro thought a short while, then removed the green alien figure sitting atop his chips, dug out enough to call, and set them forward.

elky_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

ElkY: Calling light, right
 

Urbanovich tabled 8♦ 5♦ — he’d flopped a gutshot and turned a flush draw, but neither had come. Then ElkY showed his hand — 7♦ 2♦ .

“Wow!” said Or Hadad, sitting to Grospellier’s left.

“Wow,” he added. Then one more time: “Wow.”

ElkY’s fifth pair was good, and he’s now at about 101,000 while Urbanovich has roughly half that with right at 50,000. –MH

4:55pm: O’Dwyer climbing higher
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Brazil’s Joao Baumgarten opened to 3,500 on the button – a particularly scary proposition considering the man in the big blind is none other than Steve O’Dwyer.

It folded to O’Dwyer and he made the call, taking us to the 2â™  5♦ Q♥ flop, which he’d then check. Baumgarten continued for 4,000 but O’Dwyer went nowhere, so the dealer burned and turned the A♣ . Both checked, and the river was the 9♣ . Now O’Dwyer took the aggressive route – as he so often does – with a bet of 4,800, which was enough to take it down.

The next hand saw O’Dwyer pick up a tiny blind vs blind pot against Scott Margereson, so O’Dwyer is now up to 120,000, while Baumgarten has 136,000. –JS

4:54pm: Kamatakis the newest Twitch star?
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

PokerStars qualifier Iliodoros Kamatakis’ first ever recorded cash was way back on Season 4 of the EPT, where finished 19th in the Main Event for €12,650. He’s been a regular on the tour ever since then and is also a regular grinder of the high stakes tournaments on PokerStars.

He’s cashed in five different events during this season alone, including a career high score of €180,890 for a fifth place finish in the €10k High Roller at EPT Prague. Those results have helped get his career winnings up to $625,961. He’s looking good to add to that total as well as he’s increased his stack to 170,000 today.

The man from Greece has a big persona as well so it’s no surprise to see him start broadcasting his game on Twitch. He streams while playing on PokerStars under the handle “ILIOS72”, so go check him out for some top-level poker and maybe some Greek humour. — MC

4:50pm: Things tipping Zinno and Petrangelo’s way
Level 12 – Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

We’ve checked all sides of Table 11 and can confirm it is not tilted in any way. That said, the chips do seem to be sliding down to the end where Anthony Zinno and Nick Petrangelo are sitting side by side.

Petrangelo just picked up another pot after rivering a flush and earning a few chips off of Adrian Attenborough. He’s up to 168,000 here in the first part of Level 12.

Meanwhile Zinno is now sitting behind 285,000, one of the bigger stacks in the room at present with 207 players remaining. –MH

4:45pm: Kisacikoglu goes head to Akenhead
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Orpen Kisacikoglu is back in the Main Event action today after taking a break for €10,300 Single-Day High Roller yesterday, and he’s sporting the same funky look he had then: a woolly ski bobble hat, and a thin scarf covering all but his eyes.

We just found him in a pot with James Akenhead, who’d opened to 3,400. Kisacikoglu then three-bet to 8,000 and it folded around to Felipe Ramos in the big blind. He clearly had a tough decision on his hands – with 24,000 in play, would he choose this time to make a move?

He eventually opted to give it up, and Akenhead made the call. The two saw the 7♠ Q♠ A♦ flop and Akenhead checked, allowing Kisacikoglu to continue for 6,500.

Akenhead didn’t take long to call and chucked in calling chips. To the river we went – the 10♥ . Akenhead checked again, and Kisacikoglu bet 15,000 which would be enough to scoop the lot. He’s up to 87,000, while Akenhead is still looking strong with 122,000. –JS

4:35pm: Deuces are good
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Jelcides Monteiro opened from under the gun for 3,500. Nick Petrangelo was on the button and called for a flop of 10♥ 9♣ 6♥ , which both players checked.
On the 10â™  turn Monteiro bet 3,000. Petrangelo paused and then went for his chips, raising to 8,800 which Monteiro called. That was the end of the betting, with the 4♣ checked both ways. Monteiro turned over Aâ™  J♥ but Petrangelo’s 2â™  2♥ was good.

Monteiro down to 122,000 while Petrangelo moves up to 165,000. – SB

4:30pm: Cody too slick for Wang
Level 12 – Blinds 800-1,600 (200 ante)

Jake Cody is up to around 115,000 after doubling up through Michael Wang. The action was started by Jonathan Concepcion and he raised from under-the-gun. The Team PokerStars Pro three-bet to 10,600, Wang four-bet to 24,000, Concepcion folded, Cody moved all in for 54,200 and Wang called.

Cody: A♠ K♥
Wang: J♣ J♦

It was a classic race and it was one Cody won as the board ran 10♣ K♠ 2♥ 7♥ A♥ . -NW

Jake Cody, 115,000
Michael Wang, 60,400

4:25pm: Serhan the gent
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Good grace at the point of elimination is not exactly in the job description of a high stakes poker player, but it seldom goes unnoticed when it happens.

Fuad Serhan has been playing the EPT for several years now, cashing as recently as Prague last December. Back then he’d been eliminated from the Main Event, departing with a kindness towards the victor and the rest of his table that struck me as unusual.

Well, he just did the same again when his pocket nines were undone by his opponent’s ace on the turn. And while he might have been inwardly annoyed his Main Event campaign was over prematurely, that was still no reason for anything other than good natured encouragement to people who were no doubt secretly glad another player had busted before them.

Like we said, it’s not much, and you can get along just fine in this game without it. But everyone likes a good sport. Serhan is one of them. – SB

4:20: Great timing for Ruzzi
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Of course it helps getting big hands in poker, but what really helps is getting one at the same time as someone else.

That’s what happened over on table 15 as after a raise to 2,700 from the hijack, Chris Moorman raised to 6,500 from the cutoff, Tomas Geleziunas then four-bet to 13,100 from the button but the action didn’t stop there.

Matias Ruzzi was in the big blind and he studied the table before moving all-in for 50,700. There followed two folds but Geleziunas had less than Ruzzi and he committed the rest of his chips.

Ruzzi: K♣ K♦
Geleziunas: Aâ™  Kâ™ 

The Lithuanian had one over card to hit but he didn’t get there on the 5♣ 6♦ 4♦ 6♥ K♥ board. –NW

4:10pm: Treys for Thiago
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Thiago Crema De Macedo’s shoulders slumped a little. A non-verbal indicator of disappointment, a common occurrence at the poker table that is easily readable to all.

Such tells are easier to decipher, of course, once all the decisions in a hand have been made. That was the case here as De Macedo had already pushed all in for about 16,000 from the button and watched Oliver Morelato call all in for almost that much from the next seat over.

The shoulder-slumping came after De Macedo showed his 3♣ 3♥ and Morelato K♣ K♥ . Then came the flop — 8♦ 10♦ 3â™  ! — and now it was Morelato exhibiting those non-verbal signs of disappointment. He stood and began collecting his things as the 8♣ turn and 9♥ sealed his fate, only pausing for a recheck of the stacks to ensure that indeed he was eliminated.

De Macedo is still in with about 32,000. And sitting upright. –MH

4:05pm: Poker – a game the whole family can enjoy
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)

This is pretty rare to find on Day 2 of an EPT Main Event: an eight-handed family pot!

Nikolaus Teichert opened to 2,500 under-the-gun and Fernando Brito called. Then Paul-Francois Tedeschi called. Then Edouard Mignot called. Then Guy Goossens called. Then Richard Dubini called on the button. Then Christopher George called from the small blind. And finally, Mazin Khoury called from the big blind.

That makes eight to us! It was a full-on family affair to the flop, which was the 6â™  4â™  A♦ . We had nine checks and saw the 9♥ on the turn. Teichert checked and then we had a little action – a bet of 2,000 from Brito. Tedeschi gave it up, but Mignot called. It folded around to Khoury who called, and Teichert gave it up.

The river was the 6♣ , pairing the board. Brito checked and Mignot checked behind. Surprisingly we had two big hands – K♥ K♦ for Brito and J♥ J♦ for Mignot. Brito scooped the pot and is now up to 95,000 – but with those hands, how did we manage to see a eight-handed flop!

I guess you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family pots. –JS

4:05pm: Boeree bounces Bruno
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Bruno Kawauti open-pushed his last 14,900 from early position and it folded around to Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree in late position. Boeree got a look at the amount of the push and made the call, and everyone else stepped aside.

Kawauti tabled J♥ J♦ but had run into Boeree’s A♥ A♣ . The board came K♦ 10♣ 9♥ to give Kawauti a gutshot straight draw, but the turn was the 9â™  and river the 7♦ and the Brazilian is out.

Boeree is up to 92,000 after collecting that pot. –MH

4pm: Everybody wants that man, Stephen Malone
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Last night’s leader Francisco De Oliveira just lost a pot that at the same time put his opponent Stephen Malone back on course to be among the leaders, and the target for everyone.

De Oliveira opened for 2,700 from middle position, which Malone called from the big blind for a flop of 4♦ 2♦ A♠ . De Oliveira bet again, making it 3,000 which Malone called for a 7♠ turn card.

The pattern continued, with De Oliveira betting another 7,000 which again, Malone called. The river was the 8♣ . De Oliveira checked and Malone did the same by simply turning over his A♣ J♣ .

De Oliveira drops slightly to around 180,000, while Malone is now back up to a stack of 210,000. – SB


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3:55pm: Just keep falling
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

It is a non-stop procession to the exit today, with the following now departed too:

Eli Heath, Riku Koiverinne, Antal Roth, David Maudlin, George Danzer, Darrell Goh, Jasper Wetemans, Simon Persson, Andreas Samuelsson, Jonathan Gray, Martin Guth, Julien Rouxel, Athanasios Fergiatakis, Max Greenwood, Harpreet Gill, Tom Hall, Charles Chattha, Benjamin Dadon, Daryll Fish, Joe Mouawad, Miguel Iglesias, Thomas Finneran, Danny van Zijp, Vojtech Ruzicka, Jeremy Wray, Sergio Castellucio, Thomas Boivin, Anton Bertilsson. — HS

3:50pm: Big laydown from Ramos, Marchi marches on
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Felipe “Mojave” Ramos just faced a big decision for his tournament life in a hand against Davide Marchi.

It started with an under-the-gun raise from Ramos to 2,600, which was folded around to Marchi on the button who asked Ramos how much he was playing. He said, “About 38,000.” He had three-bet to 7,500 and the blinds got out of the way. Ramos made the call and we went to the flop.

The 6♥ 6♦ K♦ was dealt by the dealer and Ramos checked to the pre-flop 3-bettor. Marchi continued for 6,100, and Ramos made the call again – not insignificant as he now just had around 24,000 behind. The turn was the J♦ , which both players opted to check. So, we saw the Q♦ on the river, and Ramos checked once more.

“All in,” Marchi said, putting Ramos to the test. With a paired board and flush draw out there, it was a scary set of community cards. After a minute or so Ramos begrudgingly laid it down, showing his Qâ™  Kâ™  for two pair. Marchi gave nothing away as to the strength of his hand, and just started stacking chips.

He now was 112,000, while Ramos has 24,000. –JS

3:44pm: Greenwood gives, Samuelsson survives
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Following Andreas Samuelsson’s open-push for 22,800 from the cutoff, Sam Greenwood considered for a few moments before calling from the button, and the blinds scattered.

It was a race as Samuelsson had Q♦ Q♣ and Greenwood A♥ K♣ . An ace did come among the community cards, but so did a queen to give Samuelsson a saving set and a double to about 48,000. Greenwood meanwhile sits with about 65,000. –MH

3:35pm: Two KOs with KK for Piotrowski
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Harpreet Gill raised, Max Greenwood three-bet, Przemyslaw Piotrowski jammed, Gill called all in, and Greenwood called all in as well.

The cause for such enthusiasm? Pocket pairs all around:

Gill: 10♦ 10♠
Greenwood: J♣ J♥
Piotrowski: K♦ K♥

Piotrowski’s kings were best at the start, and after a 2â™  5♥ 2♦ 6♦ A♦ runout it was the best at the end as well, earning Piotrowski the pot and reducing the field by two.

Piotrowski is right at 100,000 now. –MH

3:30pm: Moorman eliminates Fergiatakis, up to 180,000
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)

On Sunday Chris Moorman took his lifetime online tournament winnings over the $13,000,000 mark. Today he’s making sterling progress in the Main Event as he’s up 180,000 – more than double average – after eliminating Athanasios Fergiatakis.

I missed the pre-flop action but on a 2♠ K♦ A♠ flop Moorman bet 4,500 and Fergiatakis check-called. The 10♠ fell on the turn, Fergiatakis checked again, Moorman bet, Fergiatakis moved all-in for looked like around 25,000 and Moorman instantly called.

chris_moorman_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

Chris Moorman
 

He showed Q♠ 9♠ and Fergiatakis went to muck his hand, but as this was an all-in the dealer was duty bound to expose it and she turned it over to show that Fergiatakis was drawing dead with K♥ 8♥ .

The meaningless 2♦ completed the board. -NW

Chris Moorman, 179,000
Athanasios Fergiatakis, 0

3:25pm: Vogelsang on song
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

After an open raise for 2,600, Christoph Vogelsang three-bet to 7,200. Darryll Fish was in the cutoff and moved all-in for 23,200. Benjamin Dadon thought to himself “I was going to do that!” and also shoved, for 38,200. That was enough to force a fold from the original raiser.

The action was back on Vogelsang. He looked at his cards again to check that they were both still red, and both still aces. They were. He called.

Vogelsang: A♦ A♥
Fish: 10♠ 10♦
Dadon: Qâ™  Q♦ 3â™  3♦ 8â™  7♣ to send two players to the rail and Vogelsang up to 140,000. – SB

3:20pm: Wray sent away
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Former soccer club chairman Jeremy Wray — about whom we were writing earlier in the afternoon — found himself ground down almost to nothing a short while ago before staging a comeback of sorts. It was enough to impress Iliodoros Kamatakis sitting across the table.

“From 700 to 10,000… more that 10,000! How do you do it?” asked Kamatakis, and Wray just shook his head. He’d just doubled up again through Riku Koivurinne with K♥ J♦ versus Koivurinne’s K♦ Q♥ , spiking a jack on the turn to stay alive.

jeremy_wray_ept12_dublin_day2.jpg

Jeremy Wray
 

Soon enough Kamatakis would get a chance to test Wray’s luck himself after the latter moved all in from early position for his last 11,400 and Kamatakis called from the button. Wray had A♦ J♥ this time while Kamatakis showed K♣ K♥ .

The nine-high board didn’t help Wray any, though, and his luck ran out. He wished the table well, and now Kamatakis is stacking about 145,000. –MH

3:10pm: Up to the Gill
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Max Greenwood is down to a little more than 20 big blinds after he called the all-in of Harpreet Gill.

On a flop of 6♣ 7♥ 4♦ Gill checked the big blind ahead of a raise from Greenwood, who then called when Gill shoved.

A♦ 10♣ for Greenwood
7♣ 4♥ for Gill

The turn came 3â™  and the river Q♣ to double up Gill and leave both players on roughly 27,000. — SB

3:20pm: Winsor more than doubles up
Level 11 – Blinds 600-1,200 (200 ante)

By the time I joined the table significant action had already taken place. Ben Winsor had raised, Regis Burlot had re-raised to 20,000 from a stack of 24,000 (so was essentially all-in), Czeslaw Szerszen had called the 20,000 and action was now back on Winsor.

He took a few seconds then announced all in. Burlot shoveled the rest of his chips over the line and Szerszen then asked for a count of Winsor’s shove. The Brit was all in for 40,800 and it was too much for Szerszen to call.

Winsor: K♠ K♣
Burlot: 9♣ 9♦

The 7♥ 6♣ 2♥ 2â™  10♦ board missed Burlot and he’s out, while Winsor is now up to around 87,000. –NW

3:10pm: In the land of the blinds, the cut off raiser is king
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

More chips for Sam Greenwood who is now up to around 85,000.

He raised from the cutoff, making it 3,000 which was called by Guillaume Diaz and Carlos Chadha in the blinds.

The flop came Qâ™  4♦ 7♦ which was checked all round for a 10â™  turn card. That was checked as far as Greenwood who bet 8,200. More than enough to win the hand. – SB

3:05pm: A flurry of Level 11 eliminations
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Level 11 has started with a bang and the following players are no longer welcome in this tournament:

Antonio Battaglia, Regis Burlot, Parker Talbot, Matthieu Lamagnere, Piero Guido, Ilan Boujenah, Adrian Apmann, Jarkko Mammela, Mark Radoja, Seamus Cahill, Jason Mercier, Scott Stanko, Michael Gathy, Marius Gierse, Atanas Kavrakov, Iulian Nastase, Simon Scheiflinger, Derek Chisholm and Gerardus Englebert.

2:57pm: Level 11 begins
Level 11 – Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ante)

Players are back from the day’s first break and cards are in the air once again. The big board says there are 261 of them remaining. –MH

2:50pm: Who’s going to win?
Level 10 – Blinds: 500-1,000 (100 ante)

I don’t know. But it won’t be any of this lot, that’s for sure:

John Clark, Diego Zeiter, Yen Chen, Evangelos Chatziioannou, Ondrej Vinklarek, Kelvin Kerber, Leon Viellevoije, Dirk Gerritse, Marian Fridrich, Preben Stokkan, Patrick Leonard, Arthur Conan, Robert Sampson, Michael Hill, Adam Picken, Eoin O’Shea, Tommi Etelaeperae, Clement Thumy, Kristof Coenen, Carter Swidler, Alex Lindop, Jonathan Reynolds, Giorgios Zisimopoulos, Gareth Chantler.

They are all out. — HS

2:40pm: Break time
Level 10 – Blinds: 500-1,000 (100 ante)

That’s the end of Level 10 and players are heading for a break. We’ll take a look at some big stacks and get the counts page updated as soon as.

Click through for previous coverage from Day 2 of EPT Dublin.


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Take a look at the official website of the EPT, with tournament schedule, news, results and accommodation details for the rest of the season.

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PokerStars Blog reporting team on the EPT12 Dublin Main Event: Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Martin Harris, Howard Swains and Nick Wright. A fine bunch of strays. Photography by Neil Stoddart. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog.

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