Friday, 29th March 2024 06:24
Home / Uncategorized / Domantas Klimciauskas seizes lead at EPT Copenhagen
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It’s been an exciting day in Copenhagen; crowds of people, tension, bundles of nervous energy and stakes as high as they’ll go. Yes, it’s Champions League night in the Danish capital, with the local club taking on the mighty Chelsea FC of the English Premier League for a place in the quarter finals of the world’s richest club football tournament. By strange coincidence the world’s richest poker tour was also in town.

Today featured the second Day 1 flight of the European Poker Tour Main Event in Denmark. Some 235 players arrived at the SAS Radisson Hotel amid snow flurries, reduced to 129 after eight one-hour levels. Lithuanian player Domantas Klimciauskas sits atop the chip count page, bagging up 203,800 tonight.

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Chip leader Domantas Klimciasukas

Klimciauskas takes the overall lead at the end of Day 1B, his stack easily beating that of his opposite number, Day 1A chip leader Mark Hirleman who bagged up 163,400 yesterday.

There were others who finished ahead of Hirleman today, including American Michael Aron, who closed on 191,000 and Ramzi Jelassi, who bags up 169,200. Jelassi’s performance pivoted on his elimination of Team PokerStars Pro Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom, his aces sailing past Blom’s flush draw to leave the Swede in good stead for his return tomorrow.

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Ramzi Jelassi

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Viktor “Isildur1” Blom

While some may have been eying tonight’s football match (several players did indeed leave early to get to the game, leaving their stacks to be blinded off), others set a more professional standard, amassing fighting stacks with which to do damage tomorrow when the two Day 1 fields combine.

They include the likes of Sven Vestø on 127,500, Pernille Ravn on 106,500, Jonathan Weekes on 104,500, Josh Prager on 80,200, Jake Cody on 67,600 and Xuan Lui on 48,700.

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Xuan Liu

Team PokerStars Pros will also be among those returning. JP Kelly finished on 73,600, Florian Langmann on 47,700, Toni Judet on 45,800, John Duthie on 29,000 and Vadim Markushevski on 22,800.

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John Duthie

There were a little more than 100 eliminations today, their only consolation being first dibs at the 7 o’clock buffet in the player lounge. Among those tucking in were William Thorson, Fatima Moreira de Melo, Rasmus Nielsen and Joe Ebanks, all defeated today, as were former EPT winners David Vamplew, Sebastian Ruthenberg and Toby Lewis. Rumours that Viktor Blom turned sandwiches into steaks are completely unfounded.

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Fatima Moreira de Melo

That brings an end to today’s action. A complete list of chip counts of those surviving today will be available on the official chip count page as soon as they are made available by tournament staff. In the meantime you can find all the detail, the stories and the key hands from the day at the links below.

Level 1 & 2 updates
Level 3 & 4 updates
Level 5 & 6 updates
Level 7 & 8 updates

That’s your Day 1B then. Our thanks as always to our foreign friends blogging in German and Swedish, with particular thanks to our Dutch blogger, who doesn’t even like cricket, and who put up with our childish jeers as England beat Holland in the cricket World Cup. Thanks also to photographer Neil Stoddart for all the images from today.

Thanks also to the video blog team, who wrap up the day in the video below…

Join us again tomorrow for Day 2 and that explosive period in the few minutes after the start during which everyone goes crazy.

Until tomorrow then, come on The Lions.

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