It’s not unusual for a page of EPT notes to dazzle, with every other name underlined in red as the spell checker overheats. While you’re at it try telling Microsoft Word that the word “raised” makes total sense.
That rule applied to several chip leaders on the opening day in Berlin, including tonight’s overall leader Kfir Yumin from Israel, whose late surge netted him a final count of 213,500 tonight and the honour of first player to lead in Berlin.
Day 1A chip leader Kfir Yumin
In second, and some way back, was Rachid Ben Cherif on 163,800 and Carlos Oliviera of Portugal finished in third with 158,500, each now destined to have their names “Added to Dictionary” as they enter day two.
It was a good day for the Ukrainian contingent. Sergiy Baranov counted himself among the early leaders, closing on 88,500, while his countryman Ruslan Prydryk, whose name last messed up touch typing at EPT Warsaw last October, closed on 150,000.
Ruslan Prydryk
They were not alone in enjoying the stale, warming Berliner Luft inside the crowded Grand Hyatt tournament area that turned a field of 389 into fewer than 200. George Danzer, playing on home soil, led the charge of the Team PokerStars Pros, his joy the type normally reserved for Technicolor musicals.
George Danzer
Others fared well to middling, returning on Thursday in varying degrees of security.
Sleeping soundly tonight are Michael Huber, Tore Lukashaugen, Grigory Torosyan, Benjamin Kang and Vlad Zguba. While those reaching for last cigarettes, the phone, meditation mats and loving shoulders include Vicky Coren, Sebastian Ruthenberg, and Katja Thater.
Vlad Zguba
Of the PokerStars lot Johannes Steindl, Thomas Bichon, Tom McEvoy and Arnaud Mattern busted today, Mattern departing with a less than cryptic “I’m out, pass the word” message for his documenters at the PokerStars Blog. Others did the same without so much as a cheerio.
Arnaud Mattern
Regardless, that’s your day 1A. Why not recreate the entire day from the point of view of a railbird trying to talk their way into the tournament area passed the Grand Hyatt security. Simply click on the links below, leave your house, cross the street and try to spot your computer screen through the front window.
Now for those links I mentioned…
The first really big one
Levels one and two
Levels three and four
Levels five and six
Levels seven, eight and nine
Working nicely with those are the official chip counts which will be made available here once tournament staff can stomach the mountain of chip bags that need to be logged on a spreadsheet before bedtime.
Our thanks go to Neil Stoddart who brought us today’s photography, also to our sister blogs written in German, Swedish and Dutch, the authors of which may or may not have been talking about us in bad ways while we worked alongside them.
That’s it. Nine levels done and another nine ahead of us tomorrow that will feature the likes of defending EPT Germany champion Sandra Naujoks, William Thorson, Jan Heitmann, Johnny Lodden, new boy Julian Thew, Luca Pagano, Marcel Luske and Johannes Strassmann. Add to that mix PokerStars SportStars Boris Becker, Fatima de Melo and TV presenter/author Charlotte Roche.
EPT Berlin got off to tremendous start today, and should, if tradition holds true, ramp it up again tomorrow. Find out by how much at 12 noon on Wednesday.
From Berlin then, it’s good night.
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