Day two of the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final is now under way in the Salle des Etoiles, and although none of us can yet write that full title without resorting to copy/paste, we are certainly getting used to being in Monaco this week. The tournament is through its early stages and we’re heading into what will be a compelling day two.
There are amazing tables still scattered across the room (click through for the full seat draw) and there are some big players wielding some big stacks. The man with the most, Victor Sbrissa, is showing no signs of fatigue despite playing all the way to the title in Sao Paolo last week, hopping on a plane and flying half way around the world to be here. He is redefining the idea of playing the rush.
Right from the off today, the EPT Live cameras will be broadcasting the action. Daniel Negreanu is kicking things off on the studio stage, where he is apparently single handedly expected to battle of a Russian invasion. He has Artem Litvinov, Konstantin Puchkov and Vladimir Troyanovskiy around him, a host of high rollers from one of the undisputed poker powers.
Just below the stage, on the secondary feature table, we find Victoria Coren, Fatima Moreira de Melo and Tatiana Barausova all on the same table, plus Felipe Ramos, Isaac Haxton and Bruno “Kool Shen” Lopes. That’s a Team Pro (Coren) a Team Sportstar (Moreira de Melo), two Team Online members (Barausova and Haxton), a Brazilian heavyweight (Ramos) and a French rapper (Shen/Lopes). At least that’s how it started, but Moreira de Melo was eliminated during the first orbit. It’ll be that kind of day.
The final numbers for the tournament were revealed and confirmed last night. There were 108 players on Day 1A, followed by 423 on Day 1B for a total field of 531. We started today with 268 remaining, which is almost precisely half the original list. At that rate, we should get down to about 120 players by the end of today, leaving a chase for the money on day three. We are yet to hear the precise breakdown of the tournament pool, but will certainly have it by the end of the day.
A quick note on how to follow our coverage of the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final. Head to the main EPT Monaco page, where you will find hand-by-hand coverage from the tables in the panel at the top of the page, which also includes current chip counts.
Our feature coverage can be found below the panel, including the latest from the side events. And don’t forget EPT Live, which is now live at PokerStars.tv.
The likelihood is that we’ll play six 75-minute levels here, without a dinner break, which will take us through to about 8.10pm, give or take unavoidable delays. Strap in.
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