European Deepstack Poker Championship III

It's over!

2010-02-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

Roberto raises, Frederic ships, Robert calls with 66 and just needs to stay ahead of the KhTh of Frederic. Flop is all clear coming 3-3-4 but the Turn hits the table like a tonne of bricks with the King crashing down. Frederic Brunet is the 2009 European Deepstack Open Champion with Roberto Salatiello coming a well deserved second.

Congratulations to all who cashed this year and thank you all for making this event a resounding success.

From me, good night and good morning.

We'll be posting up the full classifications as soon as we can!

To and Fro

2010-02-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

There's been some raising and reraising preflop to take a few pots down in this battle. Frederic looks to have assumed control once again after taking over 2 million off Robert in as many hands! Blinds 120k/240k .

Robert: 4.5m
Frederic: 18.5m

Heads Up

2010-02-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

Frederic Brunet has just knocked out Pussait Gregory from Belgium in 3rd place. Pussait got his stack in good with KK but Frederic managed to hit a set on the flop with his 99! Frederic now has over 20m in chips compared to the 3m of the Roberto Salatiello.

Best of luck guys.

Bomber Explodes

2010-02-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

Thomas "Bomber" Nolan is the 4th place finishing player. With blinds at 100k/200k, Frederic Brunet shoves his button and gets called by Thomas with Ace-Ten. Frederic has AQ. Flop is J7J. Turn 6. Bomber needs a Ten but another Jack on the river means Frederic takes over the commanding lead in this tournament and sends Thomas Nolan to the rails.

Back after break

2010-02-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

Players just back from a quick 10 minute fag break. 4 left. 100k/200k A:20K

Willie Clynes is currently heads up in one of the side events.

4 left

2010-02-07T20:06:00.000-08:00

Ali Yagzhi is our 5th place finisher. He shoves for 2m under the gun and finds a caller in the form of Pissaunt Gregory. It's Kings for Gregory and Fours for Ali. Flop is 9-5-8, the turn is another 5 and neither of Ali's two outs hit on the river. 4 players remain. Frederic Brunet and Thomas Nolan share the lead.

Status

2010-02-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Blinds just about to go up to 100k/200k. 5 remain. Bomber is chipleader with close to 10m in play

Down to 5

2010-02-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

2 eliminations to quickly report on. Firstly Mustafa Capon's short shove was called by Gregory Puissant. It was 99 was Mustafa and KJ for Gregory. Flop comes Jack high and despite having to sweat a straight draw on the river, Gregory held on to knock out Mustafa in 7th place.

2 hands later, Thomas Nolan calls the all-in of Rupam Pal. Bomber has QJ while Rupam has A9. The flop is somewhat favourable for Thomas as he flops a boat; Q-Q-J. The turn is a 3 meaning Rupam is drawing stone cold dead and exits in 6th.

Thomas is now once again the massive chipleader after helping double up a few shorties over the past while.

Down to 8

2010-02-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

Jason Tompkins has become the latest victim of the Bomber. Thomas raises to 460k UTG and then has Jason Tompkins go all-in from the SB. It's not much more and Thomas calls with Ah3h which is ahead of Jason's Qs9h. The flop comes Q-5-2 which puts Jason into the lead but a 4 on the turn gives Thomas his straight. Jason is gone in 8th place.

You've just been bombered

2010-02-07T18:35:00.001-08:00

On a board that reads 7c7h3s, Thomas Nolan bets 400k. He's minraised to 800k by Ali Yaghzi and Bomber makes the call. We see a turn of the 2c and Bomber checks. Ali bets 1.2m and Thomas announces all-in. Ali folds. Thomas shows A5 for ace-high and the gutshot. "You've just been bombered" he announces to Ali.

Thomas now has about 10m chips.

3 million pot goes to Bomber

2010-02-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

Once again I tried to bluff the break! In the last hand, a massive pot developed. I came back to the table on the river with the board reading 7-9-Q / 2 / 5. Bomber bets 800k and after much thought Rupum Pal makes the call. Thomas shows 8-5. Rupum mucks. I think he just owned himself.

Break time

2010-02-07T17:56:00.001-08:00

On a break now for 20 minutes. I'm going to collapse somewhere and then come back with some counts.

Payouts

2010-02-07T17:32:00.001-08:00

Place Prize
1 50800
2 34000
3 25000
4 18000
5 14000
6 11000
7 8000
8 6000
9 4500

Doke gone

2010-02-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

Dara O'Kearney runs out of steam (hmmm, pretty sure I've used that before). He clashes with Frederic Brunet with both players getting their stacks in preflop with Dara the one at risk holding JJ against AJ of Frederic. Flop 5-8-9, two spades. Frederic picks up the flush draw. The turn is the Queen of spades. Frederic hits his flush meaning Dara is drawing dead. He's our first player out on the final table. Well done Dara!

Blind Bet, Blind Fold

2010-02-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

Thomas Nolan limps his SB and both he and Gregory Pissant see a raggedy old flop. Action goes check check and Bomber bets 200k blind before the turn is dealt. Pissant folds before the turn is unveiled. Easy game

A double up

2010-02-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

Things started off very slowly here on the final table. Thomas Nolan showed a bluff in Hand #1 but it was half an hour before we had our first all-in; Gregory Pissant vs Frederic Brunet. It was Gregory at risk after he called Frederics 3bet shove. Gregory held TT but was racing against the AK of Frederic. The board ran out 9-2-3 / 6 / 3 meaning tens hold up and Gregory moves to just over 3m in chips.

Final Table Seats

2010-02-07T16:33:00.001-08:00

1: Thomas Nolan: 3.7m
2: Gregory Puissant: 1.7m
3: Ali Yaghzi: 5.7m
4: Mustafa Capon: 860,000
5: Rupam Pal: 3.75m
6: Roberto Salatiello: 1.6m
7: Jason Tompkin: 1.3m
8: Frederic Brunet: 2.3m
9: Dara O'Kearney: 2m

FINAL TABLE!!

2010-02-07T16:09:00.001-08:00

I;ve been without the mighty interweb tubes for the past hour. Our final table is now formed! Gerard Herraghy was the last player to be eliminated! I'll go get horrid looking mugshots of all remaining players!

Status

2010-02-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Blinds 50k/100k Ante: 10k.
10 left. Lots of all-ins. Noone eliminated yet!

Some Double Ups

2010-02-07T14:44:00.001-08:00

Dara O'Kearney and Jason Tompkins have both been blessed by the poker gods themselves it would seem. First Dara got it all-in with A9 vs AJ and hit his nine on the flop and survived a redraw to a straight on the river to double up. Then, Jason Tompkins is shoved into by Gerard Herraghy who had 8-4. Jason is ahead with As7s and had some work to do after Gerard hits a four on the flop. Jason, having obviously taken some lessons from DOKE, runner runners a flush.

Still 10 handed!

Olivier Riot gone

2010-02-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

We're down to 10! Not the final table though as that's going to be nine handed. There's been a few shoves in the last few minutes so I'm hopeful of the final table being formed by 11!

Tompkins doubles up

2010-02-07T13:58:00.001-08:00

Jason Tompkins has just doubled up on the last hand before the break. He has 88 against KJ and manages to avoid everything. Will have counts soon. I promise.

The Running Man

2010-02-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

Dara O'Kearney just got a timely double up from Mick McCloskey. Dara was getting ready to put on his coat when he saw that his AJ was up against the AA of Mick. Dara needn't have worried though as the flop runs out KQT to have flopped broadway! Easy game.

Tompkins loses massive pot

2010-02-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

Jason Tompkins looked to be a Dead cert to take out once chipleader Rupom Pal after getting their stacks in preflop. Rupom held 77 and Jason held AdQd. The flop came Queen high and with two diamonds. The 7 on the turn changed things drastically though but left Jason with 8 outs. Another Ace fell on the river though meaning Jason sees 1.6 million head over to Rupom in a pot that would have made him chipleader.

Blinds etc

2010-02-07T13:04:00.001-08:00

Just letting you know that the blinds have now gone up to 40k/80k with an 8k ante. 12 remain and it looks to be Bomber Nolan leading the way. Average stack: 1.9m

State of Irish:

Mick McCloskey: 2.1m
Dara: 763k
Thomas Nolan: 4m
Jason Tompkins: 2.5m

Bomber doubles up

2010-02-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Thomas Nolan has just doubled up off Gerard Herraghy. On a board that reads 7-2-3, both players get their chips in with Bomber needing to hit with 4-5. Shane on the other hand looked pretty comfortable with KK. The turn was a 7 but the river brings the straight for Thomas, falling a 6.

Bomber now has almost 4 million!

Diren Yildiz gone

2010-02-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

We've lost Diren Yildiz from the Main Event! He had the SB Olivier Riot shove into his big blind. He was lucky enough to find AK but unlucky to lose the 4-5 of Olivier.

Play back under way!

2010-02-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

Everyone has now sat back down in the comfort of knowing they're guaranteed a nice pay day! Counts will follow, as will all the action!

On a break

2010-02-07T11:19:00.001-08:00

The 13 remaining players are on a 60 minute break. I'll have counts for you soon.

Good Dao.

2010-02-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

Dao Tham Phuc has just been eliminated in a hand that he'll probably be thinking about for a long time. Folded around to him in the SB, he shoves Q2 for about 15BB's (30k/60k) only to get snapped by Jason Tompkins in the BB who has A8. Flop is AA5 and a Ten on the turn means I get to say Good Dao to Dao in 14th. Jason now has around 3m.

Dara Doubles up Ali

2010-02-07T10:08:00.000-08:00

Ag Yazghi just cracked the Aces of Dara O'Kearney with the all mighty 2-7. Suited. He picks up the 7 high flush draw on the flop and runs with it. 6 of clubs on the river. Dara down to under 1m in chips.

Down to 14

2010-02-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

John Keogh has just been knocked out in 15th place for €3000. He tangled with Gerard Harragh. John held JJ and got it all-in versus AK. The flop was good for John but a King on the turn sent him home packing.

14 left.

Counts

2010-02-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

T1:
Thomas Nolan: 3.2m
Rupon Pal: 1.2m
Roberto Salatiello: 447k
Gerrard Harragh: 2.2m
John Keogh: 940k
Greg Pissant: 1m
Tam Phuk Dao: 1m
Jason Tompkins: 1.2m

T2:
Ali Yazghi: 1.1m
Mick McCloskey: 3m
Mustafa Capan: 632k
Frederic Brunet: 941k
Dara O'Kearney: 2m
Olivier Riot: 2.1m
Diren Yidiz: 556k

20 minutes break

2010-02-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

We're now on a 20 minute break. Hopefully when we come back the players will be in the mood to drop like flies!

Payouts

2010-02-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Place Prize
1 50800
2 34000
3 25000
4 18000
5 14000
6 11000
7 8000
8 6000
9 4500
10-12 3600
13-15 3000

15 left at the moment. Bomber Nolan and Mick McCloskey look like join chipleaders with over 3m each. Next break in 20mins.

Mick McCloskey Runs Good

2010-02-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

Mick McCloskey just knocked out yet another player. Benjamin Pitorre is the unlucky player who chose to clash with Mick who this time had Queens. Pitorre had A5 and hit his ace on the flop only for a Queen to be revealed underneath it! Mick McCloskey is now the massive leader with almost 3m chips.

We lose our last lady

2010-02-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

We've just lost our last lady, Cecilia Linderoth. Mick McCloskey raises to 152k, blinds at 25/50k and Cecilia shoves for 700k. Mick calls with AA and Cecilia shows QT. The flop is jack high but the turn brings a gutshot for Cecilia but it isn't to be for the Frenchwoman who exits in 17th place.

Counts

2010-02-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

Here's some rough counts of the Irish players still left in.

1.4m - Jason Tompkins
2.1m - Thomas Nolan
1.4m - John Keogh
2.3m - Mick McCloskey
600k - Dara O'Kearney

Average stack is 1.3m. 17 remain. Mick McCloskey looks to be the chipleader with lots of average stacks around him.

Dave Masters Drives Off

2010-02-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

Dave Masters has just been knocked out in 18th place. He gets it all-in against Mick McCloskey with A5. Mick has AQ. The board runs out Queen high to send Dave away!

Play has slowed down

2010-02-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

We've just broken down to two tables and the seriousness of the occasion is starting to register with the remaining 18 players. There's plenty of restealing going on though and big folds being made all over the place!

Stephen Barrett gone

2010-02-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

We’ve just lost Stephen Barrett. He shoves and once again finds himself up against eights! He holds Ace high and hits an ace on the flop. The turn brings three to a flush but neither player holds a diamond. The river is an eight to send Stephen out in 19th.

McCloskey doubles up

2010-02-07T07:09:00.000-08:00

Mick McCloskey has just doubled up off Stephen Barrett. It was a blind on blind clash which saw Stephen raise, Mick shove and Stephen calling with A2. Mick has 88 and hits another eight on the flop. The board four flushes on the turn but neither player has a heart meaning only a split is possible. The river bricks though and Stephen shakes his head, not realising that Mick had close to 800k chips!

Blinds 20k/40k A:4k. 19 remain.

Jason Tompkins knocks out Jupian Diana

2010-02-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

After failing to connect with a flush draw the previous hand, Jupian is forced to go all-in UTG the next hand for 1.5BB's. He's called by by blinds and after the king high board is checked down, Jason shows K5 to take the pot and send Jupian out in 20th.

Eric Mazza Gone

2010-02-07T06:43:00.000-08:00

Dara O'Kearney just knocked out Eric Mazza. Eric pushes with A9, is called by Dara with AQ. The board double pairs but the the Queen kicker plays to send Eric out in 21st.

Chip Chop

2010-02-07T06:40:00.000-08:00

Olivier Riot and Mustafa Capan just clashed in one of the biggest pots of the tournament. Mustafa bets on a flop of Qd-5d-Kh and Olivier calls. They see the Ac on the turn and Mustafa bets 450k which is again called. The river is a 5 and action goes check check. K7 for Mustafa and KdTd for Olivier who probably wonders how he didn't get them in sooner! Split pot!

Mick McCloskey Short

2010-02-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

Mick McCloskey has just gone short(er) after failing to have his 55 hold against AQ. Ace on the flop.

Wayne Londron Gone

2010-02-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

Wayne Londron has just been eliminated. Cecilia Linderoth raises from the SB and Wayne shoves his BB with A4. Cecilia calls with KT and a King on the flop means that Wayne's lead is short lived. He calls for a diamond on the turn but it doesn't come. Not that it would have helped though as he had no diamond and there was none on the board already! Cecilia now has over 1m chips. Wayne finishes in 22nd.

Recap

2010-02-07T06:22:00.001-08:00

22 players remain. Gary Clarke and Tony English have been the two Irish casualties early doors. Blinds 20k/40k.

Stephen Barrett just lost a big pot when his KK couldn't fend off Queens. He's still comfortable though but it's always hard to take losing big pots like that at this end of the tournament.

3 down!

2010-02-07T06:19:00.000-08:00

We've just lost a further 3 players! Gary Clarke was first to go, his short shove with A2 was called by 99 which managed to hold. Tony English was next to go, he ran his Jacks into the kings of chipleader Mustafa Capan. Nicolas Pignon then made his exit.

Touchard Beriome gone

2010-02-07T06:16:00.001-08:00

Touchard Beriome has become the first casualty of the afternoon. He shoves for 250k (blinds 20k-40k) with King high and is called by A8. Ace high holds but David Masters tells me that he folded the winning hand!

Redraw

2010-02-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

Table 1:
Mick McCloskey 391k
Diana Jupien 875k
Roberto Salatiello 1.2m
Nicolas Pignon 565k
John Keogh 1.4m
Greg Pissant 405k
Tam Phuk Dao 1.8m
Jason Tompkins 1.1m

Table 2:
Stephen Barrett: 1.6m
Gary Clarke: 162k
Eric Mazza: 186k
Frederic Brunet: 941k
Gerard Harragh: 1.5m
Dara O'Kearney: 573k
Cecilia Linderoth: 945k
Wayne Londron: 317k
Diren Yildiz: 733k

Table 3:
Pitorre: 927k
Dave Masters: 583k
Thomas Nolan: 1.6m
Pal Rupon: 981k
Mustafa Capan: 2m
Olivier Riot: 980k
Tony English: 370k
Touchard Beriome: 287k

We're just about to shuffle up and deal! Best of luck!

Counts

2010-02-06T20:54:00.000-08:00

Player Chip Count
Mustafa Capan 2002000
Dao Tam Phuc 1855000
Thomas Nolan 1698000
Stephen Barrett 1671000
Gerard Harraghy 1525000
John Keown 1436000
Roberto Salsatiello 1210000
Jason Tompkins 1142000
Rupom Pal 981000
Olivier Riot 980000
Cecilia Linderoth 945000
Frederic Brunet 941000
Paul Pires - Trigo 927000
Julien Diana 875000
Diren Yildiz 733000
Dave Masters 583000
Dara O'Kearney 573000
Nicolas Pignon 565000
Ali Yazghi 518000
Grégory Puissant 405000
Mick McCloskey 391000
Tony English 370000
Wayne Condron 317000
Gerome Touchard 287000
Eric Mazza 186000
Gary Clarke 162000

I'll post up players seating draw at midday tomorrow. Play begins at 2pm. See you then!

Main Event Cashes

2010-02-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

Here's the list of cashes thusfar.
Pos-----Cash------Name-------------Country--------
27th - €1,600 - Gordon Clancy - Ireland
28th - €1,250 - Benjamin Millo - France
29th - €1,250 - Sylvain Treyes - France
30th - €1,250 - Fabien Pocheron - France
31st - €1,250 - Ludovic Lagalle - France
32nd - €1,250 - Julien Duhamel - France
33rd - €1,250 - Nicolas Olivier - France
34th - €1,250 - Benoit Fury - France
35th - €1,250 - Guy Bochen - Luxembourg
36th - €1,250 - Alain Williame - France
37th - €1,000 - Christopher Daniel - France
38th - €1,000 - Danny Toffel - England
39th - €1,000 - Sebastien Schail - France
40th - €1,000 - Michael Jeckelmann - Switzerland
41st - €1,000 - Frederic Konwitz - France
42nd - €1,000 - Chris Johnson - England
43rd - €1,000 - Patrick Gavcherand - France
44th - €1,000 - Gregory Ravise - France
45th - €1,000 - Christophe Cornel - Belgium

Bomber Knocks Another Out

2010-02-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

In what will be one of the last hands of the night, Thomas "Bomber" Nolan has knocked out another player. He calls a shove with A4 and is up against A6. A four comes on the flop to catapult him into the lead of the hand and he stays there to bid adieu to his hapless foe.

Irish Clan Fighting Strong

2010-02-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

All of the Irish players who made the money are still in! We're now down to 29 players and it's worth mentioning that Dara O'Kearney, the 2008 winner, and Jason Tompkins, the 2009 runner up, are both still in! I've just learned that play will indeed conclude at the end of this level. 29 players left and 12 minutes of play. At this rate we'll probably be left with 3 tables coming back tomorrow!

Gary Clarke Doubles Up

2010-02-06T19:47:00.001-08:00

King high was good enough for Gary after his shove with K-3 was called by 8d9d. The board double paired which is good for a double up. He's still very short though.

32 left. 22 minutes left.

Status

2010-02-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

36 players left and 36 minutes left in this level. If only we could lose a player a minute...

It currently looks as if we'll be playing an additional unscheduled level tonight.

Doke Doubles Up

2010-02-06T19:18:00.001-08:00

Dara O'Kearney just doubled up off John Keown. John calls Dara's shove in what I think went raise -> 3 bet -> call. It was KJ for John and AJ for Dara. Ace high was good enough to scoop the pot by the end of the hand. Dara has now once again managed to gain an average stack while John now finds himself reduced to a similar amount.

McCloskey bluffed off massive pot

2010-02-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

Mick McCloskey looks like he's just been bluffed off a big pot. There's already about 400k in the pot on a board of 3d-7h-Js / 4s. He's in the pot with Gerard Harraghy who initially raised in early position and he announces all-in. Mick thinks for ages before folding, not wanting to risk his tournament life. Gerard says he can pick any one of them to see and as a result sees the 5h. I'd like to rule out 5-6 and just put it down to a gutsy play.

39 left, blinds 15k/30k A: 3k. Avg Stack: 600k

Frantic

2010-02-06T19:01:00.001-08:00

We've lost a flurry of players in the 5 minutes since the bubble has burst. I'll get a list of all players in a few minutes. 40 left!

Bubble Burst!

2010-02-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

We've just lost our 47th player meaning all players remaining have made at least €1000. All Irish players that I previously gave counts for are still in!

McCloskey doubles up

2010-02-06T18:36:00.001-08:00

Mick McCloskey has been the first player at risk in this bubble period. He shoves over the top of an opening raise with QQ and has to dodge an Ace to double up. The board runs out ten high and Mick looks relieved to be able to take his seat once again.

Hand for Hand

2010-02-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

We're now playing hand for hand across all 5 remaining tables with 47 players left. Squeaky bum time

Some Counts

2010-02-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Gary Clarke: 300k
Dave Masters: 600k
Thomas Nolan: 700k
Mick McCloskey: 320k
Jason Tompkins: 910k
John Keown: 780k
Dara O'Kearney: 220k

Average is 455k with blinds at 10k/20k 1k

Update

2010-02-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

55 players left. 45 get paid. We'll be going hand for hand when it gets to that stage. 17 minutes left of the 10k/20k A:1k level. Average stack 438k

Main Event Payout

2010-02-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

1st - €50,800
2nd - €30,400
3rd - €25,000
4th - €18,000
5th - €14,000
6th - €11,000
7th - €8,000
8th - €6,000
9th - €4,500

10-12th - €3,600
13-15th - €3,000
16-18th - €2,250
19-27th - €1,600
28-36th - €1,250
37-45th - €1,000

Going to be a long night

2010-02-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

Blinds have just gone up to 10k/20k with a 1k ante. Still 70 players remaining with the average stack at 330k. I've been informed that there will be at least 3 more levels tonight meaning a 4am+ finish is on the cards as we struggle to lose players. I'm sure you're all wondering about the payout structure too, so I'll have that as soon as I can.

The final table of the €150 game has also been formed. No names are jumping out at me but I'll let you know if any of the two remaining Irish sounding names make it into the money!

Some Updates

2010-02-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

As requested by someone in the comments, Jason Tompkins is currently flying. He has 670k and is making big folds like 39o in the blinds! Gary Clarke also got a double up when he found tens and managed to get a caller in the form of QT. He's now up to almost 300k. Not bad for someone who was pleading with the Poker Gods to take him out of his misery a few moments earlier. Or maybe they're teasing him.

Troy Prendergast Gone

2010-02-06T16:11:00.001-08:00

Troy Prendergast has just been knocked out of the tournament. He shoves his 100k in the middle with 33 only to be called by JJ in the blinds. I forget how the board ran out because some guy rested his chin on my shoulder which obviously meant I had to retaliate by "adjusting" the shoulder strap of my camera. Once I "apologised" to him, I turned back around to see Troy disappear into the shadows.

80 players left, blinds are 7k/14k A:1k with average stack at around 280k.

Joe O'Neill gone

2010-02-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Joe O'Neill has just been eliminated at the hands of Dara O'Kearney. Dara had slipped down to about 400k and was in the blinds when a shortstacked Joe O'Neill shoved his button for 100k with blinds at 7k/14k. Dara made the call with A6 and found himself with one overcard going up against the KK of Joe. Joe looked good for the double up but a cruel Ace on the river saw to it that Dara was swiftly crossed off Joe's Christmas Card list.

Musings.

2010-02-06T15:35:00.000-08:00

Cynthia Axarlis was the woman that I've been keeping one eye on all day. She's taken a few missteps though and now finds herself with under 100k after bleeding away a lot of her chips. An awful lot of chips.

Cecilia Linderoth is the leading woman now. I mentioned her in one of my very first reports yesterday as one of the early leaders. At the time I just assumed she'd give them all back but she's now back on my radar after amassing over 600k in chips to make her the chipleader on Table 1.

Some good news now for the Irish cheering section; Gary "McLovin'" Clarke is still in! Granted, he's short and said he wants someone to put him out of his misery but he's still in with a shout.

Players are now on a 15 minutes break, I'll be back with counts (estimated) of the leaders and of the remaining Irish when play resumes.

The overshove and Cynthia Axarlis

2010-02-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to get to know Cynthia Axarlis game. She's maintained her stack all day but nothing seems to be going her way.

While waiting for Dara O'Kearney to make a decision on one table, I saw Cynthia raise under the gun to 30k only for a player in mid position to shove for over 150k. Action came back to her and she folded, showing KJ.

The very next hand, Cynthia again finds herself faced with a decision on whether or not to call off most of her chips. This time it's blind on blind after Mick McCloskey completes. They see a flop of 4-8-2 with two diamonds. Mick McCloskey open shoves for something like 270k into the pot of 29k. Cynthia folds Kd-5d face up, saying it was too expensive.

I personally think the long hours are getting to the likes of Mick and Cynthia.

Into Double Digits

2010-02-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

It's taken a while but, much to the delight of the organisers who've been watching the tournament clock and making calculations upon calculations, we're now down to double digits in terms of players remaining. 96 players to be precise. Perhaps they put something in the water at the break???

Rupom Pal is still our chipleader and I'd imagine he will be for a long, long time as he now has 1.6m! Almost three times more than his closest rivals which include Dara O'Kearney and Dave Masters.

Blinds are now 5k/10k with a 1k ante. Average stack is 220k.

Blind on Blind Confrontation

2010-02-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

John Keown just picked up a nice pot from Sean Towey in a blind on blind tussle. John raises from the SB, Sean reraises, John shoves and Sean calls with AJ. John holds KK and is a big favourite to double up to an above average stack. The board runs ten high as Sean is left with only a handful of chips.

Back in Play

2010-02-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

We're finally back in play here at the Ballsbridge Inn. There was a slight delay in getting back from the break due to complications arising from the estimated chipcounts passed on to the media. All further chipcounts will be estimated by sight by myself until the field gets a bit smaller and there's more resources available to count all chips accurately.

As always though, the overall chipcount is bang on!

One last pot. A biggie

2010-02-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

I assumed that with 1 minute left on the clock and with players starting to leave the tournament area that it was safe to post up a "I'm going to get something to eat" post. However, trouble was brewing on Table 2.

We had a raise to 18k from the cut off (blinds 3k/6k - A:600) and Rupom Pal calls on the button and Stephane Aherne calls from the big blind. We see a flop of 9dJhTh and action is checked to Rupom on the button. He bets 45k and Stephane, playing around 500k, shoves all-in. It's folded back to Rupom who says that he has to call but doesn't like it given that he's also one of the chipleaders!

It's QJ for Stephane and AhQh for Rupom. Stephane is ahead but has to sweat almost half the deck as Rupom has a monster draw!

The turn is the 6c.

River: 6h.

Rupom rakes in a pot of over 1 million to be the runaway chipleader.

I'll have the full list of players by the end of the break, which I can assure you they're now on! Honest.

Break time

2010-02-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

Players are just about to head on a 1 hour break. I'll have full counts before they come back!

The Fighting Irish

2010-02-06T10:52:00.001-08:00

The Irish may very well be in the minority in a weekend that has seen a village load of French people travel to our Emerald Isle but they certainly won't roll over and surrender at hands of the invaders.

The two chipleaders are both Irish. Dara O'Kearney has just moved tables. He still has over 500k but has the misfortune of being able to recognise another competent player at his table - Peter Murphy. Peter has been under the radar thusfar and looks to be grinding with an average stack. Dave Masters is a new member of the recently formed 500k club after knocking out a player when his Aces held in a 200k pot against 44.

Joe O'Neill has been talking for Ireland in this tournament and has been doing everything bar physically reaching over and robbing chips off his opponents. All his hard work in getting into their heads went to waste when he lost a 500k pot when his AK couldn't get there against his opponents 88. A king on the flop meant things looked good for the talkaholic but an 8 on the turn saw the pot being shipped back to France.

We have 32 minutes left in this level and 120 players left. Our next break is after this level and I'll have a few count of all remaining players during that.

Status Update

2010-02-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

We still have 150 players slugging it out. The players are putting up quite the stand because ideally we need to get down to three tables by end of play if we're going to stand a chance of being able to finish this on time!

Blinds are now 2500/5000 with a running ante of 500. It's still just over an hour before our next break and it will be then that I'll have some chipcounts for all remaining players.

We do have a new chipleader though. Dara O'Kearney has had a great few hours and has managed to accumulate 540k chips. Previous chipleader Cynthia Axarlis is still in and around the 300k mark which is still almost double the average. Any more slipping and sliding though and she might find herself swallowed up by the competition.

Nyom Nyom.

English only S'il vous plait

2010-02-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

JP McCann has just reiterated that English is the official language of the tournament, much to the delight of the remaining Irish clan who've been growing tired at not being able to understand what's going on.

Big Blind Special

2010-02-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

It's been absolutely crazy here in the Ballsbridge Inn as players were almost fighting over seats for the €300 event by the registration desk where I was perched. I've just managed to go around the room and see that we now have 170 players left with Cynthia Axarlis still up there as the chipleader although it looks like she's taken a few hits throughout the day but is back to pretty much what she started with.

Dara O'Kearney has also picked up a few nice pots throughout the day. The latest was when he checked his option with J-5 and saw a J-5-3 flop. He check raises the flop and finds his opponent pushing over him. He makes the call and is ahead of Q-J. Dara manages to hold and is now approaching 300k in chips.

22 Tables Left

2010-02-06T07:21:00.000-08:00

We've just broken down to 22 tables. Things are really touch and go for the €300 side event which is due to start at 4pm. The event has already sold out and the alternates list is growing by the minute, add this to the fact that we're limited in the number of tables we have and you can start to understand why D4Events' Mike Lacey is running around with a sweat!

A Table Villain

2010-02-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

There was lots of screaming and cheering coming from Table 4 and upon investigating I see a flop of A-J-6 being dealt out. There's so much cheering from the players on the table that it takes me a while to notice that it's Vannack Tok who's getting his coat as Samuel Eggertswyler has hit his set with 66 to undo all the hard work he went to in hitting his Ace with AK. The cheering only gets louder when another 6 falls on the river. Obviously not the table favourite was Vannack.

Car Crash

2010-02-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

Quite the cooler over at Table 21. We had AA vs KK and QQ folded face up. John Weafer was the lucky man to have AA and it holds on the board of 447-T-T.

Tom Kitt gone.

2010-02-06T06:55:00.000-08:00

I've just noticed that Tom Kitt has hit the rails. gone. Word from the table was that he ran top-pair,good kicker into top-pair, top kicker and then QQ into KK on a ten high flop. Sounds icy cold anyway!

Status

2010-02-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

We have 249 players left after a flurry of shortstacks failed to get that much needed double up and instead disappeared out to the bar. Blinds are 1.2k/2.4k with a running ante of 200. Average stack is about 93k.

Our chipleader Cynthia Axarlis just arrived into the tournament area. Better late than never, I suppose.

Chips For Doke

2010-02-06T06:25:00.001-08:00

My goal is to report on this hand before Doke Twitters it!

Dara opens to 5.6k in early position and has Mark Ridlay shove for about 40k in mid position. Action is folded back to Dara who makes the call with AK and is delighted to find himself ahead of the AJ of Mark.

The flop comes king high; K-9-2 and the Ace on the turn ensures that Dara gets a nice boost while Mark hits the rail.

Plenty of cries of player down coming from around the room now. I'll update with player numbers as soon as I can!

Deal Away.

2010-02-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

JP McCann has just informed the dealers to deal away. I'll be on hand for the day to try cover everything as it unfolds. Don't be afraid to say Hi in the comments...

Day II Preview

2010-02-06T05:49:00.000-08:00

There looks to be 259 players left after Marc Macdonnell was forgotten about on the chipcounts. He comes back with 64200 after taking a hit towards the end of play last night.

Players are starting to take their seats so I'll take this opportunity to look through the chipcounts from last night and try and predict what's going to be a minefield of a day.

Our chipleader is Cynthia Axarlis who came to my attention yesterday evening for commenting on how she got pocket aces 13 times in the day! It remains to be seen if anyone else arrives this morning with her distinct Russian fur hat. Obviously it's difficult to gauge just how good she is as I can imagine that a lot of people would have stacked off to her on the belief that "she can't possibly have the Aces again!". If she can maintain her stack though, she'll be in prime position come tomorrow. It's a long way to go though.

Dave Masters is the top ranking Irish player overnight. He's one of only two Irish players to have managed to amassed a stack of over 200k. As anyone who's played with Dave will tell you, he's tricky and can make the pots big very quickly. He loves to use a big stack and will have plenty of opportunity today.

Last years runner up, Jason Tompkins, is motoring on having managed to accumulate a healthy 183,000 stack. He told me that last year he was pretty much anonymous for much of the tournament until the last day and will relish the chance to play as one of the leaders in day 2. He's managed to outlast the 2009 champ Fran McCormack who exited sometime yesterday evening.

I reported that the 2008 champ, Dara O'Kearney, had looked to be going backwards for much of yesterday but has managed to grind his way back up to an average stack. The key to a structure like this is keeping yourself in the hunt and that's something that 259 have managed to do.

Welcome to Day 2

Counts

2010-02-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

Player............ Chip Count
Cynthia Axarlis 301100
Frederic Konowitz 286700
Charly Mauron 274100
Daniel Pastor 253900
Ali Yazghi 251100
Geoffrey Krijne 234500
Benoît Lemegre 227600
Dave Masters 224200
Cecilia Linderoth 218300
Roger Killeen 215900
Charlotte Langton 207600
Gareth Thian 203800
Andrea Rani 188400
Anthony Lorieu 185600
Peter Murphy 184700
Jason Tompkins 183000
Christophe Cornil 180700
Joel Delaby 180200
Grégory Puissant 180100
Sven Meijer 175700
Steven Smith 172700
Jean Pol De Brouwer 170000
Maël Padelli 169300
Joe O'Neill 167300
Gordon Clancy 167100
Gary Love 166600
Wayne Condron 166300
Benoit GURY 165000
Geoffrey Doco 164300
François Hocher 159900
Tony English 158900
Andy Clarkson 158700
Christopher Daniel 157400
Stephen Barrett 154700
Tom Kitt 149600
François Ousset 149000
Yoann Desagin 148200
Julian Fé 144500
Gordon Cowan 141800
Declan Towey 137200
Frederic Roth 136800
Christophe Van Schependom 136700
Phil Flavin 136000
Frerik Janz 134000
Olivier Lemaire 131100
Joel Ranieri 130800
Mario Bochicchio 130500
Sebastien Schahl 129400
Keith Maguire 129100
John Vogelaar 126800
Ian Whitty 126100
John Clancy 126000
Eric Mazza 124600
Guido Kok 123300
Felipe Alves 122500
Cyril Calestroupat 121500
Vannak Tok 120700
Frederic Lens 120500
Platon Spyrou 118900
Charles HERMANT 118800
Christopher P Johnson 118600
Nicolas Pignon 118400
Giorgi Fillipo 117800
Kosta Gypas 116900
Anthony RODRIGUES 113600
Maxime Durville 113400
Jan Willem-Kamps 112900
Teneriello Silvio 112300
Troy Prendergast 111600
Shane Cawe 111300
Steven Sammon 110600
Stephen Aherne 110400
michel jeckelmann 110200
Jean Claude Kieltyka 109600
Dao Tam Phuc 109500
Jerome Isler 109100
Paul Pires - Trigo 108200
Yannis Riat 108000
Fabien Pocheron 108000
Bastien Mancaux 107600
Raphaël Franchin 107300
Alain Williaume 107100
Rupom Pal 105900
Benjamin Millo 105200
ANTONIO GUERRERO 104400
Sylvain Trives 104100
Matthieu Nguyen 103700
Samuel Eggertswyler 103300
Frederic Brunet 103100
Benjamin Gallen 102600
Jimmy Kenny 102600
Dionisios Giakoumelis 100800
Domenico Iammarino 100300
Sebastien Demon 99900
Thomas Nolan 99100
Jakob Glabl 97600
Michael Muldoon 97000
Joe McKeever 96600
Fabien Mezanger 95600
Luca Vivaldi 95400
Mick Burke 94700
Nicolas Pradel 92900
Gregory Rachard 92600
Francis Jeannin 92300
Stephen Basri 92300
David Morais 92100
Peter Jacobi Hans 90900
Roberto Salsatiello 90400
Roy Decker 90400
Jérôme Cuny 89900
Nick Wright 89700
Philippe Brian 88400
Dara O'Kearney 88200
John Vogelaar 88000
Manual Barlaam 87700
Mick McCloskey 86900
Sandra Nauhjoks 86700
Guy Bochen 86700
Christophe Miras 86400
Olivier Riot 86400
Jean Guillaume Verfaillie 85900
Omer Zararsiz 84900
Chris Maz 84800
Spartaco Vivaldi 84300
Jimmy Praet 84300
Jonathan Mousserion 83900
Michel Semaille 83500
Kevin Schmid 82500
Luca Bufarina 82100
Laurent Le Franc 82100
Xavier Charlier 81600
Gregory Ravise 81400
Julien Dumas 80800
Vincent Mathieu 79700
Barry Hand 78900
Lawrence Andreys 77300
Diren Yildiz 77000
Pascal Leblanc 76100
Stefan Schmidt 75400
Patrick Gaucherand 75200
Simone Coppari 74900
Sean Towey 74000
Nicolas Olivier 73500
Matthieu Lamagnère 72800
Danny Toffel 68700
Sebastien Floch 68500
Jacques Mauron 68400
Sjoerd Korsmit 68200
Jaye Renehan 68100
Steven Hogan 68000
Johan Collin 67500
Christian Rehfeldt 66000
Gerard Harraghy 64600
Paul Parker 64600
Alan Fleming 64100
René Van Vlimmeren 64000
Jane Topkin 63900
Harry Ehlers 63600
Aurélien GAILLARD 63500
Laurent Decauwert 62500
Alex Oussar 62500
Jerome Bayet 62400
Guillaume Breuneval 61700
Douglas Membré 61600
Christophe Loisel 61600
Gary Clarke 61300
Thomas Froschauer 60600
Nils Renneboog 59700
Gerome Touchard 59500
Brian O'Sullivan 59200
Fabio Mantegazza 58200
Ludovic Lagalle 57900
Sacha Vasiljkovic 57900
Fabian Bergmann 56600
Alexander Bachmann 56400
Daniel Hellezelle 56100
Anthony Parreau 55800
John Weafer 55600
Coralie NAUDER 55600
Nick Reynolds 55600
Christophe Gillain 55500
Olivier Carosella 55300
Emmanuel Rodrigues 55000
Jeppe Peeperkorn 54400
Michel Janvier 53300
Roland Van Morckhoven 53000
Jean-philippe Latour 53000
John Keown 53000
David Bourge 52450
Fran Egan 52400
Xavier Mangano 51400
Mikael Sebathier 51300
Benjamin Pitorre 50700
Joachim Lob 50300
Michael Sigismondi 50000
Ronan Gallagher 49900
Fionan Dolan 49500
Kevin Fitzpatrick 48600
Jonathan Brygo 47600
Guy Lafallize 47600
Matteo Nocera 47500
Mark Vaes 47400
Christophe Keuleers 46800
Berney Frankfort 45900
Sébastien Konieczny 45900
Mark Ridlay 45600
David Oglesby 44700
Chris Cooke 44400
George McMahon 42900
Frank Dennis 42900
Graham Masters 40300
Roger Truffer 39800
Jean-Michel Dupre 39800
Nicolas Gal 39400
Michael Loublier 39200
Olivier Jouve 39100
Nicolas COLLIN 38100
Vincent Jardinier 37500
Gérald Marmot 37300
Joe Keirnan 37200
Matthieu Filipo 36600
Harald Karl Klippel 36600
Holger Lindemann 36200
Julien Duhamel 36000
Pierre-Yves Mauron 35500
Razvan Giuclea 34800
Dave O'Reilly 34700
Eric Mutin 33700
Derek Williams 33500
Sean Blom 33400
Pierre Solera 32700
Fabrice Quittard 31200
Cédric Bouin 31100
Vincent Deconchat 30700
Rod McVitty 30500
Mustafa Capan 30000
Nicolino FURIA 29400
Gloria Amedeo 29000
Karls Liot 28800
Nicolas Bernat 28300
Julien Sauvage 27600
Michael Lyoen 27500
Jim Fennell 26700
Benjamin Trouillot 25600
Vladimir Zbihlej 24800
Luc De Cock 21400
Anthony Beve 20300
Sandrine Salsac 19300
Benjamin Marmouyet 17600
Pierre Leblanc 17300
Sébastien Magerat 16900
Sebastien Dubier 16000
Laurent Carbonnel 15900
Patrick Soyeurt 13600
Stephane Lavrut 13100
Marco Magrini 9200
NO SHOW 8200
Zoran Matanovic 5800

That's a wrap.

2010-02-05T19:38:00.001-08:00

258 players have made it through to Day 2 of the European Deepstack Poker Championship. The average stack is 83,000 and there'll be 10 minutes of the 1k/2k level when they return at 2pm tomorrow afternoon. There are a few 200k+ stacks out there and I hope to have the chipcounts of all remaining players up within the next hour or two!

Patience!

Closer and Closer

2010-02-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

24 minutes left of play tonight and we have 290 players still in with a shout. I'll be getting full counts of all remaining players as soon as play has ended.

Despite starting with 50,000 chips, there's only so long you can sit quiet and wait for a hand. As a result, we're starting to find a lot of players who failed to recover from earlier mistakes left looking down at a shortstack and struggling to find a spot to look for a double up.

One person who isn't having such a problem is Cynthia Axarlis who just admitted to the table that she's been dealt 13 pocket aces so far today! She has the distinction of being the only person in the field who's wearing a ushanka so I wouldn't be surprised if any superstitious players at her table turn up wearing same tomorrow.

As I was walking past her table, I saw her raise it 10xBB to 10k and finding one caller. She cbet 10k on the Ad4h6d flop only to have her opponent fold. She held AA!

Running into Kings

2010-02-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

I just spotted two shortstacked players who had postponed their shoving until they had something decent run their pairs into Kings. First it was jbravado who had his shove for 11k reraised and then Pierre-Yves Torche have his under the gun push for 14k folded all the way around the to the big blind, who found the cowboys. Neither player got any help as we creep towards the 300 player mark!

Jason Tompkins, runner up last year, looks to be building a big stack with a count way over the 140k mark. Marc McDonnell has also built up a nice stack. It's still very early days though. Still over an hour to play tonight and tomorrow's going to be the real test of the players metal.

Counts

2010-02-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

Troy Prendergast: 90k
Tom Kitt: 130k
Nicky Power: 30k
Emmett Gough: 40k
Mick McCloskey: 95k

Play back under way!

2010-02-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

Players have just come back from a 15 minute break. We have two more levels before another break, the players will return for just one more level then after which we'll be finishing up for the night at what looks to be around 3:15am.

The rate of attrition isn't as high as I initially thought it would be. Still 390 players left in the hunt.

Dara O'Kearney, the winner of the inaugural 2008 tournament, is starting to rally as the day goes on. He initially looked to be going backwards but has since got into the swing of things.

All the hands that I witnessed throughout the day were all going to the river but as the blinds go up players are realising that the implied odds aren't there anymore as far as calling big bets with draws is concerned. A lot of pots are now being taken down either preflop or on the flop.

Chris Dowling Gone

2010-02-05T15:20:00.001-08:00

I just witnessed a hand that saw the 2009 IPC runner up, Chris Dowling, hit the rails. There's three to the flop of a flop of ThJhKs, there's 3-way action which sees Chris lead out and Geoffery Doko shove for about 70k. Action is folded back to Chris who calls with 6h-9h which has to improve (well, you'd have hoped it would have to) against Doko who has Qs9d to have flopped the second nuts.

The turn comes a 5 and the river is a red Ace. It's diamonds though so it's of no help to Chris who hits the rails.

Blinds are now 400/800 with an Ante of 75. 400 players remain with play set to finish at around 3am!

Counts

2010-02-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

My eyes are positively square, but here's the chipcounts of all remaining players. Everyone is now back from their break, so expect updates to be coming thick and fast as the night progresses.

Player Chip Count
Julien Diana 213525
Cecilia Linderoth 156575
Paul Mc Auley 155025
Geoffrey Krijne 153900
Xavier Souridakis 153125
John Vogelaar 139875
Vannak Tok 122850
Gregory Gaillard 120250
Christian Rehfeldt 117225
Peter Murphy 113000
Declan Towey 112600
Jean Claude Kieltyka 112500
Cyril Calestroupat 111600
Roger Killeen 108100
Joel Ranieri 105325
Peter Jacobi Hans 104400
Jason Tompkins 103150
Phil Flavin 102850
Tom Kitt 102025
Stephen Basri 98875
Xavier Charlier 96875
Coralie NAUDER 95350
Luca Buonaccorsi 94650
Cynthia Axarlis 94350
Frederic Roth 94050
David Castelas 92650
Wayne Condron 92150
Kevin Branco Nunes 92150
Romeo Dragusic 91575
Shane Cawe 91225
Charlotte Langton 90150
Nick Wright 89975
Bruno Cavedon 89875
Francis Jeannin 87825
Julien Dumas 87500
Olivier Jouve 87450
Louis Dupin 87175
Sébastien Konieczny 87000
Patrick Soyeurt 86975
Benjamin Trouillot 86375
Keith Maguire 86200
Samuel Eggertswyler 86075
Steven Moreau 85225
Jimmy Kenny 84875
Paul Marrow 84225
Marc Macdonnell 83600
René Van Vlimmeren 83350
Andrea Rani 82175
Christophe Klopfert 82025
Charly Mauron 82000
Daniel Hellezelle 81450
Jerome Isler 81125
Eric Mazza 81100
Mustafa Capan 80250
Christophe Cornil 80000
Jonathan Mousserion 79975
Seamus Aldridge 78775
Manual Barlaam 78625
Steven Smith 78350
Steven Hogan 77900
Daniel Pastor 77725
Arno Overbeek 77525
Eoin Olin 77250
Alan Fleming 77225
Pierre-Yves Torche 76600
Anthony Parreau 76350
Timo Brammer 75825
Nicolino FURIA 75800
Laurent Le Franc 75725
Nicolas Brard 75200
Christopher Barrow 75175
Stephen Aherne 74250
Nils Renneboog 73750
Laurent Gauter 73175
Julien Suss 73125
David Oglesby 73100
Grégory Puissant 72950
Benjamin Pitorre 72725
Fabien Mezanger 72200
Kevin Schmid 72150
Lawrence Andreys 71850
Benjamin Marmouyet 71600
Anthony Lorieu 71225
Sebastien Schahl 70925
Brice Goedert 70800
Gregory Ravise 70450
Benoît Lemegre 70375
Arnaud Szybura 70350
Raphaël Franchin 70100
Raphael Kroll 70000
Jeppe Peeperkorn 69725
Christophe Loisel 69550
Alexandre Bourguet 69425
Kosta Gypas 69325
Douglas Membré 68850
Gordon Clancy 68550
Michael Muldoon 68500
ANTONIO GUERRERO 68400
Claudio Di Ronco 67925
Julien Sauvage 67925
Frederic Brunet 67875
David Bourge 67575
Steve Rodgers 67525
Mark Ridlay 67275
Jean-christophe Rigal 67125
Sebastien Deyle 67050
Thomas Nolan 67025
Julien Duhamel 66875
Yoann Desagin 66550
Eddie Walsh 66075
Sylvain Trives 65785
Sjoerd Korsmit 65700
Dao Tam Phuc 65125
Nicky Power 64625
Patrick Gaucherand 64575
Benjamin Gallen 64150
Gloria Amedeo 64075
Joe O'Neill 63925
michel jeckelmann 63850
Andy Clarkson 63775
Paul Pires - Trigo 63700
Teneriello Silvio 63575
Gary Clarke 63525
Vincent Mathieu 63275
Zoran Matanovic 63150
David Morais 63025
Mick McCloskey 62900
Christophe Keuleers 62325
Sacha Vasiljkovic 62300
Jerome Bayet 62225
Roberto Salsatiello 62075
George McMahon 62000
Christopher Daniel 61475
Fabrice Mathieu 61375
Christian Venturini 61325
Robert Oe 61000
Kristof Dierckx 60725
Steven Sammon 60600
Bertrand Huvelin 60425
Nick Reynolds 60375
Jimmy Praet 60325
Jacques Mauron 60225
Charles HERMANT 60025
Gerome Touchard 59825
Tanguy Ezersky 59375
Ali Yazghi 59300
Sébastien Guerlinze 59200
Domenico Iammarino 59100
Pierre Leblanc 58925
Dave Masters 58800
Nicolas Olivier 58800
Jonathan Brygo 58425
Sébastien Magerat 58150
Thomas Froschauer 58100
James Honey 57750
Nicolas Gal 57525
Sebastien Dubier 57475
Frerik Janz 57375
Fabrice Quittard 57150
Murtagh Ward 56925
Michael Weissman 56875
Joe Keirnan 56700
Steeve Ferrie 56675
Benjamin Millo 56675
Gary Love 56625
Raphael Frund 56550
Druot Didier 56350
Daniel Gomes 56275
Val Gabriel 55875
Guy Bochen 55800
Troy Prendergast 55525
Francis McCormack 55350
Tony English 55225
Dianne Hunt 55100
Gregory Rachard 54725
Jan Willem-Kamps 54625
Sam Baneham 54520
Barry Hand 54425
Harry Ehlers 54200
Jérôme Cuny 54175
Karls Liot 54075
Alex Oussar 54025
Christopher De Maso 53875
Michael Loublier 53800
Stephane Gomez 53625
Patrice Libert 53600
Olivier Rouiller 53500
Jean-Michel Dupre 53500
Gerard Harraghy 53475
Kevin Vandersmissen 53350
Felipe Alves 53300
Omer Zararsiz 53250
Vincent Allard 53100
Kevin Fitzpatrick 53075
Yannis Riat 53025
Michael Lyoen 53000
Mark Vaes 53000
Rod McVitty 52850
Ray Masters 52825
Christophe MALOUITRE 52650
Ian Whitty 52525
Michael Revah 52250
Aurélien Mattern 52075
Fabien Pontvianne 51975
Mark Lassmann 51850
Chris Maz 51625
Andrew Black 51525
Sönje Lange 51525
François Hocher 51125
Siobhan Woodhouse 51025
Jean Théo Giraud 50950
Geoffrey Doco 50925
Platon Spyrou 50875
Berney Frankfort 50550
Christophe Miras 50500
Nicolas Pignon 50300
Tony Gilsenan 50225
Lorcan Fox 50100
Gordon Cowan 50100
Gareth Thian 49875
Andrew Cunningham-Brown 49875
Lorent Van nieuwenhove 49875
Joachim Lob 49850
Cédric Grabowski 49750
Fabio Mantegazza 49500
Luc De Cock 49475
Holger Lindemann 49350
Joe McKeever 49100
Roger Truffer 49025
Matteo Nocera 48550
Ronan Gallagher 48525
Steffie Ehlers 48525
Olivier Lemaire 48475
Guy Lafallize 48450
Christophe Van Schependom 48425
Mathieu Desmet 48150
Xavier Mangano 48025
Fabien Pocheron 48025
Mathias Rolland 47500
Raphaël Lauga 47500
Ludovic Lagalle 47450
Sandra Nauhjoks 47375
Danny Toffel 47350
Simone Coppari 47300
Didier Labarere 47200
Brun Roumbard Jean Bernard 47150
Maël Padelli 46700
Fabian Bergmann 46600
Michel Janvier 46550
Frederic Konowitz 46525
Giorgi Fillipo 46350
Paul Parker 46275
Eric Mutin 46275
Emerick Mineau 46225
Cedric Marty 46200
Mikael Bozo 46100
Fionan Dolan 46050
Roy Decker 45750
Nicolas COLLIN 45750
Stephane Marie 45675
Antoine Dugast 45650
Bastien Mancaux 45300
Thorsten Holst 45150
Vladimir Zbihlej 45075
Sean Towey 45025
Guillaume Lebret 45025
Jean-philippe Latour 44925
Phil Baker 44600
Sven Meijer 44550
Cédric Bouin 44050
Maxime Durville 43775
Chris Cooke 43750
John Gigon 43750
Emmett Gough 43725
Matthieu Lamagnère 43375
Matthieu Nguyen 43300
Nicolas Pradel 43250
Christophe Gillain 43250
Lorna Lancaster 43000
Frank Dennis 42950
Sebastien Demon 42850
Adrian O'Donaghue 42725
Jakob Glabl 42725
Lionel Bontemps 42400
Mario Bochicchio 42325
Pierre Solera 42200
Vladimir Khrapal 42100
Sebastien Gonzalez 42075
Nicolas Yken 41450
Jim Fennell 41400
Cat O'Neill 41400
François Ousset 41325
Vincent Deconchat 41200
Joel Delaby 41000
Damien Coppé 40800
Cathal Dennehy 40575
Harald Karl Klippel 40550
Julien NARDOLILLO 40500
Jane Topkin 40500
Cédric Magnabal 40300
Owen Mullen 40275
Olivier Carosella 40225
Paul Smallwood 40150
Stephen Barrett 39875
David Moreau 39475
Aurelien Gallen 39450
Pascal Leblanc 39450
Luca Vivaldi 39350
Ritvars Shreibers 39300
John Clancy 39100
Keith McFadden 39025
Brian O'Sullivan 39025
Diren Yildiz 38850
Olivier Riot 38750
Stephen Holden 38725
Nicolas Bernat 38375
Benoit GURY 38250
Paul Thinnes 37600
Michael Sigismondi 37600
Albert Kenny 37350
Dara O'Kearney 37350
Samuel Bruneau 37275
Philippe Brian 36850
Karim Zeglil 36825
Marcel Lestrade 36550
Anthony RODRIGUES 35800
Jean-Marc Bellini 35775
Fran Egan 35775
Sandrine Salsac 35750
Bruce Salmon 35700
Stefan Schmidt 35525
Mick Bermingham 35500
John Weafer 35475
Stephane Di Crescenzo 35175
Yannick Willeme 34900
Jan Kusters 34850
Laurent Decauwert 34825
Aurélien Guiglini 34550
Emmanuel Rodrigues 34450
Christiano Blanco 34275
Pierre-Yves Mauron 33875
Ciaran Cooney 33650
Wilfried Bresson 33325
Guillaume Breuneval 33125
Aurélien Thomazo 33075
Michel Semaille 33000
Stephane Lavrut 32875
Aidan Connolly 32675
John Keown 32525
Thomas Hervalet 32100
Tristan Guiglini 32100
Aleksandrs Zaravins 32075
Julien Bigeard 31900
Julian Fé 31575
Mick Burke 31375
Derek Williams 31375
Jan-Willem Verstraten 31175
Pierre-edouard Gavand 31125
Thomas Caldaroni 31050
Muriel GOMEZ ARAGON 30950
Roland Van Morckhoven 30775
Stéphan Derouault 30725
Gérald Marmot 30675
Kevin Naegelen 30200
Tina Bandyle 29725
Vincent Jardinier 29550
Matthieu Filipo 29375
Elie Payan 29325
Frederic Lens 29300
Herbert Maurer 29175
John Hudson 28975
Samuel Levy 28900
Dave O'Reilly 28850
Guy Bastide 28825
Chris Dowling 28825
Kate Barnbrook 28800
Rob Mulder 28750
Guido Kok 28500
Serge DEBRY 28325
Pieter van Beek 28125
Aurélien GAILLARD 27225
Spartaco Vivaldi 27175
Sebastien Floch 27000
Andy King 26925
Rupom Pal 26800
Adam Bolger 26425
Nicola Stagi 26000
Eamon Dowling 25925
Philippe Escolano 25775
Renaud Charles 25750
Johan Collin 25650
Dionisios Giakoumelis 25575
Sean Blom 25575
Frederic Penel 25525
Jaye Renehan 25450
Benjamin Barros 25425
Fabrice Michon 25400
Ralph Couvreur 25300
Olivier Gache 25125
JB Pone 24575
Laurent Carbonnel 24550
Carl Scott 24350
Sean Kilroy 24200
Pierre Salsac 23625
Damien Mesgard 23350
Shaun Conning 22900
Emmanuel Rosetta 22125
Jean Pol De Brouwer 21800
Damien Morizot 21525
Phillippe Castella 21025
Pascal Pasquier 20750
Razvan Giuclea 20300
Guillaume Chiron 19725
Jérôme Paulhiac 18950
Andre Kück 18400
Joel Huc 17200
Alexander Bachmann 17025
Mikael Sebathier 16625
Murat Yalcin 15725
Eric GERARD 15050
Guillaume Brousse 14750
Luca Bufarina 14700
Sylvain Rousseau 14275
Fabrizio Sabbatini 14100
Graham Masters 13550
Sebastien Sergent 12200
Johan Maillard 10025
Philippe Schwab 9800
Stéphane Cleayssen 6675
Donal Doet 6500
Anthony Beve 3800

Player Groups

2010-02-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

How you go about playing a deepstacked event in terms of strategy, especially a unique event like this, is a question that's on a lot of players lips. A few types of players styles are becoming apparent though as play goes on.

We have the players who play nut hands and feverishly pedal away when they have it. The majority of these are still hovering around starting stack with the exception of a few who managed to catch a live one at the beginning of the day before their tables realised that they were rocks. A few of these tight players have fallen victim to a common pitfall of playing so few hands which is falling in love with them and being completely unable to put down a hand given they've finally got around to entering a pot. They're the players we can see shaking their heads as they clasp onto their shortstacks.

The more aggressive players are either hovering around 30k or 70k as they pick up a lot of small pots. They only need to get caught with their hand in the cookie jar once though in order for their hard work to go down the drain.

Then we have a select few players who've got off to a flyer! I'll have all their names and counts while the players go off for their Chicken Curry!

Heuston, we have a problem.

2010-02-05T09:58:00.001-08:00

We've been without web access for the past half an hour but all seems to be back in order after a fresh cage of hamsters were seen being installed behind the scenes.

We've lost a few more players, the most notable of which is Rob Taylor.

He called a preflop raise by Fran Egan with 7c8c and they saw a 3-way flop of 8h7h7x. Action goes bet-call with only two players left in the pot, Rob and Cecilia Linderoth. The turn is the 6h and all the money goes in only for Rob to see he's drawing dead as Cecilia has 88.

Eliminations are ice-cold at this early stage.

Players will be heading on a break soon and while they're having a delightful hot buffet, I'll be swooping in to get a look at the chipcounts.

First Break

2010-02-05T08:14:00.001-08:00

460 players have just filtered out of the tournament area. Table 31 seems to be the most lively table in the room after a second player was eliminated from it during the second level. Jerome Chemin being yet another player left with a lot of time to think about his exit hand. Pascal Mailly and Jean Phillipe Piat have been the other two players to have hit the rails meaning that Jim Fennell and Jason Tompkins have been allowed take their seats as alternates.

The chipleader looks to be Vannock Tok with over 100k.