Govert Metaal has been busy for just 45 minutes but already gathered a lot of new chips. Metaal got three streets of value with pocket aces on a board full of low cards. His opponent had pocket queens and wasn't able to get away from them.
Metaal is sharing the table with Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier who still has around starting stack.
It’s Day 1B of the EPT10 Deauville Main Event, so it’s a case of "once more, just like before" today, just with a lot more players. Check out last night’s wrap, the overnight chip counts, and how to best follow today’s coverage (all in a bite-sized chunk) by clicking through to the PokerStars Blog.
It seems like EPT6 Berlin champion Kevin MacPhee has drawn a tough table given that it contains fellow EPT champion Martin Schleich and EPT6 Kiev runner-up Alex Dovzhenko.
Sandrine Wilhelm, a French PokerStars qualifier opened from early position for 250 and was called on the button by Hussein Kansoun from Lebanon. The blinds folded and they would fight it out heads up. The dealer fanned the first three cards and a continuation bet of 450 from Wilhelm was enough for Kansoun to fold but not before showing one card the . Seemingly wanting to prove a point Wilhelm showed him .
With the entire board already out there action was on EPT Vilamoura season 7 winner Toby Lewis. on the table and it was checked to Lewis on the button. He bet 5,600 and his opponent, Russian player Artem Perepelkin, was thinking about it. At the still 3 handed table he eventually made the call. Lewis showed up with and Perepelkin had to muck. Good start for Lewis.
Jake Cody is rocking the shades and playing in position. Folded to him on the button he made it 300 and found one caller in the big blind, Julian Thomas from Germany. They saw a flop of . Checked to Cody who bet 350. Thomas went for the check-raise to 1,250 and when Cody had made sure of the bet amount he let his hand go.
Two players have been eliminated so far in the opening level, Noel Gaens and Joe Mouawad those to have lost their chips. Stephen Chidwick told me that Mouawad lost his chips in a cooler to Cyril Pusset. The latter had aces to Mouawad's pocket eights on a A-8-6-5-6 board. As a result Pusset is up to 55,000.
As for Gaens, who finished seventh here last year, no information on how he lost his chips but Timur Margolin has a stack of 60,000 in front of him and seems to have been the beneficiary of his demise.
Sigurds Eskeland opened for 300 under-the-gun. He had just lost a medium sized pot in the previous hand to an opponent who had rivered the nut flush and had seemed a bit steamed about it. Sat to his left Fergal Cawley perhaps thought so and raised to 700. Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano came along for the ride, calling the 700 on the button and the blinds folded. Back to original raiser Eskeland, he made it 2,700 and Cawley got out of the action. Pagano though was undeterred in position, made the call and they saw a heads up flop of . Eskeland led out for 4,500 and Pagano mucked.
The next hand saw Cawley make it 200 under-the-gun leading to a cascade of callers taking a six way flop of . Checked round to Pagano he bet 700 and found one caller in French PokerStars player Roman Wieviorka. The two players saw a turn card and Pagano check called a 1,200 bet from Wieviorka. River card completed the flush draw and some straight possibilities as Pagano led for 2,000. Wieviorka thought about it and called, Pagano showing for two pair. No good though as Wieviorka had the for the straight. “Wow.” Said Pagano as he undoubtedly went back through how the betting had gone.
and a continuation bet of 450 from Wilhelm was enough for Kansoun to fold but not before showing one card the 
. Seemingly wanting to prove a point Wilhelm showed him 
.
on the table and it was checked to Lewis on the button. He bet 5,600 and his opponent, Russian player Artem Perepelkin, was thinking about it. At the still 3 handed table he eventually made the call. Lewis showed up with 
and Perepelkin had to muck. Good start for Lewis.
and Pagano check called a 1,200 bet from Wieviorka. River card 
completed the flush draw and some straight possibilities as Pagano led for 2,000. Wieviorka thought about it and called, Pagano showing 
for two pair. No good though as Wieviorka had the 