€10,600 Main Event Dia 5 | 2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final

2014-05-01 10:20 UTC+2

The March to the Final Table Begins on Day 4

"Why not me? I have chips, there’s 17 people left, I don’t see any reason it can’t be me."

Those are the words Jack Salter, who was recently the subject of a PokerNews feature, told us after play concluded last night, and it is no doubt a sentiment being shared by each and every one of his 16 opponents. Why not me?

Today, nine of them will have an answer. Perhaps it'll be because of a bad beat, or because they punted their stack. Whatever the case, nine more players will fall here on Day 5 before the final table of eight is set. We're not sure how long it'll take to determine the finalists, but we do know we'll be here as long as it takes. With action resuming in Level 25 (15,000/30,000/4,000), we're guessing it won't take too terribly long.

The 2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event began with 650 players, and at the time Kenny Hicks was just one of many hoping for some luck to put himself in contention for the €1,240,000 first-place prize. Well, on Day 3 he found some when he became responsible for bursting the money bubble, and his good fortune continued on Day 4 when he rose to the top of the chips counts. Hicks will begin the day with 2,499,000.

The aforementioned Salter was also quite lucky on Day 4. That is when, with 41 players remaining, he went from 40th in chips with 97,000 to 1.75 million, currently third in chips. It was a storybook day for the man from the UK, and he'll have to wait and see if his momentum carries over to the penultimate day.

Other returning to action today are big stacks Martins Seilis (1,767,000), Antonio Buonanno (1,623,000), Mayu Roca (1,500,000), Malte Moennig (1,450,000), Vasili Firsau and (1,002,000). Also joining them is the last former EPT champ remaining in the field, Mark Teltscher (802,000); EPT10 Prague High Roller winner Ivan Soshnikov (731,000), PokerStars.fr TV Stars’ Miroslav Alilovic (500,000); and inaugural World Poker Tour Alpha8 champ Steven Silverman (436,000).

The minimum anyone will take home today is €55,850, but obviously there is a lot more on the line for everyone. Action is set to kick off at Noon local time, which is about 90 minutes from now. Join us then as we bring you all the latest and greatest on the way down to a final table!

2014-05-01 12:21 UTC+2

Steven Silverman Eliminated in 17th Place (€55,850)

[user76023]

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Magnus Karlsson opened to 60,000 preflop and Steven Silverman moved all in for 315,000 behind him. Mayu Roca thought for a moment in the blinds before making the call and Karlsson quickly folded.

Silverman:
Roca:

The board ran out - not enough aces, jacks or hearts for Silverman and he was knocked in 17th position. There is now a redraw for the final two tables.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Mayu Roca	1,900,000 400,000	400,000
Steven Silverman	Eliminado

2014-05-01 12:44 UTC+2

Matias Ruzzi Eliminated in 16th Place (€55,850)

[user76023]

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Malte Moennig opened for 65,000 preflop and Matias Ruzzi pushed all in from late position. Antonio Buonanno called on the button and Moennig got out of the way.

Ruzzi:
Buonanno:

The board came and the Argentine was knocked out.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Antonio Buonanno	1,900,000 277,000	277,000

Matias Ruzzi	Eliminado

2014-05-01 13:10 UTC+2

Nikita Nikolaev Eliminated in 15th Place (€62,350)

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Two big stacks just clashed at the final table, and as you can tell by the title to this post, Nikita Nikolaev found himself on the wrong side of things.

The hand began when Nikolaev opened for 60,000 from early position and Martins Seilis called from the hijack. Mayu Roca then three-bet to 183,000 from the button, the blinds folded, and Nikolaev thought for awhile before four-betting to 367,000. Seilis folded, and Roca five-bet shoved. Nikolaev, who had about 1.5 million behind, paused for a few beats and then called off.

Nikolaev:
Roca:

Nikolaev found himself in a bad spot, and it didn't get better on the flop. The turn ended up giving Roca a set, which meant Nikolaev was drawing dead. The meaningless was run out on the river, and Nikolaev hit the rail in 15th place for €62,350. Meanwhile, Roca is now a big chip leader.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Mayu Roca	3,850,000 1,950,000	1,950,000
Nikita Nikolaev	Eliminado

Tags: Nikita Nikolaev Mayu Roca Martins Seilis

2014-05-01 13:25 UTC+2

Nicholas Petrangelo Eliminated in 14th Place (€69,000)

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Kenny Hicks opened under the gun for 60,000 and received a call from Vasili Firsau on the button. Mayu Roca came along from the small blind, Nicholas Petrangelo did too from the big, and four players took a flop of .

It was a wet board, and Roca checked to Petrangelo, who led out for 100,000. Hicks and Firsau both folded, and Roca took his time before check-raising to 287,000. A fairly short-stacked Petrangelo responded by moving all in and Roca snap-called.

Petrangelo:
Roca:

"I had a feeling about that," Petrangelo admitted. Roca, who had flopped the nuts, was looking to avoid another eight and nine, which he did when the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.

Petrangelo was felled in 14th place for €69,000, while Roca increased his chip lead.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Mayu Roca	4,520,000 670,000	670,000
Nicholas Petrangelo	Eliminado

Tags: Mayu Roca Nicholas Petrangelo

2014-05-01 13:49 UTC+2

Ivan Soshnikov Eliminated in 13th Place (€69,000)

Nível 25 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Both Vasili Firsau and Ivan Soshnikov have had success on the EPT. Last year Firsau finished tenth in this very event, while back in December Soshnikov took down the EPT10 Prague High Roller for €382,050. Both had their sights set on the final table, but Soshnikov's ultimately fell short.

In what would be his final hand, Firsau opened for 65,000 from the cutoff and action folded to Soshnikov in the big blind. He decided to move all in for 723,000 and looked a little aghast when Firsau snap-called.

Soshnikov:
Firsau:

It was a bit of a cooler, and Soshnikov was drawing extremely thin. The flop provided no help, and the turn actually left him drawing dead. The meaningless was put out on the river, and Soshnikov exited the feature table in 13th place for €69,000.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Vasili Firsau	2,100,000 1,098,000	1,098,000
Ivan Soshnikov	Eliminado

Tags: Ivan Soshnikov Vasili Firsau

2014-05-01 14:45 UTC+2

Mark Teltscher Eliminated in 12th Place (€69,000)

Nível 26 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Former EPT champ Mark Teltscher will not equal the feat Vicky Coren Mitchell did in Sanremo and become a two-time champion. Alas, his run at the EPT10 Grand Final title has come to an end in 12th place.

In his final hand, Teltscher opened big for 450,000 from the cutoff, leaving himself just 100,000 behind. Action folded to Sebastian von Toperczer in the big blind, and he must have liked his cards as he moved all in. Teltscher called off and the cards were tabled.

Teltscher:
von Toperczer:

Teltscher seemed optimistic all things considered, but his enthusiasm dampened quickly when the flop delivered von Toperczer a set. The turn left Teltscher drawing dead, and after the was put out on the river, he was officially eliminated in 12th place for €69,000.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Sebastian von Toperczer	1,700,000 525,000	525,000
Mark Teltscher	Eliminado

Tags: Mark Teltscher Sebastian von Toperczer

2014-05-01 15:17 UTC+2

Miroslav Alilovic Eliminated in 11th Place (€83,200)

Nível 26 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Mirslav Alilovic, the PokerStars.fr TV Stars player won a €25k contract for winning the FPS3 leaderboard, has just been eliminated from the tournament over the course of two back-to-back hands.

In the first, Magnus Karlsson opened for 85,000 from the hijack only to have Alilovic three-bet all in cutoff. The button and blinds all folded, and Karlsson called off for 720,000, which was just 30,000 less than Alilovic had.

Alilovic:
Karlsson:

Alilovic had some kicker issues, and they didn't get worked out as the board ran out a dry . Alilovic began to shake hands with the players, but discovered he had a little left so retook his seat.

In the next hand, Alilovic moved all in from the button for 30,000 and Sebastian von Toperczer called the required 40,000 from the small blind. Vasili Firsau checked his option from the big, and the flop came down . Von Toperczer led out for 50,000, Firsau folded, and the cards were turned up.

von Toperczer:
Alilovic:

The Frenchman had woken up with a big hand, but that didn't scare von Toperczer.

"I think I'm gonna suck out, sorry," von Toperczer said half jokingly. The blanked on the turn. "Good game," he offered Alilovic. It was all in good fun, but it proved a little cruel when the spiked on the river and von Toperczer's prediction came true.

Alilovic shook hands with the entire table, wish them luck, and then took his leave in 11th place.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Sebastian von Toperczer	1,800,000 100,000	100,000
Magnus Karlsson	1,450,000 730,000	730,000
Miroslav Alilovic	Eliminado

Tags: Miroslav Alilovic Magnus Karlsson Sebastian von Toperczer

2014-05-01 16:13 UTC+2

PokerNews Podcast Episode #213: Chasing Bracelets feat. Stephen Chidwick

[user101598]

Nível 26 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Stephen Chidwick joins the PokerNews Podcast to talk about Season 10 of the European Poker Tour, goal setting, and getting ready for both the World Series of Poker, and Spring Championship of Online Poker. Rich and Donnie discuss the finale of Season XII of the WPT, scheduling conflicts, and more.

You can subscribe to all three of the podcasts produced by PokerNews on iTunes here, or you can access the RSS feed here. The PokerNews family of podcasts is now available on Stitcher.

Tags: PokerNews Podcast Stephen Chidwick

2014-05-01 16:35 UTC+2

Vasili Firsau Eliminated in 10th Place for Second Year in a Row (€83,200)

Nível 27 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante

When this tournament was down to ten players last year, Vasili Firsau moved his short stack all in holding the and received a call from Grant Levy, who held the . Firsau failed to catch, and he was sent home in tenth place for €76,000.

Fast forward a year. The tournament is down to ten players and Vasili Firsau was once again all in It happened when Jack Salter opened for 110,000 from the button and then snap-called Vasili's all-in shove for 1.165 million.

Salter:
Vasili:

Once again Vasili was behind and in need of some help, but history repeated itself after the board ran out a dry . The situation was not lost on Firsau who let a small smile cross his face. For the second year in a row Firsau has barely missed out on the final table, and the only consolation he has here in Season 10 is that the prize money is a little more.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Jack Salter	4,380,000 1,380,000	1,380,000
Vasili Firsau	Eliminado

Tags: Jack Salter Vasili Firsau