The Penultimate Day Starts at 12
Just 15 players remain in the 2015 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final Main Event, all eying that first place prize of just over one million euros. That largest of cheques won't be handed out today though, but a ticket to still fight for the big money can be earned today.
The goal is to play down to 6 players, or five full 90-minute levels. A final table at the European Poker Tour consists of 8 players, but play will most likely continue even if the final table is reached, just to make sure the final day won't take too long. Last years final took till 9 in the morning, something the organization has tried to prevent from happening again ever since.
There's still some 40 minutes left in level 23 (10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante). PokerStars Team Pro Johnny Lodden starts out as the chip leader with 115 big blinds. His neighbor on his left is Ole Schemion with 59 big blinds.
Both of them have impressive records. Lodden has cashed 5 out of the 7 EPT Grand Final's he played, and finished third here two years ago for the biggest score of his live tournament career (€467,000).
Ole Schemion was the EPT Season 10 player of the year, has had multiple million dollar scores, and is arguably the best tournament poker player in the world at the moment.
We imagine that table being picked as the feature table today, so get ready for some action! PokerNews will be your one stop shop today, with all the big hands, interviews and photos from the Main Event and the €25,000 High Roller.
| Table | Seat | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Koichi Nozaki | Japan | 1,582,000 | 79 |
| 1 | 2 | Lyndon Basha | United Kingdom | 1,070,000 | 54 |
| 1 | 3 | Jose Carlos Garcia | Poland | 523,000 | 26 |
| 1 | 4 | Muhyedine Fares | Senegal | 1,280,000 | 64 |
| 1 | 6 | Johnny Lodden | Norway | 2,293,000 | 115 |
| 1 | 7 | Ole Schemion | Germany | 1,178,000 | 59 |
| 1 | 8 | Romain Paon | France | 782,000 | 39 |
| 2 | 1 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 1,635,000 | 82 |
| 2 | 2 | Hady El Asmar | Lebanon | 1,530,000 | 77 |
| 2 | 3 | Anton Astapau | Belarus | 896,000 | 45 |
| 2 | 4 | Christopher Frank | Germany | 645,000 | 32 |
| 2 | 5 | Tom Hall | United Kingdom | 249,000 | 12 |
| 2 | 6 | Dmitry Ivanov | Russia | 994,000 | 50 |
| 2 | 7 | Juan Martin Pastor | Argentina | 450,000 | 23 |
| 2 | 8 | Markus Ross | Germany | 1,815,000 | 91 |
| Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
|---|---|---|
|
2,293,000 | |
|
||
|
1,815,000 | |
|
1,635,000 | |
|
||
|
1,582,000 | |
|
1,530,000 | |
|
1,280,000 | |
|
1,178,000 | |
|
1,070,000 | |
|
994,000 | |
|
896,000 | |
|
782,000 | |
|
645,000 | |
|
523,000 | |
|
450,000 | |
|
249,000 | |
![[user68268]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, and Schemion checked. Nozaki bet 83,000, Lodden called, and Schemion called to keep all three players in action.
, and Schemion opted to lead with a bet of 212,000. Nozaki slid forward the chips to make the call, then action fell on the Norwegian. Lodden took his time before firing in a raise to 600,000, verbally announcing the amount to the dealer. Schemion counted his stack with his left hand firmly over his mouth, then reraised all in for 1.05 million.
for a queen-high straight, and Lodden had the 
for a set of eights. With one card to come, Schemion had the lead.
hit on fifth street, and he doubled into the chip lead with 2.78 million. Lodden was knocked back to 1.115 million.
which was no help to Hall.
was dealt on the turn.
came on the river, giving both players two pair, with Ivanov having the better kicker.
on the turn wasn't the card Astapau was looking for; "Not the best card in the world."
completed the board and Astapau got up from the table, and shook hands with his former table mates. Astapau received €58,100 for his efforts, the remaining 13 players are now guaranteed €66,500.
completed the board and Frank just walked to the pay-out desk. Juan Martin Pastor wasn't ready for that part yet though, he was just about to break down it seemed. The biggest bad beat of his poker career just happened, and he wasn't prepared for it. He did recover not much later, and thanked all the players that supported him via twitter:
on the turn did gave him outs to a straight. "Two," he said to his fiancee on the rail, "Four outs."
was no good for Ivanov, and the 
on the river and Nozaki was eliminated in 8th place (€120,700).
