Welcome to Day 3 of EPT 11 Grand Final Main Event
Poker's brightest young star is shining at European Poker Tour 11 Grand Final Main Event here in Monte Carlo. As the Day 3 restart looms in a matter of hours, Ole Schemion sits atop the chip counts with 477,700, which will be good for nearly 160 big blinds as Level 15 (1,500/3,000/400) begins. The German seeks to add to a resume that's fast become one of poker's strongest, with more than $7.7 million in live tournament earnings and millions more won online.
Schemion's unstoppable rise could be hastened or greatly slowed by a table draw for Day 3 that includes third-biggest stack Jose Carlos Garcia, who has 461,200. Schemion was fortunate to draw a seat two to Garcia's left, so he should have the positional advantage in most cases if the two monster stacks should clash. That table also includes Ludovic Geilich (129,100) and Maria Ho (112,800).
Though Schemion dominates the headlines, with 114 players returning, there are plenty of other storylines. Team PokerStars pros Jason Mercier (296,400), Vanessa Selbst (285,000), Isaac Haxton (221,300), Andre Akkari (146,900), Johnny Lodden (109,000), and Eugene Katchalov (71,200) all remain in contention. Other players to keep an eye on include Sergio Aido (276,600), Dario Sammartino (255,300), Juan Martin Pastor (226,000), Stephen Chidwick (205,300), Scott Clements (199,500), Dzmitry Urbanovich (158,100), Connor Drinan (150,400), and Mustapha Kanit (146,000). Kanit won the €50,000 Super High Roller for more than €930,000 just days ago.
Another major event for today should be the bursting of the money bubble. The tournament payouts list 79 places paid, with a min-cash worth €19,175, and players should find themselves in the money should they survive a few hours here on Day 3. The schedule calls for five 90-minute levels to be played, so stick with us here at PokerNews as things continue to develop here in Monte Carlo.