€5,300 Main Event
Dia 1b Iniciado
2015 PokerStars EPT Season 12 Prague
€5,300 Main Event
Dias: 1b
Event Info
Resultado Final
Event Info
Informações sobre o nível
2015 PokerStars EPT Season 12 Prague
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€5,063,400
Entradas
1,044
Nível
36
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
50,000
Welcome to Day 1b of the EPT12 Prague Main Event
Hello and welcome back to PokerNews' coverage of the Season 12 European Poker Tour Prague Main Event, the final €5,300 buy-in EPT Main Event of 2015.
The sun is shining in Prague, but for the next 12 hours, those entering the Main Event don't care about how beautiful the Czech capital looks because all that matters is that they have chips needing bagging at the end of eight 75-minute levels.
Day 1a, played on Thursday, attracted a field of 254 players, and 144 of those progressed to Saturday's Day 2. If you're playing today and want to become the overall chip leader then you need to end the night with more than 190,600 chips, the total that Belarus' Anton Astapau accumulated during the opening flight.
Those surviving the antics of Day 1b will join the likes of Rainer Kempe (157,400), Adrian Mateos (150,200), Charlie Carrel (120,500), Anton Wigg (90,000), Andrew Chen (74,400), Mike McDonald (54,400), Thomas Muehloecker (42,500), and Byron Kaverman (41,000) on Day 2.
The field size on the final starting flight is almost always by far the largest, and that means we are set for a bumper crowd here today. While it is unlikely that Season 11's attendance of 1,107 is going to be met, we expect more than double the number of Day 1a entries, which makes for a great turnout and a huge first place prize.
Our coverage begins at 12:00 CET and continues until the players bag up their chips at around midnight. Until play is underway, why not check out this video shot at the Players Party a couple of nights ago:
Nível: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Day 1b Looks Set to be Huge
Nível 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Day 1b is only few minutes old yet there are still 430 players registered for it! With late registration available until the start of Day 2, we could be looking at a huge field again here in Prague.
Big Names Turn Out in Force
Nível 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
There are some stellar names among the 430 entrants so far, check out the list and see if your favorite player is on it.
| Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
|
30,000 | 30,000 |
Some More Familiar Faces in the Field
Nível 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
| Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |
Early Pot for Thomas
Nível 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Ever since he finished fourth in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event for $2,851,537, Russell Thomas has become a fixture on the tournament circuit. We often see him traveling the EPT with Kitty Kuo, and today both are in action.
In a recent hand, Thomas opened for 200 under the fun and a player in early position three-bet to 525. The player in the cutoff called, Twitch star Jamie Staples came along from the big blind, and action was back on Thomas, who thought for a bit before putting in a four-bet to 2,550. That did the trick as one by one his opponents released their cards.
| Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
|---|---|---|
|
|
31,500 | 1,500 |
|
|
29,500 | -500 |
Early Stumble for Aido
Nível 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
With around 4,000 in the pot and a board reading 
, an under-the-gun player bet 1,600 and Spain's Sergio Aido called from the hijack to see the 
river. The UTG player tossed out a single blue chip for a bet of 5,000, and Aido wasted little time in releasing his hand.
| Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
|---|---|---|
|
|
26,400 | -3,600 |
Nancy Birnbaum Playing in Her First-Ever EPT Main Event
Nível 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Nancy Birnbaum may be no stranger to poker, but she is to the European Poker Tour!
Known to many simply as "Trouble," the poker pro originally from Florida is playing in her first-ever EPT Main Event here on Day 1b. Birnbaum and a friend opted to take a break from the American circuit for their first European poker foray, and immediately it paid off as last night she finished 22nd out of 748 players in the Eureka Poker Tour High Roller for a nice payday.
While Birnbaum, who is also a member of Team Blue Shark Optics, may be new to the EPT, she has a long list of poker cashes dating all the way back to 2006. Her best cash was for $51,269 for winning the 2009 World Series of Poker Circuit New Orleans Event #3: $500 No-Limit Hold'em, which was also the first of her three WSOP Circuit gold rings.
Other highlights on her poker résumé include sixth in the 2014 WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace Main Event for $41,642, third in the 2015 Isle Classic Event #1: $350 No-Limit Hold'em for $28,776, and 15th in the 2013 World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Showdown for $22,927.
PokerNews will be sure to keep an eye on Birnbaum to see how she fares in her first-ever EPT Main Event!
Check Out this video with Sarah Herring.
Three Former Champs Enter
Nível 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
The Day 1b waters are growing more dangerous with each passing minute, and now three former EPT champions have bought in.
Roberto Romanello, sporting a fetching Christmas-themed hat, won this very event during Season 7 while Robin Ylitalo of Sweden took down the London Main Event in Season 10. More recently, the UK's Niall Farrell emerged victorious in the Season 12 Malta Main Event.
All three are now in action in the Czech Republic, we will keep an eye on their progress.
| Jogador | Fichas | Oscilação |
|---|---|---|
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 |