Ori Haim Elul raised to 40,000 on the button with only 7,000 behind, Marc Macdonnell flatted in the small blind, and Ben Heath raised to 112,000 in the big blind. Elul got the last of his chips in, Macdonnell then moved all in for roughly 420,000, and Heath called with the covering stack.
Ori Haim Elul:
Marc Macdonnell:
Ben Heath:
The flop kept Heath's jacks ahead to the turn, and the completed the board to confirm the result, eliminating both Elul and Macdonnell, while Heath soared up to the top of the leaderboard with a million chips.
Sonny Franco and Sergio Coutinho were heads up to the turn on a board showing , with Coutinho check-calling Franco's bet of 20,000.
Coutinho checked again on the river, and Franco bet enough to put his opponent all in. Coutinho went into the tank for several minutes before Franco called for the clock.
Coutinho then called instantly, and Franco turned over . Coutinho quickly showed for the winning hand, staying alive and doubling up.
On a flop, Pedro Garagnani had 45,000 over the betting line in the hijack and was facing a raise to 83,000 by Frederik Brink in the big blind. Garagnani called.
The landed on the turn and Brink moved all in for roughly 200,000. Garagnani quickly called.
Frederik Brink:
Pedro Garagnani:
Brink's flopped trips ran into Garagnani's flopped boat, and the completed the board to confirm the pot for the Brazilian, while Brink made his exit near the end of the day.
The PokerStars European Poker Tour London moved closer to crowning a champion in the £5,300 EPT Main Event, as a busy Day 2 saw the field play down deep into the money.
Frenchman Julien Sitbon leads the field of 80 remaining players, just as he did after Day 2 of the £1,100 UKIPT Main Event. Sitbon went on to finish 11th in that event, and takes another lead into Day 3 looking to better that previous result.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
RANK
PLAYER
COUNTRY
CHIP COUNT
BIG BLINDS
1
Julien Sitbon
France
1,000,000
200
2
Pedro Garagnani
Brazil
930,000
186
3
Ben Heath
United Kingdom
914,000
182
4
Carl Probsting
Germany
769,000
153
5
David Docherty
United Kingdom
665,000
133
6
Ole Schemion
Germany
635,000
127
7
Nils Pudel
Germany
602,000
120
8
Conor Beresford
United Kingdom
565,000
113
9
Ramzi Karam
Lebanon
531,000
106
10
Sergio Coutinho
Portugal
480,000
96
239 players began the day with a bag from their opening flights, while 36 more registered prior to the start of play. That brought the tournament total to 749 entries, creating a total prize pool of £3,632,650. The eventual champ will take home £664,400 and the title of EPT London Main Event champion.
Sitbon was one of two players to reach the seven-figure mark in chips on the day as Ben Heath looked on his way to the tournament lead after a double knockout, only to lose ground in the final level. Heath is among a group of notable names in contention, including Day 1b chip leader Ole Schemion.
Ramon Colillas
Others in that group include Adrian Mateos, Jack Sinclair, and PokerStars Ambassador Ramon Colillas.
£50,000 EPT Super High Roller winner Henrik Hecklen is in a great position for another deep run at the Hilton Park Lane, as is £1,100 UKIPT Main Event champion Martin Jacobson. After notable uses of pocket aces several times during his title run, Jacobson flipped the script as he cracked aces to stay alive early in the day.
Other faces bringing a bag into Day 3 included Benjamin Pollak, Erik Seidel, EPT London Ladies ChampionJessica Pilkington, and Ambreen Mirza, fresh off her 80th place run in this week’s £2,200 UKIPT High Roller.
Day 2 Action
Among the early eliminations on Day 2 was PokerStars Ambassador Benjamin Spragg, who moved all in with the superior hand only to see Jonathan Barusta connect on the turn and river.
The parade to the exits was consistent all day long, with notables Philippe Souki, Dominik Nitsche, Mustapha Kanit, Daniel Dvoress, and Danny Tang all finishing short of the money.
Day 3 will resume on Tuesday at 12 p.m. local time, with action beginning on Level 16 at blinds of 2,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante. The schedule once again calls for five 90-minute levels, with 20-minute breaks in between each.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as they continue towards the final table of the £5,300 EPT Main Event here in London.
flop kept Heath's jacks ahead to the 
turn, and the 
completed the board to confirm the result, eliminating both Elul and Macdonnell, while Heath soared up to the top of the leaderboard with a million chips.
river, and Franco bet enough to put his opponent all in. Coutinho went into the tank for several minutes before Franco called for the clock.
for the winning hand, staying alive and doubling up.
landed on the turn and Brink moved all in for roughly 200,000. Garagnani quickly called.
completed the board to confirm the pot for the Brazilian, while Brink made his exit near the end of the day.
