January 21, 2010 2:39 pm
Live Event schedule 2010
Live Events are an essential part of Ongame Network’s service to partners and are integrated into Ongame Network’s extensive online tournament offering.
- 24-31 January Aussie Millions 2010
- 16-21 February PokerStars.com EPT Copenhagen
- 2-7 March PokerStars.com EPT Berlin
- 21-26 March PokerStars.com EPT Snowfest
- 2-5 April Irish Poker Open
- 15-21 April PokerStars.com EPT San Remo
- 25-30 April PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo
- 29 June-1 July WSOP Side Event 51
- 2-5 July WSOP Side Event 56
- 5-17 July WSOP Main Event
The list of Live Events supported by Ongame Network is regularly updated so please check back again.
December 6, 2009 4:44 pm
Czech out time!
It’s been a great week here at the PokerStars.com EPT Prague, and with 3 of our Partners players cashing for a total of €27,900, not a bad one financially!
Along with memories from the great city of Prague, I’m sure the players have enjoyed the event regardless of their finishing position. David Wintersberger of RedKings easily had the most horrific bad beat this week, and your blogger is still just about getting over the tilt from that hand, but even that didn’t dampen the young Germans resolve too much.
So another successful stop around the world comes to an end. Congratulations once more to Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco, Henri Antikainen of Betsafe, and Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers for making it to the money.
December 4, 2009 8:05 pm
Gaaaaaaah!!
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco has just been eliminated directly after the last post.
Details are a little hazy, but from what I gather, the Slovakian lost around 80% of his chips with Pocket Pair against Pocket Pair. Not too long after that, with the blinds so high, Andrej got his chips into the middle with A♦ T♦ with the flop reading A♥ Q♣ T♣ but his opponent held A♠ Q♦ for a higher two pair. With a 5♠ and an A♣ dropping on the turn and river, The slovakian hit the rail.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco collected €9,700 for his efforts this week, and although he’s not over the moon, the PokerLoco player has played solidly and can definitely be proud of his performance.
7:23 pm
Henke gone
On my way back to the tournament floor from the media room, I look up from my notepad and Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers is standing there! Busted! The Dane informs me that he thought his opponent was steaming from another pot so pushed all-in with K♣ 9♣ only to be called. His opponent showed A♣ 9♠ and immediately hit an Ace on the flop.
Henrik Sørensen has had a good solid week, and his 51st place finish has earned him €9,700. He’s content and is still smiling away.
So, Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco is now the lone soldier here representing our Partners. The blinds are high, but he’s still above the average stack.
6:06 pm
15 minutes of rest
The players are enjoying their 15 minute break in the smoke filled lobby. I’m pretty sure it’s a well needed patch away from the table. Every decision now made, could potentially cost the players hundreds of thousands of Euro’s.
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers no longer has position on German Poker Pro Florian Langmann. The German has moved tables, and in his place is now Swedish Poker Pro, Stefan Mattsson. Henrik tells me “It’s nice to have position on him, he’s a very good player”. Indeed he is, and the Dane might find his afternoon getting tougher before it gets easier.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco looks relaxed and asked if it’s hard work, the Slovakian just smiles and gives me a nod. The focused PokerLoco player is still sitting above the average stack, and looks prepared to go a long way.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 360k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 93k
So level 18 is here and it’ll cost 4k/8k and antes of 500! Average stack is 325k an with 54 players left, €9,700 is guaranteed.
5:20 pm
The money inflates
It’s level 17 for the next 20 minutes, and paying 3k/6k with antes of 500 looks cheap in comparison to the next level. The average stack is at 288k and with 61 players left, everyone still with chips is guaranteed €9,100.
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers continues his pursuit of gaining a bigger stack. It is going in the right direction though. Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco isn’t sitting on his big stack, and the Slovakian has had a chunk of change chipped off of his stack. He’s still sitting clear of the average, but he’ll be wanting to change his chip trend pretty soon.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 460k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 58k
4:50 pm
Down to 2
Well, I guess it was always going to happen. Henri Antikainen of Betsafe has left the PokerStars.com EPT Prague.
Being short and chasing for chips like the rest of the players, the Finn had all his chips in the middle with Pocket Tens. Unfortuantely for Henri, French poker player Manuel Bevand had picked up Pocket Queens. The board ran out with no favours for the Betsafe player, and the Finn leaves us €8,500 better off!
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers is now extrememly short, and he’s getting his chips in the pot at every chance he can. Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco is going along nicely and accumulating chips every other hand.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 470k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 60k
It’s costing 3k/6k with antes of 500, and the aveargar stack is about 260k. With 67 players left, all the players are now guaranteed €8,500.
4:23 pm
It’s not lucky to be superstitious
Surprisingly, the Bubble never took too long to burst, and now Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco, Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers, and Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe are all now guaranteed €8,000. The media room were expecting the usual long drawn out affair of waiting for that 1 player to go, but it was a quick and pain-free experience.
It’s been a great week for our 3 players representing their Partners, and now that the bubble has burst, it’s back to playing poker.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 372k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 112k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 115k
3:16 pm
First break of the day
The players have just returned to the felt from the first break of the day.
Speaking to Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers, the Dane tells me that his table is “Ok”. He explained “I had to fold Queens on a 6 high flop. The other guy showed me Aces though…”. Your blogger raises an eyebrow and then understands fully why he himself has not featured at eny EPT’s yet. Great lay down. Henrik is in great spirits and looks ready to go far today.
Also in great spirits is Betsafe player, Henri Antikainen. The Finn tells me that he “managed to double up with Tens. It’s been the same as yesterday with Jack Five off-suit, Eight Three off…so when I looked down and saw Tens, it was an easy push”. Henri is all smiles and also looks ready to go a long way.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco looks extremely focused and has started well. Sitting at the table, the Slovakian is oozing confidence. He’s played some solid poker throughout the tournament, and has his eyes well and truly fixed on Day 4 of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague.
It’s now 2500/5000 with antes of 500, and it won’t be getting any cheaper!
2:25 pm
Bite those nails
Well, it’s inevitable. Every tournament has one. It cannot be dodged or side stepped. It cannot be ignored or hidden. It can’t even be made into something fun. I’m talking about the Bubble.
With 87 players left, it’s fast approaching, and Henri Antikainen of Betsafe is in that little area of danger where he might not creep into the cash. It’s going to be a tense Bubble…
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 270k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 166k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 60k
1:27 pm
Day 3 gets going
Day 3 has begun with 95 players in attendance. We’re starting this day in the PokerStars.com EPT Prague on level 15. To you and I, that’s 2k/4k with antes of 400.
With the blinds asking so much of the players, Henri Antikainen of Betsafe really needs so early action to go his way. He won’t have it easy though with German Poker Pro, Florian Langmann situated at his table. If yesterday was anything to go by, today is going to be another tense day!
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 269,400
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 182,000
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 67,500
December 3, 2009 10:19 pm
Day 2 passes by
After 6 arduous levels lasting 75 minutes in length, Day 2 has just ended. It’s been a day chock full of drama and action, with a horrific moment thrown in here and there. The elimination of David Wintersberger easily stands out as a “pure pain” moment. The RedKings player should be heading into Day 3, but alas, poker just isn’t like that.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco, Henri Antikainen of Betsafe and Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers all made safe passage into Day 3, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. Speaking to Henri Antikainen of Betsafe just after the last hand of the day had been dealt, the Finn exclaimed “For the last 2 hours I’ve just been folding. I can’t play 94 offsuit”. The Betsafe player looks a bit on the relieved side to have made it through a very tough Day 2, as does Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco.
Our 3 remaining players representing their respective Partners, all look a smidge on the tired side. Whether it be a bath and early bed, a beer or 2 at the bar, or an epic night out in Prague, each player deserves a pat on the back for managing to avoid the Day 2 minefield that claimed over 200 players.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 269,400
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 182,000
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 67,500
Andrej, Henrik, Henri and your blogger will be back here tomorrow at 12:00 local time to do it all again. If you thought Day 2 had action…just wait for Day 3!!
9:23 pm
These are tense times
We’ve now got 30 minutes left of Day 2. The tension in the tournament area could be cut with a knife! We’ve lost 220 players since the day began over 8 hours ago. It’s not particularly nice to bust from tournaments, but it’s especially painful if that elimination happens in the last half of the final level of the day.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 114k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 76k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 150k
Railing Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco, Henri Antikainen of Betsafe and Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers intently, all 3 players are now below the average stack of 162k. The next half hour is crucial, and you blogger senses danger.
8:57 pm
Just 75 minutes left
Level 14 has arrived! Hip Hip Hooray!! …Or something like that. The blinds are now at a stack chopping 1500/3000 with antes of 300. With just 124 players left, the average stack is now up to 142k.
Your blogger managed to get a quick word with Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers during the break, and the Dane filled me in on how it’s all going. “Earlier on I had A♣ 8♣ and there was a bet of 5,5k to me. I said ‘Lets make it 18k’ and then behind me someone pushed for about 100k. Obviously I had to fold”. The Dane is still in great spirits, even though “nothing sticks right now”.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 121k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 70k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 191k
It’s the final level of Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague, and any player with chips left in 75 minutes will be through to Day 3. With €8,000 guaranteed for the top 80 players, this level is even more clinical than the last 13.
8:13 pm
Henrik marches on
With level 13 well underway, just 137 players have survived this long. It’s been an afternoon of action that has continued to keep the fast pace since the day begun.
Our Partners players are still roughing it up with the Big Boys of poker, and even though Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers sits 2 spots down from Swedish Poker Pro Stefan Mattsson, the Dane is still the owner of a very healthy stack.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 122k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 72k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 195k
It’s 1200/2400 with antes of 200, and the average stack is a slither over 128k. Your blogger has seen a multitude of bad beats and suck outs today. Can Henrik, Andrej and Henri dodge any craziness to come in the remainder of the day?
7:26 pm
Famous Casualties
EPT Prague has had it’s fair share of poker celebrities here, and even the Big Guns of the poker world don’t always get it easy. It made be their trade of choice, but not everyone can make it through to Day 3. The stars below are all still in contention, along with our 3 players representing their respective Partners.
7:18 pm
Lucky 13 approaches
As the death of level 12 closes in, Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco, Henri Antikainen of Betsafe, and Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers are all still in he hunt for Day 3. There’s 162 players making the average stack of 108k.
Just Henri Antikainen of Betsafe lies under this amount, but continues to fight away. Sitting a few spots along from the Finn, French Poker Pro Antony Lellouche, isn’t making it any easy to gain any chips.
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers on the other hand, has transformed his Day 2 starting stack of 17,3k into something beautiful. The Dane has performed solidly over the last few hours and now has a very healthy stack.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco has postion on Jeff Sarwer, the child chess genius who finished in 3rd place in the recent EPT Vilamoura, but further around the table, French Poker Pro Nicolas Levi is making life difficult for everyone. It’s going to be an interesting finish to the day.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 111k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 50k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 205k
6:02 pm
It’s getting expensive
The break has just finished and the players are now back at the felt. We’re halfway through the action of Day 2 and just 174 players remain. Just to point out how much action Day 2 has seen, almost half of the field has gone so far. That’s a lot of players to be eliminated in less than 4 hours! After losing 8 players in the first three levels of the day, only 3 players representing our Partners remain in the PokerStars.com EPT Prague. In a day fraught with danger, and still 3 levels to go, your blogger can’t see the action slowing down too much.
Henri Antikainen of Betsafe is still sitting with about 37k, and speaking to him during the break, he tells me with a smile that he’ll “need to double up soon”. I can only agree with the Finn, and hope that the poker gods are smiling on him.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco has squeezed his stack upwards and now has over the average. The Slovakian looks comfortable and is smiling away as we chat away about poker.
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers is also in great spirits. Asked how it’s going, the Dane replied “Yeah it’s good, I have about 95k now”. Upon my “Nice job sir!” reply, Henrik says “Yeah it’s going pretty well…” as he smiles from ear to ear.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 77k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 37k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 88k
We’re at level 12 and the blinds are a mighty 1k/2k with antes of 200 being asked. The average stack is a shaving over 100k.
5:23 pm
Let’s play “Tilt the blogger”
Just moments ago, the sickest thing I’ve seen this week just unfolded in front of my very eyes. If you’re not fond of heart-breaking posts, or reading the ramblings of a tiltled blogger…it’s best you skip this post.
David Wintersberger of RedKings 3-bets Yann Brosolo, and the Frenchman, holding a bigger stack than the RedKings player, humps it up to about 30k. David calls and the flop drips out 4♦ 4♠ Q♥ . Brosolo leads out with a bet of 40k. David gives it some thought and calls. This pot is now huge. I can almost see the middle of the table bend under the weight of the chips! The turn is a J♦ and Brosolo announces all-in. Time instantly stops. It’s a sick sick scenario and one of immense importance. The RedKings player had an almighty sized stack, and should he fold he’d still sit around the average mark. The German tanks for a good while…then calls. Brosolo suddenly says “NOOOoooo…” and tables 5♠ 5♥ . The RedKings player shows K♠ K♦ for a brilliant call. The pot is well over the 300k mark, and probably sits at about 320k. Whoever takes this pot is chipleader of EPT Prague. David only has to dodge one of the two the Frenchman has. But in the sickest twist of fate, the river lands a 5♦ . It’s horrific. The RedKings player is on his feet and cannot believe it. In fact there’s not too one person around the table who’s not in shock. It’s horrible to see, and your blogger goes on tilt.
I have to take my hat off to David Wintersberger of RedKings. The German hasn’t played a bad hand this week, yet he’s hit the rail. He’s a great young man with a solid attitude. Obviously he’s not exactly on cloud 9 right now, but talking to him afterwards, he still managed a smile or two. Poker truly is, a cruel game.
5:01 pm
Big Slick and visions
Stéphane Hée and Yvan Touhami both of Winamax have just gone. Their elimination is once again a frustrating mystery for your blogger. However, Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco just found himself some action.
Having his bet raised up to about 8k pre-flop, the PokerLoco player gives a bit of thought before moving his stack all-in. His short stacked opponent seems reluctant to call, but does so anyway. Andrej shows A♣ K♦ against his opponents Q♣ Q♠ . The flop drops out 5♦ 5♠ 8♠ . Surprisingly, his opponent now gets to his feet and prepares to put his jacket on. He obviously felt it coming, and as the turn spits out a A♥ , I’m mildly impressed by his “turn guessing skills”. The river is a 7♠ and Andrej now goes over the 100k mark!
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 101k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 160k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 37k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 87k
4:19 pm
Pressure in Prague
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax has gone for sure. Details of his exit arestill a mystery, but his EPT Prague adventure is over. Fellow Winamax player Maxime Espinasse, has also gone. Being extremely low on chips (about 25% of the average stack) he managed to get his chips all-in preflop with Q♦ T♦ against A♣ 9♠ . The board fired out an Ace on the flop and Maxime couldn’t catch anything from the remaining cards.
We’re now at level 11 and Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers has found a great run. Having only 15k not so long ago, the Dane is now up to 88k! David Wintersberger of RedKings is also showing good stuff today and his stack seems to have a life of its own. It has now evolved into a 156k monster!
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 77k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 156k
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – 22k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 37k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 88k
Blinds are sitting at 800/1600 with antes of 200, and with 215 players left, the average stack is 81,7k. With over a third of the starting field from today already eliminated, expect there to be quite a few more as the day goes on.
3:39 pm
Drama from everywhere
Getting to the table of Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers, the Dane has bet 6k with the board showing 3♣ A♣ 2♣ . His opponent calls and the turn is a J♣ . It’s “check check” to the 8♥ on the river. Once again, it’s checked through and Henrik shows 5♣ 6♣ and takes the pot. The Scandic Bookmakers player is now up to 47k
Just as the hand at Henrik Sørensen’s table finished, I look up and see Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco walking through the tournament area with his jacket on. The man from Poland tells me, that he pushed all in for about 17k from late on with 8♠ 6♠ and two callers showing A♥ K♦ and A♣ 2♣ come along for the ride. With the board reading out 6♦ 2♥ 9♦ … J♦ … Q♦ , Mariusz thinks his pair of 6’s are good…until it’s pointed out that his opponet has the Flush. His EPT Prague dream is over, but he’s still happy and smiling away.
3:30 pm
The pace continues
We’re now at level 10 and the blinds are 600/1200 with antes of 100. There’s 239 players left in the PokerStars.com EPT Prague and the average stack is now up to 73,5k.
It would appear that Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax has gone! More on that as soon as I find out! Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco has had his stack in the middle on a regular basis recently, but hasn’t had a caller yet. The man from Poland is trying to inflate his stack, and whether it be stealing pots or doubling up, his chip count is dangerously low.
David Wintersberger of RedKings is using his stack to his full advantage and just keeps increasing it. At around 135k, it’s looking impressive as it towers above the other stacks on his table.
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – …
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 78k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 135k
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – 45k
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – 19k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 38k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – 49k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 16k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 36k
3:06 pm
Taramas has gone
It’s just been confirmed. John Taramas of Poker.gr did indeed get eliminated. In short, the Greek got his chips all-in pre-flop with pocket Jacks against AQ. With and Ace showing driectly on the flop, John couldn’t rustle up some well needed luck. He will be back at furture events though, I’m certain of it!
The last hand before the break was interesting. David Wintersberger of RedKings managed to catch an Ace on the flop and took a chunk of change off of Pierre Neuville, who finished runner-up in EPT Vilamoura. David is up to a huge 120k now.
Another hand of particular interest is regarding Henri Antikainen of Betsafe. The Hijack makes it 2,700 and the cut-off calls. Henri on the Small Blind then pumps it up to 8,000. The Hijack wants none of it and fold, and the similar short stacked cut-off moves all-in. The Finn calls instantly and the cards get some light. The Betsafe player shows T♥ T♦ against his opponents K♠ Q♠ . The flop dropped out 5♥ A♣ 7♠ and the Finn was still ahead. The turn came a scary J♠ and Henri’s face didn’t exactly show confidence at this point. Tournament life on the line, just has to dodge an King, Queen, Ten or Spade…which calculates to about a million outs. The river spat out a 7♥ and the Finn fist pumps and whispers out a “Yeeeesssss!”. He’s up to about 25k now!
2:38 pm
Sweat it out
Level 9 is nearing it’s completion, and the 285 players still in contention for Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague will be facing blinds of 600/1200 with antes of 100 in less than 10 minutes time. The average stack is up to 61,6k, and we have 6 of our players all under that amount. It’s getting a little tense.
For whatever reasons, Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 never made an appearance today, and the Norwegian was blind out of the tournament. On an even scarier note, John Taramas appears to have gone missing. The man from Greece never had a great deal of chips and had to make a move soon, I’m going to put my head on the chopping block and say that he’s also been eliminated.
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – 59k
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 70k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 66k
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – 38k
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – 30k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 10k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – 34k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 17k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 15k
Speaking to Martin Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers this morning, the Dane informed me that his elimination involved him running into Aces. He was still upbeat though, and the live event regular will no doubt be back in future events.
2:12 pm
Norwegian Missing In Action…
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 hasn’t turned up for his Day 2 action yet, and starting with only 5,800, it’s looking a bit glum. If the Norwegian isn’t here within the next 5 minutes or so, he’ll be blinded out.
Good news now though. The other 10 players are here and have taken their seats for the long day ahead. Today saw 328 players return to the felt and each one of them will surely know what’s at stake. Remember, first place will take home a very nice €682,000.
There will be 6 levels of 75 minutes today, and whoever has chips at the end of that, will be through to Day 3!
12:35 pm
Day 2 is here!
It’s all just a little bit more serious now. It’s Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague and with the blinds kicking off at 500/1000 and antes of 100, every decision is now of the upmost importance.
Stéphane Hée and Yvan Touhami of Winamax have indeed made it through to Day 2, so our with 11 players representing 7 of our Partners, I’m convinced there will be action from the get go!
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – 64,200
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 61,000
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 60,600
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – 56,500
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – 34,900
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 34,100
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – 18,900
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 17,300
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 17,300
John Taramas of Poker.gr – 17,100
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – 5,800
December 2, 2009 10:17 pm
Day 2 in 15 hours
After a long ardous day at the felt, the remaining players have now made it through to Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague.
It’s been a struggle for some, and speaking to Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers, the Dane tells me that he “hasn’t played the best poker today”. Tomorrow is another day though, and although Henrik may be short stacked, I’m sure he’ll be here tomorrow meaning business. David Wintersberger of RedKings just told me that even though has he takes 60k with him into Day, he was up to 100k at one point and lost a mammoth pot with pocket Jacks against a suspect Ace/Queen call.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 61,000
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 17,300
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 60,600
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 17,300
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – …
Day 2 will begin at 12:00 tomorrow, and we will definitely have 9 players representing 7 of our Partners. Hopefully, Stéphane Hée and Yvan Touhami of Winamax both made safe passage through to Day 2. It’s going to be busy tomorrow with over 300 players coming back in search of a place in Day 3, and with 6 players under the average stack and blinds starting at crunching 500/1000 with 100 antes, the action is almost guaranteed from the very first hand!
9:39 pm
So close…
The end of level 8 is less than 30 minutes away. There’s now only 222 players left fighting it out for Day 2, and with the blinds sitting at 400/800 with antes of 75, the average stack is at 49,6k.
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco and Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers are both in bad shape and really need a double up pretty soon. With any luck, Stéphane Hée and Yvan Touhami of Winamax are both still in and sitting with 100k stacks. When the official Day 1B list is released later, we’ll find out for sure!
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 62k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 18,5k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 55k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 21k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – …
9:20 pm
Big Gun Survivors
Interested in seeing what “Big Guns” still remain in the hunt for Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague? Yeah, I thought you would be…
8:51 pm
Not long left
The players have now returned from their final break of Day 1B, and some of them, still have it all to do.
Speaking to Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco, I was informed that he’s “enjoying it, but it’s tough. It’s hard work but I have about 25k”. The PokerLoco player seems fresh and doesn’t show any fatigue from his “tough day at the office”, he’s smiling away nicely.
Unfortunately, I think Martin Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers has been eliminated. The Dane can’t be found anywhere, so I’m afraid we might have another casualty. Fellow Scandic Bookmakers player, Henrik Sørensen has been moved table and Russian Poker Pro Alex Kravchenko now has posistion on him. Could be an interesting 90 minutes of poker left tonight.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 63k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 25k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 62k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 23k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – …
We’re midway through level 7 and the blinds are 300/600 with antes on 50 being demanded. Just 261 players remain and the average stack sits at the 42k mark.
8:09 pm
The Money Moment
With level 6 now inching closer to level 7, the clinical stage of all Day 1’s in any event, is now upon us. The last 2 levels will make or break a player, and will demand total concentration from each individual until the end of todays play.
Our players here representing their respective Partners are all looking focused on the task at hand, and with the official payout just released, the importance of the occasion has now no doubt been cemented into the minds of every the 300 players left in Day 1A.
A total prize pool of €2,842,100 makes the first prize sitting at a very nice €682,000. Only 80 places are paid, and the money jumps could mean the difference between buying a Mercedes or a Moped.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 75k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 15k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 58k
Martin Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 31k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 21k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – …
7:37 pm
Brace yourselves
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings has just gone.
Sensing the urgency of the situation, the Norwegian was all-in on a flop reading 9♥ 8♣ 4♠ for his last remaining 11k. Stephan shows A♣ 9♦ for top pair, against his opponents 7♥ 6♥ . His opponent has outs everywhere. The turn is a A♥ and it’s all going a bit wrong. When the river lands in the form of a 3♥ , the back door flush is enough to send the well liked Norwegian to the rail. It’s a shame to see Stephan go in such a fashion.
More bad news now. Simone Coppari of Goalwin has vanished! The Italian was pretty short stacked and I’m convinced that he’s been eliminated from the PokerStars.com EPT Prague. Hopefully we’ll find out the details of his elimination shortly.
Stéphane Hée and Yvan Touhami of Winamax are still in though. Pulling out favours left and right, both players are apparently doing ok and were still in the hunt for Day 2. I’m on my way out to find them!
7:23 pm
Drama begins to heat up
Level 5 is in full flow now, and the players have resumed their battle of Day 1B.
Having just passed the halfway point of the day, level 5 requires blinds of 150/300 and antes of 25 to be paid by each player. As the cost of poker goes up, the demand on making fewer mistakes becomes even more important.
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco is having a great run right now and now sits with a huge 73k. Simone Coppari of Goalwin, Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings and Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers are all on the short side, and will need to find hands or catch flops pretty soon if they want to make it to Day 2.
Simone Coppari of Goalwin – 15k
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 73k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 22k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 55k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 12k
Martin Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 29k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 13k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – …
7:22 pm
What’s going on?
The players have now returned from their second break of the day. I’m fairly confident that every player at the PokerStars.com EPT Prague smokes. Trying to find players in the lobby area is almost like a scene from John Carpenters “The Fog”. Luckily though, your blogger found a few of our guys.
Speaking to Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers, the Dane tells me that he “just lost a 40k pot. Nothing is really holding up at the minute”. He’s in a good mood though and looks confident. Fellow Scandic Bookmakers player, Martin Hansen also informs me that “nothing is really happening. 8 3’s and 4 2’s keep winning everything, but it’s a good table though”. Martin is also looking confident and his mass of experience in live poker tournaments will surely be of a benefit throughout the remainder of the afternoon. David Wintersberger of RedKings tells me his table is “soft” even though Dutch Poker Pro Noah Boeken has position on him. Regarding Noah, The RedKings player says” He’s trying to bully a little, but I’m not letting him.
There’s the possibility of some good action ahead!
4:46 pm
4th level update
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers has been found, and he’s going along nicely. Just Stéphane Hée and Yvan Touhami of Winamax are hiding. Once I find the Frenchmen, your blogger will be able to sleep well tonight.
Simone Coppari of Goalwin has suffered a set back recently and his stack has shrunk a great deal. It’s not quite time to be worried about the end, as he’s still got enough chips to make it awkward for other people.
Simone Coppari of Goalwin – 17k
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 38k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 37k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 43k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 25k
Martin Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 33k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 34k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – …
There’s 348 people left in Day 1B of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague…
3:56 pm
Where’s Henrik?!
The players have returned from their first beak of the day, and level 3 has begun.
The chips have been moving around, but with the exception of Stephan Kjaerstad’s boat against boat earleir in the day, no real hands are sticking out. I do have some troubling news though. Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers is now Missing In Action. There is no reason for him to move tables, and he’s now not sitting where he started the day. Your blogger fears the worst has happened.
Simone Coppari of Goalwin – 31k
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 37k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 28k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 29k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 24k
Martin Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 30k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – …
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – …
2:45 pm
It’s all going to plan
There’s been some early movement in the first 2 levels of the day.
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings hasn’t had the best start. His flopped set of 8’s making a full house, was beaten by his opponents flopped set of 9’s for a higher full house. Sick luck very early on! A few of our Parnters player have have all started with their stack moving in the right direction, but Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco leads the way with 36k.
Simone Coppari of Goalwin – 32k
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 36k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 27k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 30k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 24k
Martin Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 31k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 33k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – …
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – …
2:13 pm
Level up soon
There’s not a great deal to report on so far, but good news…your blogger has located most of the players in the action today! After a walk around the tournament area, I can also confirm that there is indeed, amass of Big Guns playing today.
With Goalwin, PokerLoco, RedKings, Scandic Bookmakers and Winamax out in force today, there’s bound to be some great hands and some great plays!
Simone Coppari of Goalwin – 30k
Andrej Nagy of PokerLoco – 30k
Mariusz Krzysztof Cepeniuk of PokerLoco – 30k
David Wintersberger of RedKings – 30k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 30k
Martin Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 30k
Henrik Sørensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 30k
Stéphane Hée of Winamax – 30k
Yvan Touhami of Winamax – 30k
1:21 pm
Day 1B begins
Moments ago, Day 1B of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague kicked off! Just walking towards the Media room from my hotel room, your blogger saw famous face after famous face all here for todays action.
The blinds will begin as they did yesterday at 50/100 and each player getting a starting stack of 30k. It will probably be another slow start to the day, but it will surely heat up after the first couple of hours.
I promised you all info on our “missing guys” from Day 1A did I not? Well…they’re still in!! Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24, Maxime Espinasse of Winamax, and Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe are all throught to Day 2. That makes the action tomorrow even more interesting!
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 17,100
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – 64,200
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – 5,800
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – 34,900
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 34,100
We have 9 players here today representing 5 of our Partners. Can they all survive a dangerous Day 1B?
December 1, 2009 10:26 pm
Day 1A comes to an end
Day 1A of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague has just ended, as as it stands, I can conform that at least 2 of our Partners player made it through to Day 2 on Thursday. I’m hoping that Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24, Maxime Espinasse of Winamax, and Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe all made safe passage too, but we won’t find that out until very late tonight! I promise more info on that in the morning. John Taramas (also known as Ioannis Taramas) of Poker.gr and Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax will definitely be back in the action on Thursday.
John Taramas doesn’t have an abundance of chips, so maybe the day off from the tournament will help out. The amazingly friendly Greek comes from the BlackJack scene and his name is a household one across Greece. Will the Poker.gr player be able use the mass of mathematical experience gathered from years of BlackJack, to help him increase his stack on Day2? I hope so. He’s an absolute delight to talk to.
Paul Pires-Trigo has had a good day and sits well above the average count (whatever that maybe be) and appears pleased with his days efforts. The unofficial player count to survive Day 1A is 119, but expect that to be a slightly smaller number come after confirmation.
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 17,100
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – 64,200
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – …
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – …
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – …
We’re back here tomorrow at 12:00 local time to find the other half of players that will be coming back to shine in Day 2. The trend seems to be that the Big Guns tend to make their appearance on Day 1B, so you really don’t want to miss tomorrow!
10:16 pm
Last hand of the day
It’s the last hand of the night, and Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr makes it 2,100 from UTG+1. Just the Small Blind calls and the flop of Q♠ 9♣ 6♠ hits the felt. Small Blind checks and the Poker.gr player fires out 3,800. Small Blind doesn’t take too long and raises it up. Before anyone can even work out how much the raise is, Giorgios has all his chips in the middle. Small Blind calls just as fast and the Media begin scribbling their notes at the speed of light. The man from Greece shows K♠ J♠ for a multitude of draws. Small Blind turns over Q♦ J♥ for top pair. If Giorgios can’t hit a King, a Spade, or a 10 from the next two cards…he’s out of EPT Prague. The turn drips out a 9♥ . It’s about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. It’s all down to the river. By my calculations, it’s at least a millions outs. He HAS to hit one of them! But it’s not to be as the river clunks a Q♥ on the board. Giorgios Kapalas leaves us on the last hand. It’s painful…
9:54 pm
It’s getting tense
Well, no sooner does your blogger say “It’s gone a bit quiet” does the action come in droves!
There’s 4k in the pot and the flop reads 3♦ K♦ 9♠ . Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr is on the Small Blind and checks. His opponent in late position bets 3,100 and the Greek fires back with a raise up to 8,500. After a little consideration, his opponent calls. Your blogger gets a chill down his spine and I can feel something is about to happen. The turn is a 3♥ and Giorgios fires out a bet of 10k. His opponent gives it some thought and then calls without emotion. The rivers churns out a 5♣ . Hardly an action card, but Giorgios asks his opponent “How much do you have?”. he adds it up and gets the answer “About 30″. The Poker.gr player gives it some thought, and then smoothly checks. His opponent looks hesitant in what to do, but then launches 15k onto the middle of the felt. Your blogger begins to feel uncomfortable. It’s like watching a horror film, you don’t want to see what’s going to happen, but you just can’t go without not knowing what happened. I wished I had my security blanket. After a lifetime in the tank, Giorgios eventually folds. His opponent doesn’t show anything. No cards, no emotion, no sorrow. The Poker.gr player now has 25k left in front of him.
Just 20 minutes until the end of Day 1A of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague…
9:33 pm
One hour to survive
WIth 133 players remaining and the blinds at 400/800 with antes of 75, the average stack is 49,3k. Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers has just been involved in some meaty action.
Standing by the table of Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax, I happened to glance over and see Sören’s table looking active. As you blogger approached, the board read out 2♣ K♥ 5♥ … T♥ … 6♠. The Dane had all his chips in the middle and showed A♦ T♦, but his opponent was showing J♥ J♣ and claimed the pot. The Dane was then left with just a mere 3,500.
Not too many hands later, the Scandic Bookmakers player was once again all-in with K♠ Q♦ and was up against 2♠ 2♦ . The flop dropped out a boring 8♣ 6♥ J♠ . No good for the Dane. The turn was an unhelpful 7♦ . It was down to the river. If Sören doesn’t hit one of his 6 outs on the river, his PokerStars.com EPT Prague adventure will be over. Could he escape this near impossible situation? Nope. The river dropped a 4♦ and the Scandic Bookmakers player leaves us just short of the completion of Day 1A.
9:07 pm
Feel the pain
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax has had a bit of his stack chopped away recently.
There’s about 3,8k in the pot and the board is sitting 7♥ 4♥ 6♦. It’s a battle of the blinds, and action now sits with the Big Blind. It’s a bet of 2,8k to see the turn, and Paul goes into the tank. He doesn’t look over the moon about it and stares down his opponent trying to squeeze out some information. Whether he got that information or not, the Frenchman isn’t too happy about folding but eventually concedes. As he’s mucking his hand, he shows A♥ K♥ . His opponent shrugs his shoulders and shows Q♥ 8♥ . Paul was way ahead, and even though he might not be “throwing a chair through the air” angry, he doesn’t look best pleased. The Frenchman now has about 47k.
8:37 pm
It’s all gone quiet over there
Level 7 has seen the action cool off a little, and as the pace has slowed, the mood in the tournament area has become a more sombre affair. There’s been no screams of delight, howls of pain, or even a single moan of digust for almost an hour. Delayed hangovers from last night thanks to the awesome Czech beer? Your guess is as good as mine.
The blinds are sitting at 300/600 with antes of 50. The average stack is 42,1k, and using mathematical skills known only to elite level scientists working within NASA, you blogger has worked out that there is 156 players still fighting it out for a place in Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague. I promise you, I really did work that out myself…
Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr – 52k
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 25k
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers – 23k
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – 60k
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – …
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – …
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – …
7:57 pm
Persistence pays off!
After searching high and low for an eternity, Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax has been found. The Frenchman is having a great day and it’s a shame that I don’t have the details regarding the rise of the Winamax players stack. Paul has a whopping 61k!
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers is finding the going a little tough over on his table, and with German poker Pro Michael Keiner and 2007 EPT Prague 2nd place finisher, Gino Alacqua both holding position over him, it can’t be an easy place to be sitting.
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr is still pacing himself nicely. Alongside the man from Greece sits Juha Lauttamus. Recognise the name? The Finn representated PAF at EPT Copenhagen earlier in the year.
Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr – 53k
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 41k
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers – 26k
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – 61k
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – …
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – …
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – …
Level 6 is in full flow right now and the blinds sit a 200/400 with antes of 50. There’s 165 player remaining making the average stack a shaving under 40k. Day 1A saw 219 players in attendance. Anyone remember your bloggers guess of 215? I know I know, it must be natural skill…
6:24 pm
One for the rulebook?
Not so long ago, an interesting hand panned out involving Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr.
With a pot of about 3,5k and the board reading out Q♠ 7♥ K♦ … 9♥ … T♣, Giorgios checked the river. His opponent in late position bets 2,5k into the pot. The Poker.gr player goes into the tank for a little while. He then calls the bet and waits to see the result of his call. His opponent is first to show. However, his opponent rolls his eyes and then simply mucks his hand. By EPT tournament rules, Giorgios doesn’t have to show his hand in this situation to win the pot. Giorgios asks if he has to show his hand to take the pot, but the dealer rightly announces that, as it’s heads-up and his opponet being first to act, has mucked, he does not need to show. The Greek doesn’t show and collects the 8,5k pot.
It’s a standard situation in brick and mortar poker room tournaments throughout the world, and nowhere near as dramatic as the the Roland de Wolfe/Tobias Reinkemeier “Angle shooting” situation at the recent EPT Barcelona, but still one that should be noted.
6:04 pm
Info Burst!
After experiencing more difficulties with the internet here at the Hilton Prague, it seems to have recovered. The entire Media Room is back bustling with info and updates regarding Day 1A of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague.
It’s level 5 and the blinds are at 150/300 with antes of 25 required. Giorgios Kapalas and Ioannis Taramas are still in possesion of a decent sized stack, and Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers is now up there sitting with a very nice stack of 52k.
You’re blogger is pulling out favours in all directions to try and find the 4 elusive members here representing their Partners. We’ll see how that goes shortly.
Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr – 51k
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 40k
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers – 52k
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – …
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – …
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – …
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – …
5:37 pm
Who’s who?
Day 1A’s of the PokerStars.com EPT’s aren’t usually known to supply a list of “Big Guns” showing up for battle, but the field today still has a great deal of quality to it. Can’t remember what Season 5 Grand Finale winner Pieter De Korver looks like? Interested to see if Katja Thater is wearing another big hat? Or perhaps just curious to see if Arnaud Mattern has grown his beard? They’re all below…
5:37 pm
Halfway point looms
Frustratingly, Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24, Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe, and Maxime Espinasse and Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax are in the tournament area somewhere. However, they are masters of hiding and your blogger has still yet to locate them. My last option of asking approximately 200 players their names, is fast approaching!
But the guys we do know, are flying along representing their respective Partners with class and skill. The players will be going for their second break soon enough, and with it, some time for a breahter from the intense action.
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – …
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – …
Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr – 57k
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 41k
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – …
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – …
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers – 50k
4:03 pm
Level 3 on the horizon
During the break, your blogger managed to grab a few minutes with a couple of the players.
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers told me that his table is nice. He’s looking comfortable and has a nice stack of 35k. “I’m liking it” he told and gave me a confident smile. Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr (also known as John Taramas) is full of smiles and informed me that his table is “a little bit difficult”. The Greek tells me that he has his game plan and stretegies though, so everything is going as it should. Fellow Poker.gr player Giorgios kapalas is in fine spirits. He tells me that he’s “lost a few 4k/5k pots recently (one to a runner runner flush when he’d flopped a set) but just before the break, the young Greek doubled up and now has a very nice stack indeed! “It’s a good table” Giorgios says. With a stack of 52k, your blogger would have to agree!
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – …
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – …
Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr – 30k
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 32k
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – …
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – …
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers – 35k
With level 3 now here, the blinds are 100/200. Still no official number has been released yet in regards to the size of todays field. The tournament area looks kind of busy, so I’m going to say 215 players…ish.
3:48 pm
The break approaches
It wouldn’t be a real EPT if the Media Room didn’t have issues with the internet. Hopefully though, the problems recently experienced have now been rectified, and all is back to normal!
It’s still a calm patch within the tournament, but 4 players are still eluding your blogger! On the other hand though, there’s good news. Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers has started as he means to go on and has increased chip count up to around 34k. THe Poker.gr guys are also going along steadily.
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – …
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – …
Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr – 27k
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 31k
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – …
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – …
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers – 34k
2:47 pm
Slow Steady Start
As with every PokerStars.com EPT, finding particular players amongst the masses can sometimes prove to be a difficulty. From the 7 players at the felt today representing our Partners, just Giorgios Kapalas and Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr have been located.
Managing to get to Giorgios’ table when the board read A♣ 4♠ 3♠ … 4♣, on the Big Blind, the Greek checked it around to Almira “Chessbaby” Skripchenko. Seeming content with not making any waves this early on in the tournament, Skripchenko also checked the 2k pot. The river dropped a 3♣ and Giorgios bet 875. “Chessbaby” never gave it a great deal of thought and called the bet. The Greek showed 7♣ 4♥ for a Full House and claimed ownership of the pot without seeing the mucked hand of Skripchenko. Setting the pace for the day? I hope so…
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24 – 30k
Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe – 30k
Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr – 33k
Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr – 29k
Maxime Espinasse of Winamax – 30k
Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax – 30k
Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers – 30k
1:01 pm
Day 1A gets ready to roll!
In less than 10 minutes, Day 1A of the PokerStars.com EPT Prague will kick off. With a projected 7 players from five of our Partners set up for todays action, there’s potential for an exciting day.
Haug Fredrik Kjelstrup of Bet24, Henri Ilmari Antikainen of Betsafe, Giorgios Kapalas and Ioannis Taramas of Poker.gr, Maxime Espinasse and Paul Pires-Trigo of Winamax, and finally Sören Blanner of Scandic Bookmakers are hopefully all here today with the aim of coming back on Thursday for Day 2.
The players will begin today with a generous 30,000 starting stack, and with the blinds at a mere 50/100, your blogger is not expecting too much action early on.
The man to watch out for today? Giorgios Kapalas of Poker.gr. The Greek’s record this year is an impressive one that include a Greek Poker Tour win in Vienna, an 8th place finish at the EPT Barcelona, and a 7th place finish in the WSOP Event 51, the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em. Could be another good week…
November 30, 2009 9:03 pm
“Dobrý den!”
With Prague first making it’s appearance in Season 4 of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour, it’s popularity with the circuit veterans and live event newcomers, hasn’t diminished in the slightest.
Upon landing at Prague Ruzyne airport, and having spent the first 6 hours walking through the cobblestone streets of the historic city, your blogger can see clearly why this stop on the EPT is always a hit with the players, staff and also the media. It’s a graceful and elegant place that seems to have culture pouring out from every angle of every building.
The weather might not be spectacular right now, but that won’t bother the players much when they arrive at the Cloud 9 Sky Bar tonight for their welcome drinks. With views overlooking this classy and authentic city, it’s a great beginning to what will be a great week.
The first cards will get some air tomorrow at 12:00 local time. That gives everyone involved with EPT Prague plenty of time tonight to meet with old friends, make some new friends, and of course…talk about the week of poker ahead! Set your alarm clocks, Day 1A will be a busy one!
November 26, 2009 2:15 pm
Playing in Prague
In just a few days the final 2009 event in the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour starts in Prague. The first cards will be dealt in the Main Event on Tuesday 1 December at the Hilton Prague Hotel and 16 players from Bet24, Betsafe, Goalwin, Poker.gr, PokerLoco, RedKings, Scandic Bookmakers and Winamax will be battling for a seat at the final table. Your blogger will be there keeping an eye on all the action.
September 10, 2009 11:04 pm
Adios Amigos!…
It’s been a great week here in Barcelona, and for our Partners players, I’m sure they’ll be taking a fair few memories, experiences and bad-beat stories home with them.
For obvious reasons, the fairytale story of RedKings player Toni Ojala will stand out head and shoulders above the other players performances. But lets not forget the solid run of fellow Redkings player, Christian Heich. The German has proved time and time again that he’s capable of doing a great deal of damage, and I’m sure we’ll see him take down an event not so far off in the distant future.
But back to Toni. The Finn has played astounding poker, and his elimination hand will be one to talk about for a good while to come. Hand of the tournament? Without a doubt, Toni spiking one of his two outs on the river on Day 4. Just seeing the disbelief on the friendly Finns face as that river came was brilliant! In the years to come, your blogger will be telling that hand to his grandchildren.
We’ve experienced a great journey this week, and almost…just almost, had a perfect end to the perfect week. But for now, I bid you farewell from a successful and sunny Barcelona!
10:34 pm
Carter Phillips, EPT Barcelona Champion…
With a bet of 275k from Carter Phillips, Marc Goodwin calls. When the flop comes K♦ 5♣ 4♥ , the American fires 310k into the pot and Goodwin makes it 1,160,000. After some thought, Phillips calls. The turn lands Q♠ . Phillips slows and just checks. The Englishman announces “All-in” for 4,295,000 and Phillips hits the tank. The American is deep into the tanks and a lifetime later says “It’s so sick that you’re flopping so well every time I flop!”. At least 10 minutes passes before Phillips calls. The K♣ J♠ of the American is in good shape against the A♣ T♠ of Goodwin. The river bricks out and Carter Phillips is crowned the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona Champion.
€850,000 for five days of poker…wouldn’t hear me complaining too much!
September 9, 2009 7:07 pm
3rd Place Elimination…
All-in on a flop of K♥ 4♣ 2♣ , Santiago Terrazas shows 5♣ 8♣ for a flush draw. Marc Goodwin shows K♠ J♣ for top pair. The turn is 5♠ giving Terrazas a couple of more outs. The river is a 4♠ and Goodwins top pair hold up.
Santiago Terrazas leaves the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona with €300,000.
That means that we’re now heads up between Carter Phillips (7,800,000) and Marc Goodwin (6,500,000) with 1st place taking home €850,000. But don’t worry though, the 2nd place finishes takes home a not too shabby €500,000.
6:50 pm
4th Place Elimination…
Mihai Manole has been eliminated in 4th place.
Marc Goodwin bets 290k and Manole pushes all-in. Goodwin calls and shows A♦ 9♠ against the A♣ T♣ of Manole. The board came K♥ 5♠ 2♠ … K♠ … 4♠ giving Goodwin a runner runner flush.
Mihai Manole takes €250,000 for his efforts.
6:44 pm
5th Place Elimination…
Eliminated in 5th place and taking home €200,000 is Englishman, Asa Smith.
His A♥ 3♣ was up against the A♣ 5♥ of Carter Phillips. The board read out 6♣ 5♦ 2♠ … 7♠ … 9♠ making the pair of Fives good enough to send Smith to the rail.
6:26 pm
The Ladies Like Toni…
Mihai Manole opens for 150k and Carter Phillips flat calls it. Action moves to Toni who fires out 400k. Manole gets out of the way and Phillips makes it a huge 980k. I was paying attention before, but now I’ve completely stopped breathing. I don’t know if I want the friendly Finn to fold or push. Toni goes deeper and deeper into the tank and I’m frozen on the spot. The Finn announces “All-in” and before I have time to react, I hear the word “Call” from Carter Phillips. Your bloggers heart races. The pot is over 5 million in chips and I seriously think I’m about to faint!
Toni flips over Q♥ Q♦ . It’s the third time today that Toni has shown Queens. I’m awashed with horror as Phillips shows A♦ A♠ . It’s seriously the end of the world. The dealer pulls out the flop empty of Queens 3♦ T♣ 5♣ . It’s a dire situation and I’m beginning to face the reality that Toni might be eliminated from the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona. Painfully the turn is a J♦ . It’s really not looking good now for the RedKings player. He needs to hit one of the 2 remaining Queens in the deck. He spiked a 9♦ on the river yesterday to keep his EPT Barcelona dream alive. Can he hit another 2 outer on the river this afternoon? I find myself muttering “One time, One time” over and over as the river moves across to the board. It drops as a 7♣ and the peoples favourite hits the rail in 6th place for €160,000.
Barcelona may be covered in beautiful sunshine, but in the tournament area, it’s all doom and gloom. Toni has accomplished the impossible this week and has beaten 473 other people. It may have been an unlucky elimination, but my hat goes off to the Finn. It’s the best poker I’ve witnessed from Toni, and even though he he’s taking €160,000 home with him, I can’t help shake the feeling that he was robbed of glory.
4:20 pm
Canadian Meltdown…
The man in meltdown mode, Matt Lapossie, bets 140k. Toni Ojala makes it 310k. The Canadian then announces “All-in”. My jaw doesn’t even get to open fully before Toni replies “Call”. My eyes open wide as Lapossie sighs and shows J♣ 4♥ . I do a double take at what I’m seeing and am totally speechless. Toni shows Q♥ Q♠ . As the flop lands Q♦ 6♠ 5♠ I get goosebumps all over. The RedKings player is so far ahead. The Queen on the flop pretty much eliminated Lapossie, and as the river comes 5♣ , Toni takes the pot. The river bricks out and Toni gives us a smile.
The blinds are now at level 27 and will cost the players 30k for the Small Blind, 60k for the Big Blind, and 5k for the antes. Just 6 players remain and Toni is now guaranteed at least €160,000.
1st – Marc Goodwin – 4,760,000
2nd – Carter Phillips – 3,525,000
3rd – Toni Ojala – 2,635,000
4th – Santiago Terrazas – 1,395,000
5th – Asa Smith – 1,340,000
6th – Mihai Manole – 670,000
3:55 pm
Who’s Doing What?…
Action has slowed a little here, so here’s the chip counts.
1st – Marc Goodwin – 4,770,000
2nd – Carter Phillips – 3,610,000
3rd – Toni Ojala – 1,425,000
4th – Santiago Terrazas – 1,405,000
5th – Asa Smith – 1,350,000
6th – Matt Lapossie – 1,155,000
7th – Mihai Manole – 680,000
It’s looking good for the friendly Finn as the end of the level approaches, but things can change very quickly…
3:22 pm
Kapalas Hits The Rail…
Georgios Kapalas of Greece gets his chips into the middle. Marc Goodwin calls and the cards get some air.
Kapalas shows K♣ Q♣ against the A♦ T♣ of the Englishman. With the board reading 7♣ 6♠ 2♣ … A♥ … 8♠ Kapalas is the first player eliminated from the Final Table of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona.
Those of you paying attention will be well aware that there’s a money bump now. The Finn is now guaranteed to take €120,000 home with him, and currently sits in 4th position! I’m about to put on my cheerleader outfit and get Toni’s fan club started. Who’s with me?
3:09 pm
Ladies No Good…
Toni is setting his stall up early and really isn’t hanging around waiting to be eaten alive by any other players, or the ever increasing blinds.
Carter Phillips bets to 125k and Toni makes it 305k. Marc Goodwin has a little look around and re-raises it to a huge 1,230.000. The Finn then tanks and eventually folds showing Q♥ Q♦ . He’s now down to about 1,3 million.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 1,349,000
2:54 pm
Speechless…
I haven’t even had a coffee yet and Toni Ojala is involved straight away.
Santiago Terrazas opens, and Asa Smith raises it up to 450k. Toni then pushes all-in for for 726k. Terrazas gets out of the way and Smith calls. I’m staring hard at the action almost to the point of disbelief. Smith then shows A♥ Q♥ and the RedKings player turns over A♣ A♠ . As the flop is about to come out, your blogger is begging to not see any Hearts or Queens. The flop of J♠ 4♥ 4♠ makes me breath a bit easier. The turn comes 2♣ and Smith is drawing dead. The formality of the river brings a 6♥ and Toni collects a monster pot!
Toni Ojala – 1,724,000
The Blinds are at a huge 25k/50k with antes of 5k now.
2:39 pm
EPT Barcelona Final Table…
The Final Table is about to begin. Toni Ojala from RedKings will go into the Final day of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona in 6th position. Today promises to be packed with action and Toni will be need to be on his game. The final table is as follows;
Seat 1: Georgios Kapalas – 826,000
Seat 2: Mihai Manole – 410,000
Seat 3: Santiago Terrazas – 546,000
Seat 4: Asa Smith – 1,380,000
Seat 5: Carter Phillips – 4,421,000
Seat 6: Matt “Lapozie” Lapossie – 2,938,000
Seat 7: Toni Ojala – 754,000
Seat 8: Marc Goodwin – 3,100,000
Speaking to Toni before the break, the friendly Finn informs me that he never slept too much last night. The RedKings player tells me he was “just too excited about today”. He’s in great spirits, and he has good reason to be. He’s been rewarded for a solid week of poker and is guaranteed to take €80,000 from Barcelona. There’s nothing else to say other than…GO TONI!
September 8, 2009 11:49 pm
Day 4 Passes…
Well, it was a nice story while it lasted. I mean Toni Ojala had played great poker all week and he’d been in some tight situations before. He’d been up against a cold deck for the majority of the day, and yet still managed to show his quality and hang on until the end of the day. The RedKings player has gained a few more fans on his way to the end of Day 4, and those fans will no doubt multiply tomorrow…
…Yes, that’s right, I said “tomorrow”. Toni Ojala will be playing the final table of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona!!
If you think your blogger is happy, you should see Toni! The Finn is delighted and I’m sure you’d be able to see his smile from as far away as the moon. Asked if he’s happy with his days work, the RedKings player playfully says “Yeah, it was ok”. I’m doing somersaults on the inside and can only imagine how the Finn is feeling!
Ending the day with 754,000 in front of him, Toni will be heading into the final table in 6th position. Action will start later than the previous days, with the cards planned to hit the felt at 14:00 local time. Now, I’ve said it before this week, but this time I really, really mean it. You don’t want to miss tomorrow. There’s an EPT Barcelona title at stake!
10:42 pm
It’s All About The Grind…
Well, the action has slowed to a snails pace now that we’re just needing one more player to go. It’s pretty much “Raise, fold fold fold…”, next hand. “Raise, fold fold fold…”, next hand. “Raise, fold fold fold…”, next hand. Ok, you get the idea.
There’s been some movements in the chip counts and the blinds are now up to 20k/40k with a 4k ante. Toni is still grinding it out at this stage of the tournament.
1 – Carter Phillips – 4,318,000
2 – Matt Lapossie – 3,437,000
3 – Marc Goodwin – 2,258,000
4 – Asa Gregory Smith – 1,322,000
5 – Julien Nuijten – 766,000
9 – Santiago Terrazas – 634,000
7 – Toni Ojala – 633,000
8 – Mihai Manole – 498,000
9 – Georgios Kapalas – 409,000
9:56 pm
The Feature Table…
Action is now taking place solely on the feature table. With just 9 players left, Toni Ojala is guaranteed a €50,000 pay day! It’s going to be very interesting now we’re back to 9-handed, and Toni goes to the table in 7th position.
1 – Carter Phillips – 4,015,000
2 – Matt Lapossie – 2,870,000
3 – Marc Goodwin – 2,280,000
4 – Asa Gregory Smith – 1,595,000
5 – Georgios Kapalas – 893,000
6 – Julien Nuijten – 856,000
7 – Toni Ojala – 755,000
8 – Mihai Manole – 687,000
9 – Santiago Terrazas – 424,000
The blinds will continue at 15k/30k with antes of 3k. Toni’s playing great poker even though he’s feeling the chill of the deck recently. Can Toni make it to the prestigious final table tomorrow of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona?
9:38 pm
We’re Down To Nine…
Toni is under the gun and pushes all-in. Cornel Cimpan calls the Finn and it’s heads-up action. The RedKings player shows Q♣ 9♣ against Cornel Cimpan’s J♦ J♠ . With barely enough time to register what’s going on, the flop lands A♣ Q♠ 3♥ . Toni’s caught a lady and is out in front now. I somehow manage to watch the turn drop a 3♦ . The media frenzy intensifies as the river is on it’s way to the board. Toni has to dodge one of the two remaining Jacks. It’s a 3♠ giiving the Finn a higher full house. Toni gets up from his chair and shakes Cimpan’s hand giving him a “Well played” as he’s leaving.
Now that Toni has eliminated yet another player, he’s pushed his stack up to 755k, and it’s all over to the feature table now.
…your bloggers nerves are frayed to the end.
9:18 pm
Back In The Thick Of It…
Having come back from the Dinner break, watching the Outer Table closely, Toni Ojala of RedKings seems to be running a little cold, and the Finns stack has dwindled somewhat.
We’re now down to 10 people with Mike McDonald busting shortly after returning from an hour away from the felt. That means it’s 2 more eliminations until we reach the final table. Once we’re down to 9 players, all the action will be played out on the feature table.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 470,000
Level 24 continues to ask 15k from the Small Blind, 30k from the Big Blind, and 3k antes from each of the players.
7:45 pm
Dinner Break…
The 11 players still in contention for the 1st place prize of €850,000 and the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona title, have now wandered off for their Dinner break. Managing to catch Toni Ojala before he left the tournament area, the following conversation occurred;
Toni – “I’m still in!” (and smiles a big Toni Ojala smile)
Blogger – “You’re a survivor Toni, you know that”
Toni – “Yeah…I know that!” (an even greater Toni Ojala smile)
When the players return refreshed and fighting fit, level 24 will continue, costing the players 15k/30k and antes of 3k. It’s still a 1,3 million average stack and with an hour left of blinds at such a high cost, the RedKings player will definitely be involved when he gets back!
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 521,000
6:55 pm
Shortstacked But Focused…
We’re now down to 11 players. That means Toni Ojala is guaranteed at least €40,000 for his efforts this week.
The average is now up to 1,3 million and there’s 25 minutes left of level 23. Toni is looking concentrated and focused on the task at hand. The Finn isn’t quite the shortest stack in the tournament, but he’s in pretty bad shape. With the blinds getting ready to be increased, the RedKings player will have to get involved in some action soon.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 510,000
Those interested in the prize money from here on in, will want to continue reading;
1st – €850,000
2nd – €530,000
3rd – €300,000
4th – €250,000
5th – €200,000
6th – €160,000
7th – €120,000
8th – €80,000
9th – €50,000
10th – €50,000
11th – €40,000
6:18 pm
Last Level Action…
Level 23 has arrived and the 13 survivors from the field of 479 will now have to pay blinds of 12k/24k and antes of 2k. Level 23 is clinical for Toni, as his stack is not what it once was. The average is now 1,1 million and the Finn is a fair amount under that mark.
In the last hand of the last level, the RedKings player was all-in but without any callers. Speaking to him during the break, Toni is still looking relaxed and is still wearing his smile. Even with two previous EPT winners, Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald and Jens Kyllonen sitting alongside the Finn, Toni’s going to be making moves this level so don’t leave your chair!
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 600,000
5:31 pm
Pablo Turns On Toni…
The Dealer on the Outer table, Pablo, helped Toni knock out Oleksander Vaserfirer by dealing him Cowboys earlier, but does Pablo still want to help our friendly Finn?
Under the gun, Toni Ojala bets 50k. Two spots down, American Carter Phillips calls, and Julien Nuijten makes up the 30k difference on his Big Blind. Three way action going into the flop of 2♣ A♥ J♠ Dutchman Julien Nuijten, checks. Toni fires out 85k and Carter Phillips wastes no time in folding. Nuijten then tanks for a while and raises up to 210k. The Finn gives himself some time to think and calls. It’s a huge pot of 544k. The turn drips out a 6♥ . The Dutchman sits still and contemplates his move. Nuijten then puts Toni all-in. for the umpteenth time today, I stop breathing. Toni goes deep into the tank and eventually folds. Understandably, he’s not entirely happy with what just happened, and stares long and hard at the felt.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 485,000
5:14 pm
14 players left…
With 26 minutes left of level 22, the average stack is finally over a million. It’s 1,026,000 to be precise and Toni is still mixing it up with a sizeable stack.
Roland De Wolfe has just gone so Toni is now guaranteed €35,000 with 14 players remaining. Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald has been moved over to Toni’s table now and then action involving the RedKings player seems to have slowed.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 780,000
4:36 pm
The Toni Ojala Show…
Sitting on the Outer table, Toni Ojala marches on!
Under the gun, the RedKings player bets 41k. Oleksander Vaserfirer from Ukraine moves all-in for 221k. Toni calls in a flash and shows K♣ K♥ . Vaserfirer shows A♥ J♥ . I’m back to holding my breath as the flop comes 2♠ 7♣ 5♥ . Barring any runner runner, Toni is looking good. The turn shows a 3♣ . The Finn only has to dodge any Ace or Four on the river to eliminate Vaserfirer and increase his stack. In slow motion, the river comes a K♦ . The RedKings players is having a lovely run now, and my blood pressure begins to settle at it’s normal pace.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 850,000
Just 15 players left from the starting field of 479. The blinds are up to a huge 10k/20k with antes of 2k. Average stack is approaching the 1 million point and sits at 958k.
4:02 pm
The Redraw…
We’ve just broke another table as Patrick Bueno leaves the felt. Just 16 players remain in Day 4 of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona, and Toni Ojala is one of them!
There’s been a seat draw to locate the players at their new tables, and Toni is now out on the outer table alongside Roland De Wolfe and Jens Kyllonen. The Finn is smiling from ear to ear and is obviously still thinking about his amazing river earlier.
The blinds will continue at level 21 with 8k/16k and antes of 2k being asked of the players. Toni is now guaranteed to take home at least €30,000.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 625,000
3:29 pm
Life Or Death…
Not wanting to fade into the background, Toni Ojala gets involved again.
Pushing all-in with 294k, the Finn gets called once more by Patrick Bueno. The Frenchman shows A♥ Q♦ against the 9♥ 9♠ of the RedKings player. It’s another life of death pot for Toni, and your blogger can barely watch. The flop is K♥ Q♣ 5♦ . It’s a disaster flop. I sink in my chair and suddenly have a wave of sadness pour over me. The turn lands a 2♥ and I can feel the tears beginning to well up in my eyes. Toni is in horrendous shape. He goes into the river needing one of only two Nines left in the deck. I get ready to write the disappointing post of Toni’s elimination as the river is dealt. The media room erupts as the 9♦ hits the felt. I find myself clapping and banging my table in joy. The Finn places his hand behind head and cannot believe his fortune. Sitting next to the RedKings player, fellow countryman Jens Kyllonen, taps Toni on the head.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 648,000
Your blogger needs to steady his nerves, and wanders off to the bar to buy a pint of whisky…
3:10 pm
Toni’s All-in…
There is now only 17 players remaining in Day 4 of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona. With one more elimination, we’ll be down to 2 tables of action and the prize money will be up to €30,000.
Toni Ojala of RedKings is still sitting mega short, but the Finn isn’t scared to get his chips in the middle. Pushing all-in for 139k Patrick Bueno calls and shows 4♣ 4♥ . Toni turns over his T♣ 8♣ . We’re needing some help and when the flop arrives 9♥ 9♦ Q♥ . All my pre-flop praying hasn’t made a real impact and I try again. The turn of 6♥ suddenly I realise no one seems to be listening to my prayers. Toni now needs any Eight, Ten or Jack that is not a heart, to keep his EPT Barcelona dream alive. I know that no-one is listening, but I pray harder than ever this time. Someone hears my calls as the river comes a T♠ . I get goosebumps and remember I have to breath! Toni’s river earns him just under 300k.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 298,000
2:44 pm
Chop It Up…
Moments ago Toni just got his chips in the middle in an attempt to inflate his stack.
The Finn showed A♣ 8♠ against Julien Nuijten’s A♠ 8♣ . It’s looking like a chop pot already, and with the board reading out 7♦ J♠ 3♥ … T♣ … T♥ the dealer divides the chips and Toni is still alive.
Just a couple of hands after, the Finn is in early position and shoves again. No one wants to taste any action and Toni collects the blinds and antes.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 175,000
2:22 pm
Toni Tells All…
During the 10 minute sabbatical from the felt, Toni Ojala gave us the inside scoop.
When Toni folded to on the flop of A♣ K♠ 5♦ , the RedKings player had Q♣ J♣ . Those of you paying attention will remember that the turn was a T♦ . The Finn would’ve hit the nuts and his stack would look quite different right now. Oh the pain! It feels like my heart has sunk all the way to my feet. Toni did have something else to say though… “All-in, All-in, All-in!”.
With just 16 Big Blinds left, Toni’s gameplan for level 21 is spot on! Anyone else biting their fingernails yet?
2:15 pm
Damage Control…
FEATURE TABLE ACTION: Jens Kyllonen has just doubled up through ‘ElkY’ and now has around 750k in chips. That puts the world class Frenchman on a stack of around 100k. Toni is so short that he’ll be getting his chips all-in very soon.
We’re now down to 20 players and the next level is upon us. When the players come back from their short 10 minute break, the blinds will be a whopping 8k/16K with a 2k ante.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 164,000
Keep your finger on your refresh button…
1:51 pm
3-Way action…
Just minutes after the Day 4 kicked off, Toni Ojala raises to 60k from the Small Blind. Jens Kyllonen on the Big Blind folds, and action returns to the button limper, Julien Nuijten. The Dutchman then pushes all-in for 308k and Toni does not look too happy about it. He sits in the tank for a while weighing up his options and then reluctantly folds.
A few hands later Julien Nuijten fires out 34k. Toni calls the bet and further behind him, Frenchman Patrick Bueno also calls. With a pot in the region of 125k, the flop comes A♣ K♠ 5♦ . Patrick Bueno is first to act and leads out with a bet of 68k. Julien Nuijten calls and Toni doesn’t take too long in deciding to fold. The flop is a T♦ and Bueno checks it. Julien Nuijten humps out 150k and Bueno folds.
Toni has now dropped dramatically in chips and is in a fair bit of trouble. The RedKings player will have to find a hand soon.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 192,000
1:36 pm
Feature Table Toni…
Welcome to Day 4 of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona!
Toni Ojala of RedKings has had a wonderful run here in Spain and will be spending his day trying to earn passage to the prestigious final tomorrow.
The Finn is on the feature table today and will be roughing it out with the best. With the likes of Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Patrick Bueno and Jens Kyllonen situated alongside Toni, it’s going to be a pretty tough table.
Seat 1 – Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – 520,000
Seat 2 – Carter Phillips – 338,000
Seat 3 – Mihai Manole – 641,000
Seat 4 – Oleksandr Vaserfirer – 258,000
Seat 5 – Patrick Bueno – 1,467,000
Seat 6 – Julien Nuijten – 329,000
Seat 7 – Toni Ojala – 323,000
Seat 8 – Jens Kyllonen – 371,000
The RedKings player is guaranteed €26,000. Another seven players need to be eliminated for the next prize level of €30,000 to arrive. It’s going to be action after action today.
September 7, 2009 8:45 pm
Toni’s Best EPT…So Far…
Within moments of each other, two players have just been eliminated. That means Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona has finished, and 23 players will return tomorrow with the aim of making it through to the prestigious final table.
RedKings player Toni Ojala has played some great solid poker so far this week, and has been rewarded with a spot on one of the final three tables. This is the fourth European Poker Tour cash for the Finn in less than a year, and the deepest run he’s had. With it already being Toni’s biggest cash in all the EPT’s he has played, just how far can he go?
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 323,000
Tomorrow will begin at 12:30 local time, where we’ll finish off level 20. The average stack is now up to a massive 613k, making the margin for unforced errors, microscopic.
There will be some tense times throughout Day 4, so you really don’t want to miss out!
8:09 pm
Just One Hombre left…
We now have 25 players remaining! That means with the elimination of 1 more player, Day 3 will come to an end. The average stack is 574,8k and with the blinds at 6k/12 and antes of 1k, Toni Ojala is feeling the heat a little now. He doesn’t have too many Big Blinds left, but the RedKings player will not be giving up the fight just yet.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 321k
It’s level 20…will we make it to level 21 tonight as predicted by Thomas Kremser?
7:43 pm
Por qué???…
Finnish player, Toni Ojala has quite some talent sitting alongside him. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Jens Kyllonen and Mike McDonald are all making life hard for the RedKings player.
With a bet to 43k, Toni makes a chunky bet of 110k. It’s around to ‘ElkY’ who pumps it all the way up to 240k. The original bettor calls and Toni tanks for a bit and then folds his A♠ K♠ . It’s a big, big laydown. To summarise the next 2 minutes or so. It’s checked to the death, and the cards go on their backs A♣ K♦ vs A♦ K♣ . The pot is chopped and it’s drastically unlucky that Toni had folded pre-flop. Toni’s stack has taken a serious hit, and for only the second time on the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona, the Finn has dropped below the average stack.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 385k
7:26 pm
Thomas Kremser Makes A Prediction…
The action has slowed right down on Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona. With 30 players left and Toni Ojala guaranteed at least €23,000 for his efforts this week, the 5k/10k blinds and antes of 1k is making every decision an important one. Toni’s involvement in pots has slowed to a snails pace as the Finn waits for his moment.
The averge stack is now up to the dizzy heights of 490k, and the RedKings player continues to be on the right side of this number.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 490k
Asking the one and only Tournament Director, Thomas Kremser, how long it will take for 6 more players to be eliminated, the Austrian smiles and informs me that he was “just trying to work it out, but there will be 2 more levels for sure”. You heard it here first.
6:40 pm
Set It Up…
In the Small Blind, Toni Ojala bumps it up to 23k to play. The Big Blind then moves all-in. The RedKings player asks for a count, and finds out it’ll cost him another 125k to call the all-in. After a bit of time in the tank, he calls and shows 9♥ 9♣ . The Big Blind had K♦ Q♦ and the race is on! Well, actually it seems like more of a sprint when the flop lands 9♦ T♠ 5♣ giving the RedKings player middle set. Providing there isn’t a Jack or a scary runner runner, Toni will take another scalp. The turn is an A♠ and all looks well. Only needing to dodge a Jack on the river, the pot looks like it’ll be shipped to Toni. The river comes out in the form of a 6♣ . Toni adds a nice amount of chips to his stack.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 585k
The blinds will soon be going up to 5k/10 with an ante of 1k. That’s 23k a lap! Only 36 players left now and the average stack is a sliver under 400k.
4:43 pm
Toni Calls Another…
The RedKings player bets 15,5k in early position and a couple of spots down, there’s an all-in. It’ll cost another 69k of the Finns stack and Toni takes his time in making his decision. The RedKings player calls and shows his 9♥ 9♦ . His opponent shows Q♥ Q♦ . The board comes a totally cold 4♣ 5♠ K♦ …8♣ …5♠ and Toni misses out on this pot.
His chip count has dropped a little, but he’s still got quite a sizeable stacked sitting on the felt in front of him.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 510,500
With 41 players left and the prize money gradually increasing as players continue to bust, the average count is now up to 327k.
3:51 pm
“Grande” Stacks…
Level 17 on Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona has just begun and Toni is sitting in great shape with over half a million in chips in front of him!
During the break Toni tells me that his table is pretty tight. “It’s ok, but the shortstacks are really tight. If I pick up a bad hand on the button, I can’t do anything with it because there’s a chance that one of the shortstacks will call” explains the RedKings player. The Finn looks fresh and ready for anything. As always, Toni is wearing his ever present smile.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 510,500
The blinds are now 3k/4k with antes of 500 and 51 players continue to tussle for position. Having already lost 21 players, only 27 moore need to for before Day 4 is upon us. Will there be a Toni Ojala in Day 4?
2:46 pm
Ace Up The Sleeve…
With Toni Ojala of RedKings just biding his time at the felt and waiting for a hand, the Finn sent another player to the rail just moments ago.
In late position Toni bets 16k. The Small blind makes a move and attempts to push all-in, but he’s left his 1k chips behind amounting to 12k, and has just raised. It makes no difference as they’ll be going in no matter what. Toni tanks a little and calls showing A♦ T♥ . His opponent shows T♦ T♣ and Toni knows he’ll need some help. The flop is 7♦ 7♥ A♣ and Toni goes way ahead thanks to spiking the Ace. The turn and river come Q♠ … K♠ respectively, and the Finn rakes the pot in. The stack of the RedKings player continues to grow nicely.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 510k
2:30 pm
The Silence Is Deafening…
“How many players will bust within that period? I’m going with 11…”
There were 9 eliminations in the closing stages of level 15. That means 63 people make it through to level 16 where the blinds are now 2,5k/5k and antes of 500 demanded. Average stack is now up to the dizzy heights of 228k. Toni’s not really been involved yet, but it won’t be too far away before the RedKings player livens up.
Casino Barcelona seems to have a hint nerves floating around and mixed in with a fair bit of anxiousness from the players, spectators and even some of the media (ok, perhaps just myself) , the tournament area is fairly quiet and peaceful. Is this the calm before the storm?
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 410k
1:22 pm
Ojala vs ‘ElkY’…
The action has just kicked off here on Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona!
Every player in attendance today will be walking away with a minimum of €12,000. The completion of level 15 will only take somewhere in the region of 40 minutes. How many players will bust within that period? I’m going with 11 fallers!
The impressive run of Toni Ojala sees the Finn starting Day 3, in sixth position. The Redkings player has a handful of shortstacks on his table…oh, and ‘ElkY’.
Seat 1 – Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – 454,200
Seat 2 – Toni Ojala – 422,500
Seat 3 – Santiago Terrazas Ambite – 166,600
Seat 4 – Roman Kadziela – 134,900
Seat 5 – Carlos Lopez – 95,900
Seat 6 – Dominik Nitsche – 87,100
Seat 7 – Malte Strothmann – 73,400
Seat 8 – Thayer Rasmussen – 46,700
Stay tuned to this channel, the action is coming…
September 6, 2009 9:20 pm
“POP”…
The Bubble has burst and, there will no doubt be 72 happy players wandering the streets of Barcelona tonight.
There was about 30 minutes left on the clock when the action of Day 2 was paused. Shortly before play stopped, Toni Ojala continued his march of glory and inflated his stack even higher, thanks to a Queen on the turn completing his straight.
When we return tomorrow for Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona, the final 30 minutes or so of level 15 will be played out, and normal service will be resumed. Play will continue on Day 3 until there are only 24 players remaining. The average count is 199,5k. Toni Ojala of RedKings will take with him an enormous stack of 422k! The Finn is guaranteed €12,000 but I’m sure with a stack the size of his, he’s looking a lot further into the money.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 422k
It will be an intense day tomorrow starting at 12:30 local time, as players fight it out to be one of the final 24. The action will be non-stop, so your blogger is heading straight back to his hotel (the pub) for milk and cookies (a beer and a kebab) and will be here bright and early. Will you?
8:44 pm
The Final Level…
Toni Ojala has now been moved to table 24 and sits 2 spots after Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier.
Speaking to Toni at the break, the Finn tells me he’s “playing pretty tight, it’s just that people keep calling me” and follows it up with a smile. The RedKings player mentions that he “might have to slow down now that he’s on the same table as ‘Elky’”. Personally, I thinking to myself “Toni…just bust him! Show the table what you’re made of!”
The blinds are at a stack chopping 2k/4k with an ante of 400. We’re 6 players or 75 minutes from the end of the day now and the average count is 184,2k.
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 367k
