Welcome to Day 1b of the EPT11 Grand Final Main Event
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Welcome back to the 2015 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final. Today features a jam-packed schedule that includes the one-day €50,000 High Roller, the Shark Cage finale, and of course Day 1b of the €10,600 Main Event. PokerNews will be providing coverage from both the €50,000 High Roller and Main Event, with the latter being the focus of this blog.
Yesterday, 219 players took to the felt for Day 1a, and double that is expect for the second flight, which is traditionally the largest. Late registration is open until the start of Day 2, so there's a good chance those preoccupied with the aforementioned events, like Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey who're both in the Shark Cage final, will either register late or jump into action tomorrow.
Still, plenty of big names are expected to be in action, each looking to replicate Juan Carlos Garcia's success on Day 1a, which is when he bagged up 182,800 to finish as the chip leader among the 113 survivors. Others who thrived on Day 1a were Joao Simao (179,100), Nicolas Chouity (168,200), Steven Zhou (158,000), and Roger Hairabedian (153,800). In addition, they were joined by a slew of notables including Ole Schemion (121,600), Steve O'Dwyer (109,000), Ivan Soshnikov (64,700), Dan Heimiller (53,200), Mike "Timex" McDonald (49,500), Martin Jacobson (42,000), and Team PokerStars Pros Andre Akkari (114,900), Eugene Katchalov (95,600), Jason Mercier (74,900) and Isaac Haxton (33,200).
The plan for the day is to play eight more 75-minute levels. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will here there every step of the way to capture all the action in our live blog, so be sure to stay tuned.