[user249920]
Jose Carlos Garcia remains in the lead heading into Day 2.
After two starting days, things are just getting going at European Poker Tour Grand Final Main Event here in Monte Carlo. The early maneuverings have seen 299 of the 556 registered players advance from the two flights, all of whom will be in action on Day 2.
A few players have ran their 30,000 starting stacks up significantly through eight levels of play. Jose Carlos Garcia has made the biggest surge, ending Day 1a with 182,800. Those closely trailing him near the top of the counts include Joao Simao (179,100), Nicolas Chouity (168,200), Day 1b leader Romain Paon (161,900), and Steven Zhou (158,000). Other notables toting sizable stacks include last year's November Niner Felix Stephensen (143,000), Mustapha Kanit (138,800), German superstar Ole Schemion (121,600), Andre Akkari (114,900), Steve O'Dwyer (109,000), Eugene Katchalov (95,600), Faraz Jaka (90,400), and David Peters (90,200).
Kanit bagged up on Day 1a and put his day off on Sunday to good use: the Italian took down the €50,000 one-day Super High Roller for €936,500, topping a field of 66 entrants and a final table that included stars such as Scott Seiver, Fabian Quoss, Fedor Holz, Martin Finger, and Mike "SirWatts" Watson, whom Kanit defeated heads up.
Cards are scheduled to begin flying again noon local time, and registration will remain open until the first card leaves a dealer's hand, so be on the lookout for some last-minute entries from players who have been focusing on high roller tournaments and cash games. Those players will get almost 40 big blinds as Level 9 (400/800/100) begins. The plan for Day 2 is to play six levels, each lasting 75 minutes. Twenty-minute breaks will be given every two levels, with things scheduled to wrap up around 8 p.m. Stay tuned to see who grabs pole position in this stretch of the race for the EPT Grand Final Main Event championship.
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