Ludovic Geilich Tops Star-Studded Field in Day 1a of the Main Event
The Main Event of the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour kicked off today at The Monte-Carlo Sporting. In the first of two starting flights, the flagship event attracted 342 runners, of which 128 have secured themselves a place in Day 2.
There were many big names scattered around the cardroom but when it was time to bag at the end, it was undoubtedly Ludovic Geilich’s day. The professional chipped up to an impressive 271,400, for a decisive chip lead during the 10 hours on today’s schedule.
His run was even more impressive considering the table he was on during the last couple of levels. Featuring poker heavyweights that included Ryan Riess, Julien Martini, Dominykas Karmazinas and PokerStars Ambassadors Ramon Colillas and Kalidou Sow, Geilich survived where others were unable to do so. Most notable was the huge clash between Sow and Martini, which sent Sow to the rail 30 minutes before the end. Sow had turned trips with queen-nine suited and after a checked flop, Martini check-called a bet on the turn. The river was a six that gave Martini a full house with pocket-sixes and saw the rest of the chips go into the middle.
It was also the hand that saw Martini net second place in the counts, with the Frenchman taking 218,000 through, the only other player in the field to exceed the 200,000 mark. He is followed by Conor Beresford (195500) and Ibrahim Ghassan (182000), taking third and fourth respectively. Dominykas Karmazinas rounded out the top five with 178,600.
Of the PokerStars Ambassadors in contention today, Maria Konnikova (133200) takes forward the biggest stack. Ramon Colillas also bagged but dropped to 55,000 after a promising start. Fatima Moreira De Melo busted after the last break and Andre Akkari also failed to bag and tag, but all is not lost as the trio still have one re-entry remaining apiece.
Many of the most well-known names who took part today will return for Day 2 on Wednesday. They include Boris Kolev (160,000), Paul Michaelis (159,000), Vlad Darie (153,000), Dario Sammartino (144,900), Winfred Yu (144,400), Govert Metaal (138,700), Manig Loeser (128,600), Georgios Karakousis (120,300), Orpen Kisacikoglu (109,900), Florian Duta (108,400), Sam Greenwood (107,700), Arsenii Karmatckii (104,200), Ryan Riess (86,400), Maria Lampropoulos, (84,800), Norbert Szecsi (76,700), Pierre Calamusa (71,000), Randy Lew (48,700), Michael Soyza (48,500), Christoph Vogelsang, (44,100), Chin Wei Lim (34,900) and Mohsin Charania (18,000).
Not all of the well-known players were able to advance. Throughout the course of the day, we said goodbye to Adrian Mateos, Alexandru Papazian, David Peters, Denys Shafikov, Eric Sfez, Chen An Lim, Jean-Noel Thorel, Joao Simao, Koray Aldemir, Kristen Bicknell, Lars Bonding, Luc Greenwood, Maria Ho, Mark Teltscher, Marton Czuczor, Matas Cimbolas, Maxim Panyak, Nick Petrangelo, Paul Newey, Rainer Kempe, Sam Grafton, Sylvain Loosli, Timur Margolin, and two-time EPT Champion Victoria Coren Mitchell.
For those who haven’t used their single re-entry, there is always Day 1b tomorrow, which - in terms of the structure - will be pretty much an exact replica of today. Play will start at 12 pm and there are 10 one-hour levels on the clock. There will be a 20-minute break after every two hours, except for the 75-minute dinner break at the end of Level 6.
Join PokerNews then for live updates on all of the Main Event action, from the moment cards are in the air, until the last chip has been bagged.
and when Martini checked, Sow checked it back. The turn was the 
and following another check from Martini, Sow made it 8,600 to proceed. Martini called and the two players headed onto the river.
down and Martini checked once more. This time the price to play was 26,500 but Martini wasn't done yet and moved all in for 97,500 in total. Sow was in a tough spot, with a similar stack size, Martini had just enough to send him to the rail and he went into the tank.
![[user38873]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop, McQuilkin checked and Vlad bet 5,700. McQuilkin opted for a check-raise to 20,200 and Vlad came along.
turn, McQuilkin bet big for 55,000 and forced a reluctant fold from his opponent. Further notables on the same table can be found below.
was turned over. "They were both the same" said Ludovic Geilich as Riess collected the pot.
and Duta checked before Konnikova continued for 2,700. Kolev peeled and Duta moved aside.
, but the 
turn and 
river were blanks to send Ho to the rail. This leaves just two Marias in today's field, as Maria Konnikova is also still in contention two tables over.
turn and Tomas Jozonis bet 2,600. Arvydas Merfeldas called and Konnikova raised to 12,200. Jozonis reluctantly folded and Merfeldas did so as well, flashing the 
.
flop.
for two pair. Robert mucked 
and headed out of the tournament area.
turn changed everything, making Prusov top set and reducing Kisacikoglu's outs to zero. The 
river was inconsequential.
