Docherty Leads Final Two Tables in EPT London Main Event
Just three levels were played on Day 4 of the European Poker Tour London Main Event, and after just six hours of play it is David Docherty who leads the final 16 players.
The aim for the day was to get down to the final two tables or play three levels, and despite 16 players being reached with a level to go, there were no further eliminations and the players bagged up for Day 5 shortly before 6 p.m. local time.
Docherty's day was boosted by the fact that he cracked pocket kings with pocket aces twice in a single level to vault up the chip counts having started the day fifth in chips.
His first victim was Pedro Garagnani who also started the day with a top-10 chip stack, before also sending Jamil Wakil to the rail, all in the space of an hour. He would eventually bag 3,560,000 and is the only player over the three million chip mark.
EPT London Main Event Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Docherty | United Kingdom | 3,560,000 | 119 |
| 2 | Ian Hamilton | United Kingdom | 2,450,000 | 82 |
| 3 | Jack Sinclair | United Kingdom | 2,230,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Roman Hrabec | Austria | 2,125,000 | 71 |
| 5 | Harry Lodge | United Kingdom | 2,045,000 | 68 |
| 6 | Nils Pudel | Germany | 1,985,000 | 66 |
| 7 | Alexandre Vuilleumier | Switzerland | 1,710,000 | 57 |
| 8 | Nicolas Vayssieres | France | 1,085,000 | 36 |
| 9 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | 990,000 | 33 |
| 10 | Aleem Kanji | United Kingdom | 965,000 | 32 |
Behind Docherty comes Ian Hamilton (2,450,000) and former WSOPE Main Event champion Jack Sinclair, who spent most of the day on the feature table and bagged 2,230,000, helped after picking off a bluff from fellow Brit Ben Heath in the closing stages of the day.
Other big stacks include Roman Hrabec (2,125,000) and Harry Lodge (2,045,000) who doubled through chip leader Docherty late on to vault up the counts.
Day 4 Recap
A shorter day was always expected with just 25 players remaining in the tournament at the start of the day, and besides Docherty's first-level fireworks there were a steady stream of eliminations during the early stages.
Popular French player Julien Sitbon was eliminated, despite calling his opponent's exact hole cards, while EPT London Ladies Event champion Jessica Pilkington also exited.
There were doubles for Ian Hamilton and Erik Seidel, with Hamilton also making a straight flush midway through the day.
A flurry of eliminations took the tournament from 20 to 16 players in the space of 30 minutes as Thomas Hueber, Enzo Vito, Ambrose Ng and Jordi Romero all exited, raising the prospect of play being halted earlier than scheduled.
But no further eliminations came in the final 90 minute level of the day. Docherty had held a 2:1 chip lead over his nearest rival at the final break, and had enough chips to double Harry Lodge in the closing stages without taking too much of a dent.
Remaining Payouts
The remaining players have all guaranteed themselves £29,800 for making Day 5, with the winner taking home £664,400.
| Place | Payout (GBP) |
|---|---|
| 1 | £664,400 |
| 2 | £414,650 |
| 3 | £296,150 |
| 4 | £227,800 |
| 5 | £175,250 |
| 6 | £134,800 |
| 7 | £103,700 |
| 8 | £79,750 |
| 9 | £61,350 |
| 10-11 | £49,350 |
| 12-13 | £41,100 |
| 14-15 | £34,250 |
| 16 | £29,800 |
The final 16 players will return on Thursday, October 27 and play down to a final six before the final day's play on Friday. Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the action from this event and the rest of the 2022 EPT London schedule.
to give him a pair of kings and backdoor clubs to go with it.
on the turn significantly upped the sweat factor as it gave Docherty a flush draw and Lodge was calling for a red card as the 
bricked off on the river to earn him the double up. 
and Ben Heath defended his big blind with 
and Heath checked. Sinclair bet 50,000 and Heath called.
and Heath checked. Sinclair bet 190,000 and Heath called.
for a full house and he was eliminated.
saw Ng's pocket pair stay in front. The turn was the 
flop and action checked to Hamilton who continued for 45,000. Only Vuilleumier called.
for a rivered straight flush as he collected the pot.
and Wakil continued for 175,000. Docherty called. Wakil sized up to 350,000 on the 
turn and Docherty again called. 
on the river completed the board and Wakil bet around 600,000 with just a single 5,000-denomination chip behind. Docherty raised all in and Wakil called with a groan as he asked "you have aces?"
