Keating Among Notables Giving Chase in £10,300 EPT High Roller
Alex Keating leads a powerful lineup of poker superstars chasing chip leader Mike Watson as Day 2 of the £10,300 EPT High Roller begins at the PokerStars European Poker Tour London.
Watson collected more than seven starting stacks to lead the way, as 67 of the 139 entries from Day 1 return to do battle at the Hilton Park Lane. Late registration remains open until the start of play on Day 2, meaning the field will likely expand before the final prize pool is set.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Watson | Canada | 353,500 | 235 |
| 2 | Daniel Aziz | Brazil | 281,000 | 187 |
| 3 | Alex Keating | United States | 279,000 | 186 |
| 4 | Renan Bruschi | Brazil | 275,000 | 183 |
| 5 | Leonard Maue | Germany | 239,500 | 160 |
| 6 | Leon Sturm | Germany | 216,000 | 144 |
| 7 | Joao Vieira | Portugal | 214,500 | 143 |
| 8 | Bruno Volkmann | Brazil | 203,000 | 135 |
| 9 | Sam Grafton | United Kingdom | 198,500 | 132 |
| 10 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | 176,500 | 118 |
The field is full of notable names at every table, including Joao Vieira sitting eighth in chips with 143 big blinds. Vieira is coming off a runner-up finish in the £25,000 Single-Day High Roller II here at EPT London.
PokerStars Ambassador Sam Grafton is not far behind, while the rest of the field includes the likes of Espen Jorstad, £10,200 Mystery Bounty champion Juan Pardo and £25,000 Single-Day High Roller II winner Daniel Dvoress. Julien Sitbon begins the day with a top-20 chip stack, taking his seat in the event just moments after wrapping up a 23rd-place run in the £5,300 EPT Main Event.
Play begins at 12:30 p.m. local time on Level 11 with blinds of 1,000/1,500 and a 1,500 ante. Players who take advantage of the late registration window will begin Day 2 with 33 big blinds.
The schedule consists of ten 60-minute levels, with a 15-minute break after every two and a 75-minute dinner break prior to the last two levels of play.
The PokerNews team will continue to provide complete coverage from the tournament floor at EPT London.
and plenty of chips already in the middle.
for top two pair, and he raked a big pot as Sturm mucked.
.
flop, and then the fireworks began.
turn and 
turn completed his flush and Grafton was eliminated after the 
flop, where Plesuv continued for 12,000. Sitbon slid in the call and the action repeated with a bet of 16,000 on the 
turn.
river, sliding out 58,000 and leaving a single 1,000 chip behind. Sitbon faced a decision for almost all of his remaining stack, and used three time banks before making the call.
for a straight, and Sitbon showed his disappointment while mucking his hand. He was left with just 10,000 behind, which he promptly lost to Heath blind vs blind on the very next hand.
