It was another cool, crisp day in Dublin, though inside the Royal Dublin Society the EPT12 Dublin Main Event is just starting to heat up. Day 3 of the tournament saw the money bubble burst, the field narrow down to just 45 hopefuls, and the UK’s Alex Goulder emerge from five levels’ worth of hold’em with the most chips of anyone, bagging 1,020,000 to claim the overnight chip lead.
A former poker dealer before becoming a live cash game pro, Goulder cut his teeth in Nottingham before moving to London. He’s notched some impressive tourney results as well including an 11th-place showing in the EPT10 Deauville Main Event, a finish he’ll keep trying to better here.
Ivan Banic began the day with the chip lead, and would remain near the top most of the day while others accumulated and the top spot changed hands. Tudor Purice would enjoy a short spell in first position, with Christopher Kruk and Frank Williams taking turns surging in front thereafter.
Looking at some of those who claimed the eliminated players’ stacks, Frank Williams (881,000), Christopher Kruk (812,000), Ivan Banic (715,000), and Gilles Bernies (657,000) finished near the top. James Akenhead (626,000), Nick Petrangelo (326,000), Antoine Saout (325,000), and Dzmitry Urbanovich (164,000) also bagged up tonight.
Three former EPT champions remain in the field — EPT11 Monte Carlo Grand Final winner Adrian Mateos (631,000), 2014 PCA champ Dominik Panka (91,000), and EPT6 Copenhagen titlist Anton Wigg (345,000).
Also returning for Thursday’s Day 4 are a couple of red spade-sporters. Jaime Staples of Team PokerStars Pro Online bagged 241,000 and will continue what for him will ultimately represent a best career live score, no matter where he lands.
It’s back out, then, into the chilly Dublin night, although there may be a pub or three between the RDS and the hotel to help keep warm on the way back. We’ll be back at the crack of noon tomorrow, though, to see who from the remaining group of players can continue the quest to become the next EPT champion.
Cheers!
* CLICK FOR CHIP COUNTS
* Relive the day’s action on EPT Live
Want to compete for your own online championship? Click here to get a PokerStars account.
Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.
Back to Top