Friday, 29th March 2024 01:27
Home / Uncategorized / EPT8 San Remo: Day 1B, level 7 & 8 updates (blinds 300-600, ante 75)
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12.10am: Play concludes
All the tables have played out their remaining hands and play had ended until tomorrow. Through the crowds of players we believe that Taylor Paur is the overnight chip leader on 188,200 chips. The wrap of today’s play will be up shortly and the overall chip counts will follow sometime after that. Day 2 starts at 2pm local time. — MC

11.58pm: Grieco can’t fold, loses chip lead
Nicola Grieco has had a dominant chip stack all day but he’s just lost a big one against a nut flush. He’s down to 160,000 and players are now bagging up across the tournament floor. They’ll be a small wait, hold on. — RD

11.50pm: Last four hands
The clock was stopped with 11 minutes remaining each table will play the last fours hands before bagging up for the night.

10.40pm: Selbst chasing down Grieco
Vanessa Selbst is up to 160,000 and rapidly chasing down Nicola Greico’s chip lead. The Italian looks happy to sit on his stack at the moment, understandably so, but Selbst, just a few tables away, is playing a high percentage of pots. It’s working. — RD

11.30pm: Thorson and Moorman on the up
William Thorson managed to double-up to 65,000 chips with pocket fives. He told us he had a player drawing dead when the chips went in, and after a countdown of stacks, the Swede had 300 more chips than his opponent.

Moorman is still short but managed to get a shove through. He raised to 1,350 from early position and was called by the big blind. The flop fell 7♥ Aâ™  2♣ and Moorman’s 1,500 c-bet was check-called. The turn was the 8♦ and the big blind checked to face an 11,000 all-in bet from the Brit. His opponent folded. — MC

11.20pm: ElkY failing to gain traction
Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier has been trying – and failing – to gain any kind of grip on this main event. The bleach blonde Frenchman Triple Crown winner is often a tournament tearaway but today just hasn’t been of his easiest. Here’s a hand typical of ElkY’s today:

Elky open-raised to 1,200 from middle position. The hijack three-bet for 10,000, leaving just 3,000 behind. The blinds pass. ElkY is forced to toss his hand into the muck. He is left with 29,000. — RD

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Triple Crown holder ElkY

11.10pm: Late night rush for Wigg
Anton Wigg seems to be enjoying himself immensely since he came back from dinner break. I guess that’s not too hard to do if you’ve tripled your stack in that period. He’s up to a little less than 160,000 chips after taking another pot of Alessandro Chiarato with a superbly thin value bet.

We missed the preflop action but Wigg led for 2,850 (7k in pot) on a 5♣ 4♠ K♥ flop. Chiarato called before both players checked the 6♥ turn. The river came A♥ and Wigg led for 6,250. His opponent tanked for three minutes before throwing in the chips.

Wigg said, “Thin value bet, but I don’t know,” and tabled Q♦ Q♣ . Chiarato mucked. — MC

11.05pm: Bansi gives a chunk to Selbst
The board read 4♦ Q♥ 2♥ 3♦ Q♦ and Vanessa Selbst had bet 18,400 into it. Praz Bansi sat getting a massage looking distinctly uncomfortable nonetheless. A losing call would leave him with around 42,000, a successful call close to 100,000. He finally decided that risk was worth taking. Call.

Selbst showed down A♦ 6♦ for the nut flush. Bansi mucked as Selbst chipped up to 125,000. — RD

11.01pm: Pot to Pantaleo
Giuseppe Pantaleo is up to 86,000 after a hand against Men Nguyen.

Nguyen opened for 1,500 which Pantaleo raised to 4,375 on the button. Nguyen called for a flop of Q♦ Q♣ 4♠ .

When Pantaleo made it 2,725 Nguyen check called for a 7♦ turn. Both checked for a 7â™  on the river. Nguyen tossed in 10,000. Pantaleo called, showing Kâ™  K♥ to topple Nguyen’s J♦ Jâ™  .

Nguyen down to 40,000. – SB

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 300-600, 75

11pm: Thorson big-slicks up
Alfio Battisti picked up A♦ K♦ in the big blind and managed to get two streets of value out of William Thorson in the small blind.

The pot opened with a mid position raise to 1,200 and two calls before Battisti three-bet to 4,200. Thorson was the only caller to the 7â™  Kâ™  Qâ™  flop he check-called a 4,200 bet.

Both players checked the Q♣ turn to go to the 10♣ river. The Italian bet 6,200 and his Swedish opponent check-called and mucked. — MC

10.54pm: Breaking 200,000
Nicola Grieco has become the first player to break 200,000 and it’s not for the first time he’s had so many chips here in San Remo. The Italian finished 23rd last season for a €25,000 payday and is looking very comfortable with a large stack in front of him. — RD

10.45pm: The matters of Moreira de Melo
Fatima Moreira de Melo just dropped a little, down to 75,000.

Carmelo Lazzaro opened for 1,100 which Moreira de Melo called on the cut off. Irene Baroni called in the small blind for a flop of 2♣ Q♦ A♦ . Baroni checked to Lazzaro who bet 2,300, which was called by Moreira de Melo. Baroni passed. On the 7♥ turn Lazzaro bet 6,000 to take the pot. – SB

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Fatima Moreira de Melo

10.35pm: Show me the money!
Okay, we will. No need to shout. Click here to see the payouts and prizewinners page. A total of 128 players will see a return on their tournament investment with a minimum of €7,000 all the way up to the €800,000 first place prize. — RD

10.30pm: Chinese aces lucky for Adeniya
Martins Adeniya would love the chance to have another crack at an EPT final table after busting 7th in London, despite entering it as chip leader. His chances have improved after he got lucky to double versus Joseph Cheong.

The Brit raised to 1,200 from early position and was called in one spot before Cheong three-bet from the big blind. Adeniya’s response was to shove for 19,675 and he was called by the American after the third party folded.

Adeniya: 8♠ 8♦
Cheong: Q♣ Q♦

The board ran 3â™  6â™  3♥ 4♦ 8♣ to make Adeniya a full house on the river. Cheong was left with just 8,000 chips. — MC

10.20pm: Anti Ante
Dario Minieri plays on into level 7, although his stack looked better at the start of the day, now down to 11,000. He bumped that up a little when a pre-flop all-in shove which found no takers, good for the blinds and antes.

A few tables along Victoria Coren just won a hand by sheer might alone.

With an opening bet of 1,200 from Taylor Paur, Coren then called from middle position and the action reached the big blind, where one player was having trouble understanding why he was still being asked to provide an ante for the pot. This was a debate that had started before the cards were dealt and had somehow continued to now. With several players asking him to cough up, and several more begging him to, he finally paid up, not entirely sure why he was doing so.

The flop came 3♣ 9♣ 10♣ which Paur checked. Coren, fired up as one of those that had pleaded for play to get a move on, bet 2,000, which was called.

The turn came 9â™  . Coren put her glasses on, waited for Paur to check and then bet another 4,200. Paur called.

Now the 10♦ river. Again Paur checked. Glasses back on Coren looked at the board, then at Paur.

“Ah, come on, let’s chop it,” she said, turning over Aâ™  . Paur showed nothing. “No?” said Coren, turning over J♥ . Paur mucked.

Coren up to 37,000. – SB

10.10pm: Wigg gets three streets of value
Talking of former champions, Anton Wigg is up to 65,000 after getting three streets of value versus Alessandro Chiarato. He raised from early position and was only called by the Italian in late position.

Wigg went on to lead for 1,850, 4,150 and 8,625 on each street. The final board read 4♠ 9♥ 2♠ 9♠ J♥ and Chiarato called pretty quickly on each street.

Wigg tabled A♦ 9♣ and shrugged his shoulders whilst smiling. — MC

9.58pm: One less champion as Cody takes a tumble
The fields have combined for these last two levels. News has reached us that there’s one less candidate for the first EPT double, Jake Cody has taken a fall. Here are his twitter updates, which we’ve taken the liberty of tidying up into a single consumable post:

“San Remo dream is over again. It’s the third time I’ve busted Day 1 of this tournament, starting on dream tables each time. I couldn’t win a pot for the first few levels then an Italian huge stack opens the cut-off to 1,575 at 200/400, American with lots of chips flats and I make it 5,225 playing 17k with AJ. The Italian folds, the American ships with KJ and I can’t hold. Sigh.”

Cody may be gone but plenty of others former EPT champs are still in including Liv Boeree and Salvatore Bonavena. Let’s get going. — RD

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EPT champ Salvatore Bonavena

PokerStars Blog reporting team in San Remo (in order of lanyards worn): Stephen Bartley (two; one for casino card, one for press pass) and Marc Convey (one: utilising a double-sided sticky tape approach to his credentials) and Rick Dacey (zero; embarrassingly broke his lanyard in a mad rush to get to the buffet). Photos by Neil Stoddart.

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