Day 1a of the �2,200 PokerStars France Poker Series High Roller has concluded with two French at the top of the tree at Sporting Monte-Carlo. Kamel Marzouk heads the 118 players from this flight, having amassed a stack of 710,000. 795 have entered this flight, including reentries.
Following Marzouk in second place is Bruno Khalifa with 564,000, over a 100,000 less than his compatriot. Khalifa asserted himself as the chip leader towards the midpoint of the tournament, only to be eclipsed by Marzouk in the final levels. Marzouk's best live cash is $11,469 and Khalifa's is even less at $3,492, according to thehendonmob.com.
Rounding out the top three is Jon Vallinas with 525,000. The Spaniard currently in 3rd place will be looking to build on his 4th place finish for �41,300 in the �10,200 Mystery Bounty here at EPT Monte Carlo. Toni Kaukua sits in 4th place with 495,000. At EPT Paris this year, Kaukua achieved a 178th place finish for �4,440 along side a 23rd place finish in the �10,300 EPT High Roller for �36,100. Sitting in fifth is Javier Gomez with 483,000. Gomez is no stranger to deep runs here in Monte-Carlo, having finished 33rd for �19,850 in the �5,300 EPT Main Event last year.
End of Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kamel Marzouk | France | 710,000 | |
| 2 | Bruno Khalifa | France | 564,000 | |
| 3 | Jon Vallinas | Spain | 525,000 | |
| 4 | Toni Kaukua | Finland | 495,000 | |
| 5 | Javier Gomez | Spain | 483,000 | |
| 6 | Jamie Dwan | United Kingdom | 440,000 | |
| 7 | Mykhailo Sezonenko | Ukraine | 410,000 | |
| 8 | Ravi Sheth | United Kingdom | 408,000 | |
| 9 | Enis Rouissi | France | 408,000 | |
| 10 | Christian Dressler | Germany | 391,000 |
Other notables to bag a stack for Day 2 outside of the top 10 include Axel Hallay with 223,000, Felipe Boianovsky with 220,000, Ramiro Petrone with 214,000 and Ole Schemion with 210,000, and newly crowned EPT winner Antoine Labat.
Highlights
At one point, Ravi Sheth thought he was about to be stacked when he ran his deuces into the tens.
Simeon Naydenov found himself involved in a multiway all in scenario as a covered stack, yet managed to go runner runner to crack kings and queens.
Second in chips Khalifa always seemed to be on the right side of all in situations, coming out on top on numerous occasions to maintain is stack.
Day 2 is set to commence at 12 p.m. local time on Sunday, April 28th where a winner will be crowned by the end of the day. Players will be returning to blinds of 2,000/5,000 with a 5,000 big blind ante.
As always, PokerNews will be bringing you continued coverage of all the EPT Monte Carlo action from here at the Sporting Monte-Carlo.
