Maher Nouira Leads Day 1 of �25,000 High Roller After Earlier Title Triumph
Day 1 of the �25,000 EPT High Roller has concluded here at 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo, attracting a high-quality field of 229 entrants.
So far the field has generated a current prize pool of �5,498,290, surpassing 2023's total prize pool by almost �500,000. Registration remains open until the start of Day 2, and it is expected the field will grow, with any players entering on Day 2 starting with over 30 big blinds.
112 players have progressed, with Maher Nouira of Tunisia leading the way (362,000), closely followed by Henri Kasper of Estonia (290,000) and Christopher Puetz of Germany (267,000).
Amazingly, Nouira jumped into this event and bagged the chip lead after he triumphed over a field of 69 entries earlier in the day in Event #35, a �25,000 buy-in, for a �369,210 payday. Nouira will be gunning for a second title in Monte Carlo and will be tough to stop on current form.
Kasper is an EPT regular and will be looking to add to his impressive resume of over $1,200,000 in live earnings, his best live cash being a fifth place finish in the EPT Paris 2023 �5,300 Main Event.
EPT founder John Duthie and EPT Monte Carlo 2023 �5,300 Main Event champion Mike Watson have both gathered a top ten stack with 201,000.
End of Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maher Nouira | Tunisia | 362,000 | 241 |
| 2 | Henri Kasper | Estonia | 290,000 | 193 |
| 3 | Christopher Puetz | Germany | 267,000 | 178 |
| 4 | Vladyslav Martynenko | Ukraine | 245,500 | 163 |
| 5 | Matthias Lipp | Austria | 235,000 | 156 |
| 6 | Daniel Rezaei | Austria | 233,500 | 155 |
| 7 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | 220,000 | 146 |
| 8 | Bert Stevens | Belgium | 206,500 | 137 |
| 9 | John Duthie | United Kingdom | 201,000 | 134 |
| 10 | Mike Watson | Canada | 201,000 | 134 |
Recap of Day 1 Action
33 players were registered for the first level of the day, and Gabi Livshitz was the first player to exit when he ran into the set of Artur Martirosian.
Leon Sturm got off to a strong start when he knocked out Vasily Klyukin after his opponent's flush draw missed, although he took a dent when defending champion Mikita Badziakouski spiked the river for a one-card flush to crack Sturm's pocket kings. Both Sturm (130,500) and Badziakouski (141,500) ultimately progressed to Day 2.
Manchester City and Argentina football legend Sergio Aguero hopped in, and although he required two bullets, he has found a bag for Day 2 and will be returning to play 80,500, right in the middle of the pack.
Justin Bonomo (145,500) was among the chip leaders for much of the day but took a slight hit later on when his flush draw missed against Mario Navarro .
Streamer Elias Gutierrez (147,500) and PokerStars Ambassadors Sam Grafton (64,000), Andre Akkari (44,000), Rafael Moraes (38,000) and Alejandro Lococo (37,500) all managed to progress to Day 2 and will be hoping to put together a run at the title.
The remaining players will return on Friday, May 3rd at 12 p.m. local time to Sporting Monte-Carlo for Day 2, where it is expected a minimum of ten 60-minute levels will be paid. The players will return to Level 11, featuring 1,000/1,500 blinds with a 1,500 big blind ante. The overall prize pool and payouts will be confirmed once late registration is closed.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all your coverage as we see who will emerge triumphant in Monte Carlo.