Ziyard and Katchalov Amongst EPT Deauville Leaders
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
It was a day of early upsets at EPT Deauville on Tuesday as a number of recognisable pros and former high fliers fell by the wayside at the start of play.
Indeed, with more than 400 players returning to the felt for Day 2 of the Main Event, the hopefuls on display were already starting to look towards the money and a place on the final table.
However, for some, that ambition was slightly premature as their forward-thinking caused them to falter in the session's opening level. Caught up in the chip deluge was the chip leader of the day, Ayman Zbib as well as the likes of Kevin MacPhee, Morten Mortensen and Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier.
With a mass exodus taking place in the early rounds, the organisers decided to add some stability the event midway through the day by announcing the payouts. After crunching the numbers a total of 671 entry fees had been collected, which meant the prizepool stood at €3,220,800 and that 95 players would walk away with at least €9,500. Moreover, this year's EPT Deauville Main Event champion will not only take home a shiny new trophy but €614,000.
Having restored some sort of focus to the session, the organisers watched as the clock ticked by and Dario Sammartino made his way to the top of the chip chart.
The Italian pro managed to bag himself 427,700 chips before the close of play to finish comfortably ahead of such luminaries as Zimnan Ziyard, Eugene Katchalov, JP Kelly and Stephen Chidwick. In total 137 players will return for Day 3 and play past the bubble before coming back for the penultimate session on Thursday.
€5,300 EPT Deauville Main Event Chip Counts:
1. Dario Sammartino - 427,700
2. Zimnan Ziyard - 392,500
3. Norbert Szecsi - 386,900
4. Jonathan Abdellatif - 351,700
5. Eugene Katchalov - 345,700
6. Loredan Hanganu - 329,100
7. Sotirios Koutoupas - 317,100
8. Kamel Boukhalfa - 289,700
9. Anthony Lerust- 288,600
10. Patrick Bruel -277,400