In Monaco, the sun's shining bright, signaling yet another day of excitement at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo, running at the stunning Sporting Monte-Carlo.
Across the two starting flights of the €5,300 Main Event, 1,149 entries were recorded, creating a massive prize pool of €5,572,650. The record for the EPT Monte Carlo, set during last year's Main Event, has been broken. Registration remains open until the start of Day 2 at noon local time today.
Leading the 375 surviving players from both starting flights is Elias Gutierrez, holding 336,000 in chips. Trailing closely behind are Rania Nasreddine (302,000) and Philipp Wenzelburger (283,500).
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elias Gutierrez | Spain | 336,000 | 224 |
| 2 | Rania Nasreddine | United States | 302,000 | 201 |
| 3 | Philipp Wenzelburger | Germany | 283,500 | 189 |
| 4 | Amaury Mamou-Mani | France | 266,500 | 177 |
| 5 | Vladyslav Martynenko | Ukraine | 265,500 | 177 |
| 6 | Kayhan Mokri | Norway | 253,000 | 169 |
| 7 | Alan Ferraro | Italy | 243,500 | 162 |
| 8 | Tudor Zapsa | Moldova | 240,000 | 160 |
| 9 | Alexandre Reard | France | 234,500 | 156 |
| 10 | Birger Ohl | Germany | 229,000 | 153 |
Among the notable players who bagged big by the end of the two starting flights are PokerStars Ambassadors Rafael Moraes (188,500), Felix Schneiders (115,500), Simon Wiciak (79,000) and Andre Akkari (22,500) as well as Peter Jorgne (226,000), Roman Hrabec (166,000), Ana Marquez (163,000) and Ankit Ahuja (103,500)
Further down the leaderboard are Niclas Thumm (124,000), Nikita Luther (95,500), Marle Spragg (95,000), Dominik Nitsche (92,500), Daniel Dvoress (92,000), Christopher Pütz (89,000), David Yan (52,500), defending champion Mike Watson (47,000) and Benny Glaser (37,000).
Day 2 is scheduled to commence at noon local time, starting at Level 11, where the blinds stand at 1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 big blind ante. Each level will be extended to 90 minutes, with players enjoying a 20-minute break after every level.
Shot clocks won't come into play until Day 3, allowing players more time to make decisions for now. Players have yet to reach the money as only 15% of the field will be paid. Information regarding payouts is expected shortly after registration closes.
Historically, Day 2 is the crucial moment when the bubble bursts in EPT Main Events. Stay tuned to the live report on PokerNews and don't forget to catch the cards-up stream on PokerStars' Twitch and YouTube channels.
