EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo
Day 2

The second day of action in Monte Carlo kicked off at 2pm local time with 340 players remaining in a day designed for whittling the players down to a somewhat smaller figure. Similarly the money bubble would be burst today and the cash would be dished out for some lucky players. The money of course is always little consolation to actually going deep and winning the 1st prize!

American Chad Brown entered the day as chip leader with 150,425 in tournament chips. A Scandinavian trio of Ulsrud, Vilmunen Eskilsson followed him into proceeding to make up the top four chip leaders at the start of play. Many faces could be found outside of the chip leaders and plenty of familiar ones as well.

Two players who know each other very well at this stage are Dave Colclough and John Shipley. These UK tournament professionals will have met many times on the circuit and today was no exception. It is interesting to think that both players will go into the tournament with similar approaches but usually yielding very different results. There are many such examples of these match-ups seen this weekend. It was Colclough day however as he eliminated Shipley early in today’s action. AJ dominated and beat Shipley’s JQ in an all-in coup. 

Last year’s runner up Ash Hussain was another such rounder looking to have a profitable weekend in Monte Carlo. One step better this year was what he was inevitably aiming for but with such a strong field, it was always going to be a mammoth task. Indeed Hussian was eliminated today when A10 was no match for a flopped set of sixes on a ten-high flop. Hussain was lest to ponder the sight for the rest of the afternoon.

With a flurry of Americans over for the weekend, one such high roller playing today was Barry Greenstein. The high-stakes poker front man is rarely seen in action here in Europe and he will be disappointed in his performance this weekend. Eliminated by Irish hopeful Andy Black, this big time player was one of many to be eliminated by the on-form Black. Patrik Antonius was another player thought to have a big chance this weekend. Another casualty to the high stakes pros meant this weekend could well be yet another victor for the unknown player.

Unlike Patrick, Noah Boeken was eliminated with the jacks rather than by the dreaded hooks. The Dutch pro needed chips fast and made an aggressive move from early position which he must have assumed was the best hand in play. The announcement of a call was met with an equal dose of fear and delight. Delighted to get a call with a big made hand but fearful of perhaps an even bigger pocket pair. It was the later for the Dutch hopeful and resulted in his elimination late in the day.

Another man who is enjoying a serious slice of form at present is former Eastenders bad boy Michael Greco. With a 1st place finish in Grosnover UK poker tour in Cardiff this March, it’s easy to see why poker has become somewhat more than a pastime for the former soap star. His luck wasn’t in today however and he was another late elimination here in Monaco today.

Today was Andy Black’s day however with the popular character showing his true class today. He really powered through all before him, leaving himself a big chance for the weekend’s finale. Finishing the day with over half a million in chips meant that the Buddhist was the man to catch going into day three. Stacking the chips were one job he mastered today and no better man to do it. He was very determined and his face was focused for the entire day. Even after play it was a case of stage 2 complete for Black. He was here for a big finish and who’s to say he wont go all the way this weekend.

With the chips bagged up and play drawn to a close for another day, the tournament is taking shape. There have been gig name casualties already and many more to come perhaps. We’re just getting started here in Monaco.