EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo
Day 3

88 hopefuls returned to action in Monaco today, each looking to stake their claim at the big time and get themselves somewhat closer to the glory of being EPT champion of 2007. There was a big overlay of participants in the playing hall, all of which had their own story to tell. They were here today as mere spectators, watching to see the movers and shakers in day three. It is strange to see that poker players can often get more excited observing poker than actually playing. Barney Boatman was getting very excited, scurrying to see the fortunes of his fellow Hendon mobster’s progress in the tournament. This final sure looks to be a popular one no matter how associated with poker you are!

Indeed the Hendon mob had plenty of action today with Ram Vaswani and Joe Beevers performing well. Beevers had a huge treble up on the feature table when his QQ held up against AJ and 99 respectfully. The Hendon mob member maintained a worthwhile day’s work but just failed to reach the last 32.  He still received €23,00 for his efforts which somewhat lessens the blow for sure. Ram also lit up the feature table with some nice plays and aggressive moves. Perhaps the most explosive being a cut-off raise called with 73 that ended up making a very disguised two pair and giving the crazy horse a sizable pot of well over 100k. Ram was one of the survivors today and goes into the last 4 tables with a total stack of over 400k. He will be a force to be reckoned with for sure.

Dave “Devilfish” Ulliot it’s safe to say is one of the most recognisable faces in poker. His image is one that conveys all the elements of the traditional poker pro. Confident, brash, load-mouth, witty, funny and downright flash are all associations made with the fish. Since winning the first Late Night Poker series Dave has become one of, if not the most popular player in Europe. He can be found in venues throughout the circuit and this week was no exception. The colourful player was having a good tournament up until today. Dave often complains of his “tarnished” image and how he “can’t get away with bluffing anymore”. The devilfish should have hoarded to his advice perhaps. KJ does not connect well with an A82 board and it is safe to say that Ulliot was one a serious bluff. His opponent wasn’t however and with A8 duly flipped over Dave was sent packing early.  

Another flamboyant player who was getting much attention today was Andy Black. The hero of Europe in the WSOP 2005, Black went into the day as standout chip leader. Proving his worth for all to see yet again, just like he did in the Aussie Million this year, Black was on-form and playing red-hot. His success in recent years has been no fluke and Andy did as well as he could hope for today. That is, he maintained his chip lead going into the penultimate day of this prestigious event. Finishing the day on a massive 709,000 Black still had room for discontent. The charismatic Black claimed to be “somewhat disappointed” not have maintained his 840k peak. Well Andy, you can’t win them all!

One of Andy’s rivals tomorrow may well prove to be Gavin Griffin. The American bracelet holder finished the day in forth position. The bleach-blonde hopeful hovered up all the chips in today’s action and was dominant on each of the tables he appeared on today. He is clearly fearless and very much here to win, don’t be surprised if both Griffin and Black meet in monster action tomorrow. This could be a very interesting bout. The winner of that battle could well decide this year’s champion.   

Another day completed here in Monte Carlo and we have achieved our target. 32 players remain from the 88 starters today. All the players remaining are officially in the money and are sure to be happy knowing that going into tomorrow’s gruelling day.  Play will resume tomorrow in order to play down to the final eight, and the highly anticipated final table.