Maher Nouira Leads Heading into Day 2 of �25,000 High Roller Event
The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo series, running at the stunning Sporting Monte-Carlo set right on the coast of the French Riviera, continues today with Day 2 of the �25,000 EPT High Roller.
Day 1 attracted a field of 229 entrants, many of them prolific players who really know their stuff. This generated a prize pool of �5,498,290, already surpassing last year's total prize pool by almost �500,000. Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2, at which point the full entry numbers, prize pool and payouts can be confirmed.
Maher Nouira of Tunisia is leading the way with 362,000 chips. Nouira is hunting his second title in Monte Carlo after topping a field of 69 players in Event #35, another �25,000 buy-in, which he won for �369,210. Nouira is in a great position to go deep again, although he'll have to slay through a tough field in order to do so.
Henri Kasper of Estonia, a regular at the EPT stops, finished the day in second place with 290,000, while Christopher Puetz of Germany took third with 267,000.
Also sitting in the top ten are EPT founder John Duthie, as well as 2023 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event champion Mike Watson. Here's how the top chip counts look as we head into Day 2.
Start of Day 2 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 |
Day 2 commences on Friday, May 3 at midday local time and blinds will resume at Level 11 at 1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 big blind ante. A minimum of ten 60-minute levels will be played.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as reporters bring you live updates of the action straight from the tournament floor.