Ilija Savevski Bags Massive Lead at End of Day 2
The second of four days in the �1,100 France Poker Series (FPS) Paris Main Event has wrapped up with just 55 remaining after the day began with 619 players. Leading the way is Ilija Savevski with a stack of 10,010,000 after winning a massive pot and eliminating Samuel Fournier with a full house nearing the end of the night.
Following Savevski are fellow big stacks Blaz Zerjav (6,645,000), Jonathan Swerdlow (5,045,000), and Enis Rouissi (5,005,000).
The tournament has already been one to remember as it drew a record-breaking 4,149 entrants, besting the previous FPS Main Event record of 2,138 runners set at 2023 EPT Monte Carlo, and more than doubling last years FPS Main here in Paris, which had 2,071 entries. The eventual champion will take home the trophy and top prize of �470,830, while each returning player is guaranteed a payday of at least �8,710.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ilija Savevski | North Macedonia | 10010000 | 167 |
| 2 | Blaz Zerjav | Slovenia | 6645000 | 111 |
| 3 | Jonathan Swerdlow | Belgium | 5045000 | 84 |
| 4 | Enis Rouissi | France | 5005000 | 83 |
| 5 | Tomislav Pavanic | France | 4525000 | 75 |
| 6 | Giovani Torre | Portugal | 4130000 | 69 |
| 7 | Mustafa Simsek | Turkey | 4030000 | 67 |
| 8 | Daniel Barriocanal | Spain | 3960000 | 66 |
| 9 | Julien Duveau | France | 3470000 | 58 |
| 10 | Diogo Coelho | Portugal | 3390000 | 57 |
Some notables who survived to see Day 3 include Cecile Ticherfatine, Scott Margereson, Pierre Merlin, Daniel Smiljkovic, and Day 1 chip leaders Alexandre Correia and Matei Lupascu.
Day 2 Action
As the surviving players from the six starting flights combined on Day 2, it didn't take long for hundreds of players to bust to bring the field down to a few dozen tables with just 322 remaining at the first break. Some of those who made early exits include Alexandre Vuilleumier, two-time FPS champion Anthony Apicella, Julien Sitbon, Daniel Rezaei, Jason Wheeler, and 2023 EPT Paris runner-up Peter Jorgne.
Kenny Hallaert began to pick up some steam in Level 20 when his pocket tens eliminated Benjamin Duval for a pot worth more than 80 big blinds but couldn��t quite make it to Day 3 as he was knocked out late in the day.
Marle Spragg, who was repping a PokerStars patch, began the day with 180,000 and had built it up to a little over 400,000 when she ran into the ultimate preflop cooler as her pocket kings couldn��t defeat the pocket aces of Gilles Sebbane.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | � 470,830 | 12-13 | � 27,950 |
| 2 | � 294,530 | 14-15 | � 23,290 |
| 3 | � 210,220 | 16-17 | � 20,240 |
| 4 | � 161,710 | 18-20 | � 17,600 |
| 5 | � 124,390 | 21-23 | � 15,310 |
| 6 | � 95,680 | 24-27 | � 13,290 |
| 7 | � 73,580 | 28-31 | � 11,570 |
| 8 | � 56,590 | 32-39 | � 10,040 |
| 9 | � 43,540 | 40-55 | � 8,710 |
| 10-11 | � 33,500 |
Day 3 will kick off at noon on Level 27 with blinds of 30,000/60,000/60,000 as the field gets closer to a winner, who will be crowned on Day 4.
That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's Day 2 coverage, but be sure to check back on Sunday to keep up on the Day 3 action.