Henrik Juncker Leads Final Four as �2,200 FPS High Roller Goes into Overtime
Day 2 of the �2,200 France Poker Series High Roller has come to an end here at 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris with just four players remaining as the event has extended into an unplanned Day 3. By the time the clock struck 4 a.m. (forcing the end of play), it was Henrik Juncker who bagged up the chip lead with 29,400,000.
Juncker's stack accounts for more than half the chips in play with his next closest opponent being Omar Del Pino, who ended with 11,400,000. PokerStars ambassador Parker Talbot rounds out the top three with 10,200,000 while Guillermo Gordo ended as the short stack with 2,800,000.
Juncker has live-tournament cashes dating back to 2010 with his largest score coming back in 2022, where he took down a No-Limit Hold'em Unibet Open event for �75,000. Regardless of where he places tomorrow, Juncker has already locked up his biggest cash to date and will enter Day 3 in pole position to take down the �544,790 first-place prize. All four players will be seeking their first EPT title.
Day 3 Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guillermo Gordo | Spain | 2,800,000 | 5 |
| 2 | Henrik Juncker | Denmark | 29,400,000 | 49 |
| 3 | Parker Talbot | Canada | 10,200,000 | 17 |
| 4 | Omar Del Pino | Spain | 11,400,000 | 19 |
Day 2 Action
Day 2 began with 268 hopefuls, all of whom already locked up a min-cash of �3,340, looking to make a deep run. Unsurprisingly, eliminations came fast and furious as there were a plethora of short stacks who barely managed to make Day 2. Within the first hour of play, nearly 100 players had already busted, including Dinesh Alt (264th - �3,340), Benny Glaser (263rd - �3,340), Younes Hammouchi (226th - �3,340), and Fabian Rolli (222nd - �3,860).
Poker phenom Jesse Lonis got off to a hot start and eliminated several players, including Aliaksei Boika after he flopped a set of sevens against Boika's jacks. Things went south for Lonis from that point on and not long after, he lost a race with pocket nines against Del Pino's ace-king. Lonis still managed to navigate his stack into a 13th-place finish for �31,690 after getting short and running ace-six into Yunsheng Sun's ace-eight.
With escalating blinds forcing the action, it didn't take long for the field to get down to a final table of nine. The final-table bubble burst after Alexander Glogar shoved preflop with ace-nine and ran into Juncker's ace-ten.
The average chip stack sat at approximately 20 big blinds at the start of the final table, which led many pots to become all-in preflop affairs. Sonny Franco and Dann Assouline bowed out in ninth and eighth place respectively after shoving preflop and getting called by a dominating hand.
Talbot assumed the chip lead at various points during the final table and reached a high point after knocking out Sun in seventh place with pocket queens. However, Juncker began his ascent shortly after, first by doubling through Del Pino with pocket jacks and then by eliminating Rony Halimi in sixth place by winning the classic race.
Michel Leibgorin would be the final player to fall after getting short and shoving king-six into Juncker's ace-six and failing to improve. Day 2 ended not too long after with Juncker extending his chip lead by leveraging his big stack with aggressive play.
Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (In Euro) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | �544,790 | ||
| 2 | �334,180 | ||
| 3 | �238,700 | ||
| 4 | �183,590 | ||
| 5 | Michel Leibgorin | France | � 141,220 |
| 6 | Rony Halimi | France | � 108,670 |
| 7 | Yunsheng Sun | China | � 83,600 |
| 8 | Dann Assouline | France | � 64,310 |
| 9 | Sonny Franco | France | � 49,460 |
The final four players will return tomorrow (February 20th) at 3 p.m. local time and play down to a winner. Play will resume with 8:34 remaining on Level 37, which features 300,000/600,000 blinds with a 600,000 big blind ante.
Be sure to keep it with PokerNews as we bring you all the action from the thrilling conclusion of the �2,200 FPS High Roller right here at the luxurious Le Palais des Congres.