Karim Kaladjou Leads the Final 15 in Aix-les-Bains Main Event
A field of 660 entrants has been reduced to just 15 in the France Poker Series Aix-les-Bains Main Event (hosted by Pokerstars) following another action-packed day inside the Casino Grand Cercle.
By the end of Day 2, it was Karim Kaladjou standing tall as the chip leader after amassing 2,940,000 in chips through 11 additional levels of play.
At one point Kaladjou held over four million in chips, but he took a hit to his stack late in the day after deciding to get frisky with seven-four. Regardless, Kaladjou is in pole position to take down the €122,150 first-place prize, which represents the lion's share of the €633,600 prize pool.
End-of-Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip count | Big blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karim Kaladjou | France | 2,940,000 | 59 |
| 2 | Zine-Din Benrebai | France | 2,420,000 | 48 |
| 3 | Quentin Girardet | France | 1,755,000 | 35 |
| 4 | Robin Engelmann | France | 1,490,000 | 30 |
| 5 | Damien Noraz | France | 1,485,000 | 30 |
| 6 | Andrey Golubev | Kazakhstan | 1,460,000 | 29 |
| 7 | Alain Crettenand | Switzerland | 1,460,000 | 29 |
| 8 | Angel Insua | France | 1,250,000 | 25 |
| 9 | Tung Nguyen | Switzerland | 1,095,000 | 22 |
| 10 | Cyril Peralez | Switzerland | 1,010,000 | 20 |
Day 2 began with 152 hopefuls from across four starting flights reconvening inside Casino Grand Cercle in hopes of making a deep run. The short-stacked players weren't shy about getting their chips into the middle, however, as over 30 players were eliminated within the first level of play.
Kevin Hasler showcased his poker ability in the early going by correctly folding pockets queens against Fahad El Mechraa's set of jacks on a jack-high board.
Hasler's great laydown came shortly before the money bubble, which burst during the second level after Michal Polchlopek shoved pocket queens into Kaladjou's pocket aces and failed to improve.
It was a bittersweet day for Team PokerStars, as both remaining ambassadors were able to make the money, but fell short of Day 3. Benjamin Bruneteaux ended up bowing out in 36th place (€2,620), while Simon Wiciak navigated his way a 20th-place finish for €4,580 after losing the majority of his chips to Robin Engelmann and then shoving with king-ten and losing to Kaladjou's ace-queen.
Other notables who cashed, but fell short of a Day-3 berth include Cassandra Yong (89th - €1,720), Florent Claude (72nd - €1,720), Marine Khamvongsa (59th - €1,980), and Julien Dupre (37th - €2,620) — who made a good call against Filippo Lazzaretto with ace-eight, but ended up second best after Lazzaretto made a straight holding king-queen.
The last hand of the evening ended in dramatic fashion after Dario Mancuso got his chips in good with ace-king against Angel Insua's ace-queen. Insua ended up rivering a queen-high straight and Mancuso was forced out in 16th place, good for a €5,270 score.
Day 3 will get underway on Sunday, October 6 at 12 p.m. local time and play down until a winner. Play will start on Level 26, which features 30,000/60,000 blinds with a 60,000 big blind ante. Levels will last 60-minutes each and all breaks will be contingent on tournament staff.
With the final table now clearly in sight, the stakes have never been higher for the remaining players. Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to provide the action leading to the final table and next FPS Aix-les-Bains Main Event champion!