The €10,300 High Roller is one of the last major events running at the PokerStars European Poker Tour. The room is quietening down, yet there’s still a buzz in the air at the Hilton Prague. The Main Event is reaching its endgame, and meanwhile, high rollers are firing their final bullets of the series.
A total of 210 entries were made to the High Roller event by the end of the day, which already created a prize pool of €2,075,800. After 10 levels of play, 86 players bagged and tagged to return for Day 2. Late registration remains open until the event restarts, at which point the full number of entries, prize pool, and payouts can be confirmed.
As always, the High Roller attracted some of the best players in the world. Among them Spanish pro Juan Pardo, who has $9,623,392 in live winnings according to Hendon Mob. His recent cashes include a first place finish in the $50,000 EPT Super High Roller at the EPT Cyprus. Pardo is more than accustomed to mixing it up with the best of them and he just bagged the chip lead with 380,000.
In second place is French player Thomas Eychenne, himself no stranger to these situations. Eychenne’s biggest cash comes from a seventh place finish in the PokerStars PSPC in 2023, good for $801,000. Still, he’ll be looking to lock up an elusive first place finish here at the EPT.
In third place is another well known French player, Antoine Labat. He’s had big scores at the EPT already this year, locking up third in the €3,000 Mystery Bounty in Cyprus and second in the EPT Barcelona Estrellas High Roller. Labat is now well positioned for another EPT victory.
Tsz Him Chan of Hong Kong is currently in fourth place with 269,500, while Niklas Astedt, one of the most successful online players in the world and an accomplished live player too, sits in fifth with 268,000.
Top Ten Day 1 Chip Counts
| Position | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Pardo | Spain | 380,000 | 253 |
| 2 | Thomas Eychenne | France | 327,500 | 218 |
| 3 | Antoine Labat | France | 302,000 | 201 |
| 4 | Tsz Him Chan | Hong Kong | 269,500 | 180 |
| 5 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | 268,000 | 179 |
| 6 | Salih Atac | Switzerland | 257,500 | 172 |
| 7 | Marcelo Bonanata | Argentina | 246,000 | 164 |
| 8 | Viktor Jensen | Sweden | 242,500 | 162 |
| 9 | Andrii Derzhypilskyi | Ukraine | 219,500 | 146 |
| 10 | Tarmo Tammel | Estonia | 215,500 | 144 |
The €10,300 EPT High Roller continues on Saturday, December 16 at 12.30 p.m. local time. Action will resume at Level 11 with blinds of 1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 big blind ante. Players will receive one additional time bank card at the start of the day. The tournament will play well into the money on Day 2.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as reporters bring live updates straight from the tournament floor all the way down to a winner.