EPT Budapest Day 1A Attracts Strong Field

The PokerStars.com European Poker Tour pulled into Budapest, Hungary yesterday with day 1A busting its capacity to 262 for the €4,000 + €300 Hungarian Open. Over 500 players in total will take to the felt, continuing the success of record breaking fields in season five of the tour.

Among the recognizable names taking part were Dani “Ansky” Stern, Ed Sabat, Barny Boatman, Paul Testud, Danny Ryan, Marcel Luske, Katja Thater, Andreas Krause, Fintan Gavin, Annette Obrestad, Dave Colclough, Markus Golser, and Sorel Mizzi.

Play started somewhat slowly but built up an impressive head of steam and by the end of play there were just 88 runners left.The overnight chip leaders from day 1A are:

1. Annette Obrestad (Norway) — 101,300
2. Arnaud Mattern (France) — 90,600
3. Sorel Mizzi (Canada) — 74,950
4. Paul Testud (France) — 66,500
5. Ionel Anton (Romania) — 64,800
6. Jari Pekka Juhola (Finland) — 61,700
7. Robert Andersson (Sweden) — 52,600
8. Brooke Hoerr (PokerStars Player UK) — 51,600
9. William Fry (PokerStars Player UK) — 50,900
10. Lajos Laszlo (Hungary) — 50,700

The total prize pool stands at €2,128,000, and the final table payouts are as follows:

1 — €595,839

2 — €342,608

3 — €197,904

4 — €153,216

5 — €127,680

6 — €100,016

7 — €78,736

8 — €53,200

9-10 — €32,984

Players who exited on day 1A include Marcel Luske, Katja Thater, Dave Colclough, Markus Golser, Mats Iremark, and Keith “The Camel” Hawkins.

Check back at CardPlayer.com today for regular updates from the event.