Day 1a is Just a Memory Now
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The opening flight welcomed 270 runners to the tournament room, putting us on the fast track to pip the soft cap of 500 players total. Among them were the usual smattering of top-tier pros and otherwise familiar faces. We had Jesper Hougaard here, fresh off his appearance at the NBC Heads Up. Jeff Sarwer played today too, though his bid for another deep run at the EPT would be cut short during the middle levels. Dan O'Brien took 3rd place at the recent WPT event in San Jose, but he too was sent packing before Day 1a was in the books.
The Team PokerStars Pros were well-represented as always. Marcin Horecki came and went very quickly, and Chad Brown, Matthias De Meulder would join him on the rail before too long. Also going busto was the newest member of the Team, Thomas Bichon, as well as Michael Keiner in the waning moments of the day.
On the flip side of things, a few of the Team PokerStars Pros had particularly good days. Johannes Strassmann shot out of the starting gate, and he was able to coast his way to the end of the day with a stack that still sits well above average. Daniel Negreanu, Arnaud Mattern, Alexander Kravchenko, Vadim Markushevski, and Christophe de Meulder fill out the roster of Team Pros who appear to have survived their first day.
There was one more Team PokerStars Pro who played Day 1a. It was Julien Brecard's birthday today, and he decided that everyone else's chips were going to be his birthday present. Brecard went on a tear thorough the middle levels, and he was the commanding chip leader for the bulk of the later stages. In the end, he bagged up a very impressive 238,100 chips, but that's only good for third place now.
A young German named David Wintersberger was lurking on Brecard's radar all evening, and he finally managed to pip him just as play ended. Wintersberger stuffed 290,200 chips into his thin plastic bag, and that's going to put him at the head of the Day 1a class. Just behind him sits Bernhard Perner, his count of 257,500 putting him in the bridesmaid position headed into Day 2.
That's all we've got for Day 1a. The second group of starters will be back here on Monday afternoon for their shot at Day 1b. There are already about 270 players registered, meaning we'll smash the 500-player cap with ease. Tune in right back here tomorrow to pick up the story.
Until then, goodnight from the Alps!