EPT San Remo by Pokerstars.com – Day1A: Start as You Mean to Go On

We’re not sure why but the allure of a juicy tournament, fantastic Italian food and the prospect of six days in the Italian sun are enough to bring players out of their bedrooms, but it is.

So far on Day 1A of PokerStars.com’s EPT San Remo, 300 players have turned out to compete for a coveted tournament title and a shiny Shamballa bracelet. With that figure likely to be topped tomorrow we could see a prizepool well in excess of €3 million.

Already in the event, today, and looking to add to their impressive list of accolades is Joseph Hachem, Jonathan Duhamel, Dominik Nitsche and Dan Smith.

While Dan Smith is currently top of the tree, a strong performance by Duhamel could see him leapfrog the likes of David Baker and Kyle Julius and move into the top five of this year’s GPI rankings.

Also looking for a “boom a bust” performance is Jason Mercier. Having made his way from Cannes he is on a mission to make it two EPT San Remo titles or die trying.

Another win for the American would put him well within the top ten for this year’s GPI Player of the Year rankings.

While Duhamel and Mercier are eyeing up potential GPI jumps, Barney Boatman is currently leading the tournament 39,500 chips. He’s followed closely by Harrison Gimbel and Scott Seiver.

However, there’s a long way to go in this one, with eight 75 minute levels scheduled before the reaming players are allowed to go home.