December 17 2011, Donnie Peters

The 12 remaining players in the third Epic Poker League Main Event returned to action on Saturday for another day at the office. All of them were in the money and Joe Tehan had a big chip lead on the rest of the pack. All of the players were spread across three, four-handed tables and guaranteed at least $50,920. At the end of the day, just five were left and Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger led the way. He bagged up 1.742 million in chips.

It didn’t take long for the first player hit the rail. Amnon Filippi fell at the hands of Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. According to the EPL Live Update Team, Filippi was all-in preflop with , but in a tough spot against Mizrachi’s . The flop, turn and river ran out and failed to give Filippi what he needed to stay alive.

Hafiz Khan was the next man out the door in 11th place and then Amit Makhija was eliminated in 10th. Sorel Mizzi was out the door in ninth place and then David Williams fell in eighth.

Williams went out to fellow Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier. Williams moved all-in preflop with over a raise from Mercier. Mericer called with two black kings and held from there.

Even though Mercier was able to pick up Williams’ chips, he wasn’t able to put them to much use and he was the next player to head to the rail. Mercier and Chris Klodnicki saw a flop and Mercier bet 9,500. Klodnicki made the call and the landed on the turn. Mercier bet again and made it 27,000. Klodnicki raised to 63,000 and Mercier reraised to 138,000. Klodnicki reraised all-in and Mercier called to put himself at risk for 369,000 total.

Klodnicki, holding , had turned a set of tens. When Mercier opened his hand to reveal , it was much more apparent how lucky Klodnicki really got to hit the case ten on the turn. The river completed the board with the and Mercier was eliminated in seventh place.

The last player eliminated on the day was Noah Schwartz. He was involved in a hand with Klodnicki on a flop with 35,000 already in the middle. Klodnicki checked and Schwartz fired 14,000. Klodnicki check-raised to 40,000, but Schwartz didn’t scare. He made the call and the turn paired the board with the .

On the turn, Klodnicki bet 45,000. Schwartz raised to 108,000 and Klodnicki reraised all-in. Schwartz thought for a bit and then made the call to commit himself for 230,000. He held and Klodnicki showed . Once again, Klodnicki was on the positive side of a cooler. After the river failed to give Schwartz what he needed to stay alive, Klodnicki was shipped the pot.

During the Schwartz elimination hand, the other table had a big pot brewing between Scott Clements and Lichtenberger. Lichtenberger had raised to 15,000 from the button and Clements three-bet to 42,000 from the small blind. Lichtenberger made the call to see the flop, and Clements checked. Lichtenberger fired 45,000 and Clements called.

The came on the turn and Clements checked again. Lichtenberger upped his wager to 125,000 and slid it into the middle. Clements called and the landed on the river. Clements checked for a third time and Lichtenberger bet 335,000. Clements made the call for about three-quarters of his remaining stack, but could only muck when he saw Lichtenberger’s .

Wth five players left, the tournament was stopped for the day and the remaining competitors were set to return on Sunday at 1200 PST (2000 GMT) to continue. They redrew to one table before departing for the night.

Final Table Seating Assignments and Chips

All five players have locked up a minimum of $89,680, but they all have their eyes set on the first-place payday of $801,680. Be sure to check back here at PokerNews for the daily recap of the action.

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Follow Donnie Peters on Twitter – @Donnie_Peters

August 11 2011, Mickey Doft

Each week, the Global Poker Index, releases a list of the top 300 tournament poker players in the world. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier has been holding strong to the top spot for the last few weeks, and the rankings for the week ending Aug. 8 are no different. New names have been added to the list, and some notables, like Jose “Nacho” Barbero, have dropped significantly in rank.

Here’s a look at this week’s GPI top 10. For a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website.

The Top 10 as of August 8, 2011

Top Ten Remains the Same

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier continues to sit atop the GPI with Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, and Eugene Katchalov hot on his heels. The rest of the top ten remains the same, as well, with only Tom Marchese making a move in points, up 62 from last week. Next week, though, there is a good chance the top ten will change. At the time of writing this article, Seidel, Mercier and Katchalov are still battling among the 18 remaining players in the inaugural Epic Poker League event. With a big enough finish, all players have a chance to add to their Period 1 results (the heaviest part of the rankings weighing).

There was very little movement just outside the top ten, as well; however, McLean Karr did jump up two places, from 17th to 15th. He took down a 20-entrant High-Roller tournament in Macau to slightly increase his point total.

Welcome to the GPI

Seven new players cracked the GPI rankings this week, and deep tournament runs were a key reason why. What will a win at the Main Event of the European Poker Tour Tallinn do for you? Well, in Ronny Kaiser’s case, it resulted in a $395,740 payday and a ranking of #167 on the GPI. Sami Kelopuro took seventh in the same tournament, and coupled with two nice finishes at the WSOP, his Period 1 scores have helped boost him to 182nd place. Luca Pagano won the Main Event of the Italian Poker Tour San Remo to grab a spot on the GPI, as well.

Among those who fell off the GPI this week are Scott Clements, Micah Raskin, Tyler Smith, and Joao Barbosa.

New Additions

Ups and Downs

The biggest mover of the week was John O’Shea, who jumped 90 spots from 280th to 190th. Thanks to a 29th-place finish in the EPT Tallinn Main Event, O’Shea has three cashes in the last six months to help boost his numbers in Period 1. Jani Sointula had the next biggest gain and that also came as a result of his finish (fourth place) at the EPT Tallinn Main Event.

Biggest Gains

On the flip side, the biggest drop this week belongs to Jose “Nacho” Barbero. It hasn’t been a strong six months for Barbero. He now was only two cashes that qualify for Period 1 since a third cash has slipped to Period 2, the significant reason for his drop this week. Jeff Madsen also fell substantially this week. His biggest score since his amazing 2006 WSOP came in early February 2010 at the Borgata Winter Open in Atlantic City. He took first-place for more than $625,000, but that score now falls in Period 4, rather than Period 3, and isn’t weighted as heavily.

Biggest Drops

What’s In Store?

With the inaugural Epic Poker League event wrapping up on Friday, the rankings will almost certainly see some changes next week. Could this be Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier’s last week at the top? It very well might be. Who will take his place? It’s too early to tell, but there is no doubt that Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, and Eugene Katchalov, are all very worthy of holding down the fort at the top.

As a reminder, for a look at the entire list of 300, visit the official GPI website. While you’re at it, follow the GPI on Twitter and its Facebook page.

To stay on top of the GPI and other happenings in the poker world, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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