James Mitchell Leads, 62 Remain at EPT London

Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 03 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

£750,000 awaits the winner of this year's EPT London Main Event

Mitchell claimed the chip lead late in the day on Monday after a final level surge that included a hand in which he flopped a set of nines versus Nikolas Liakos' pocket kings.

They've completed three days' worth of action at the European Poker Tour London Main Event, with James Mitchell of the U.K. enjoying the overnight chip lead this evening as the only player among the 62 remaining with more than 1 million chips. Fellow Brits Sam McDonald and Martins Adaniya currently occupy the next two spots on the leaderboard, with Basile Yaiche of France and Matthijs Remie of the Netherlands rounding out the top five.

Mitchell claimed the chip lead late in the day on Monday after a final level surge that included a hand in which he flopped a set of nines versus Nikolas Liakos' pocket kings. That was the hand that carried him over the million-chip mark and past then-leader Yaiche who'd claimed the lead earlier in the afternoon from the German Benny Spindler.

Spindler, who ended Day 2 of EPT London as chip leader, still sports a healthy 12th-place stack heading into the fourth day of poker. Other notables who continue to enjoy above-average chips include Juan Manuel Pastor, Jamie Rosen, and Marvin Rettenmeier. Meanwhile Roberto Romanello, Steve O'Dwyer, Ana Marquez, Humberto Brenes, and Barny Boatman will be returning on Tuesday to less-than-average stacks.

Other news from Monday's play included the bursting of the cash bubble in the £5,250 buy-in event. Of the 691 who entered the top 104 finishers made the cash. A total of 159 had made it through to Day 3, and among those who did make it to Monday but failed to cash were Jake Cody, Jason Mercier, Dan Kelly, and Sorel Mizzi. Mizzi just missed the money, finishing 106th after running Js-Jc into Laurence Houghton's Ks-Kd.

Players enjoying modest scores after busting on Monday included Bolivar Palacios (97th), Jeff Sarwer (95th), Bryn Kenney (89th), and Raj Vohra (84th), all of whom earned £7,500 for their finishes.

Also cashing was Doyle Brunson who finished his first-ever EPT London Main Event with a 77th-place finish (£9,000). Sebastian Ruthenberg (76th), Mustapha Kanit (69th), Andrew Feldman (68th), and Nikolas Liakos (67th) all also earned £9,000 for their efforts.

Here's a look at the top ten with 62 players remaining:

1. James Mitchell - 1,071,500

2. Sam McDonald - 860,000

3. Martins Adeniya - 786,800

4. Basile Yaiche - 756,500

5. Matthijs Remie - 732,500

6. Benjamin Jenkins - 721,000

7. Adria Balaguer - 710,000

8. Sandor Demjan - 691,000

9. Neil Pearce - 690,500

10. Kevin Iacofano - 623,500

Play resumes at noon London time at the Hilton Metropole. If they follow the usual EPT plan, they'll play down to 24 players on Tuesday, and from there find the final eight-handed table sometime Wednesday. Then on Thursday will the winner be determined, that player due a handsome £750,000 for the title.

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