News / Editor / 27 April 2010 /

After a long and gruelling day of poker, Betfair Pro John Tabatabai has progressed to Day 2 of the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Finale with a chip count of 66,700 (average stack is just shy of 62,000).

How did he get there? Well it turns out John is playing at the top of his game, in the five hours that he was under close watch of our correspondent's eye he didn't have to reveal a single hand. John seems to be in a very positive mood and has the self belief that he can go on and achieve a fantastic result in this field littered with big named pros. His reads seem to be nailed on and his noise reducing headphones are assisting him on avoiding any possible distractions. John had Roberto Romanello on his table, a fellow Welshman to entertain him throughout the day until he unfortunately busted leaving John to fly the Welsh flag.

John is playing this tournament as a textbook pro; somebody that people should take example from as he has enforced strict rules on himself regarding his diet and sleeping patterns. In the breaks between levels John continues to avoid distractions by taking a walk to clear his head.

So who has he outlasted?

Well those that have busted are an indicator of just how tough this field is. With Erick Lindgren, Jason Mercier, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier, Boris Becker and reigning champion Pieter de Korver all casualties of yesterday who join Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Barry Greenstein, Phil Laak and Gavin Griffin on the rail.

This is some achievement and it comes as no surprise that John's table (Table 1) has a few names of note - all tables do with this many pro's still present. So who does John have to see off?

Emanuele Rugini (Italy) - Already cashed in Deauville (67th) and San Remo (46th)

Noah Schwartz (USA) - with over $1Million career earnings to his name so far. Cashed in 3 WSOP events last year including an impressive 8th in the $40,000 No Limit Hold'em (40th Anniversary Event).

Anton Wigg (Sweden) who has over $700k in tournament winnings so far in 2010 - winner of EPT Copenhagen and current table leader.

Jerome Zerbib (France). Cashed in EPT Prague this year (21st) has a second place 10,000 Euro buyin to his name for 222,870Euro.

This will be no easy feat, and with French tennis player Gael Monfils looking to acquire a different type of ace today, and Ex- England legend Teddy Sherringham looking to hit the back of the net it seems like today will really separate the men from the boys.

We wish John the best and as ever are proud to have him as a Betfair Pro.

You can follow all the action over at Pokernews with the occasional report from our man on the spot Richard Bloch on the Betfair Poker Twitter account.

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