With just 15 players left after another exciting day at the France Poker Series (FPS), Aix-les-Bains Main Event, Karim Kaladjou has become the chip leader. Held at Casino Grand Cercle and sponsored by PokerStars, this tournament had a starting field of 660 players that has already been reduced following two exhausting days of poker activity. Kaladjou bagged an amazing 2,940,000 chips before the end of Day 2, therefore positioning him to fight for the €122,150 top prize.
A Dramatic Climb To The Summit
Kaladjou clearly dominated the entire day; he once even built his stack to over four million chips. But his aggressive play with a speculative seven-four hand late in the day somewhat dropped his chip total. With 59 large blinds going into Day 3, Kaladjou stays the leader despite this little setback.
With his present lead, Kaladjou is in a solid position to take home a sizable share of the €633,600 prize money for the event. Although his performance has been outstanding, the fight is still in progress since numerous talented players are still searching for the much-sought-after title and top reward.
Top 10 Chip Leaders At The End Of Day 2
- Karim Kaladjou (France) – 2,940,000 chips (59 big blinds)
- Zine-Din Benrebai (France) – 2,420,000 chips (48 big blinds)
- Quentin Girardet (France) – 1,755,000 chips (35 big blinds)
- Robin Engelmann (France) – 1,490,000 chips (30 big blinds)
- Damien Noraz (France) – 1,485,000 chips (30 big blinds)
- Andrey Golubev (Kazakhstan) – 1,460,000 chips (29 big blinds)
- Alain Crettenand (Switzerland) – 1,460,000 chips (29 big blinds)
- Angel Insua (France) – 1,250,000 chips (25 big blinds)
- Tung Nguyen (Switzerland) – 1,095,000 chips (22 big blinds)
- Cyril Peralez (Switzerland) – 1,010,000 chips (20 big blinds)
Highlights And Key Hands For Day 2
From four starting flights, 152 players, each hoping to survive and make a strong run in the event, returned to the casino on day two. Short-stacked players were driven from the start to get their chips into the pot, which resulted in almost thirty eliminations just in the first level.
One of the first really noteworthy events occurred when Kevin Hasler made an amazing fold. On a jack-high board, he laid down his hand against the set of jacks of Fahad El Mechraa. Pocket queens Hasler’s keen sense of judgement kept him in contention as the tournament moved towards the money bubble and spared him an early elimination.
When Michal Polchlopek shoved his pocket queens into Kaladjou’s pocket aces on the second level of play, the bubble broke. Polchlopek failed to get better, so he went to the train and the in-the-money eliminations started.
Team PokerStars Ambassadors Earn Money
For Team PokerStars, the day was mixed; their two surviving ambassadors, Benjamin Bruneteaux and Simon Wiciak, both managed to cash but did not advance to Day 3. Eliminated in 36th position, Bruneteaux brought home €2,620. Wiciak, meantime, negotiated his path to a 20th-place finish, collecting €4,580. After losing most of his chips against Robin Engelmann, his tournament came to an all-in shove, with king-ten losing to Kaladjou’s ace-queener.
Other Notable Exclusions
Many other well-known players cashed but missed Day 3. Cassandra Yong came in 89th with €1,720. Florent Claude landed 72nd and received the same €1,720 payoff. While Julien Dupre finished 37th and paid €2,620 following a difficult but accurate decision with ace-eight, Marine Khamvongsa left in 59th position for €1,980. Dupre lost the hand when Filippo Lazzaretto made a straight holding king-queen.
A Dramatic Finish To Day Two
The last hand of the evening carried enough drama as it came to an end. Dario Mancuso discovered he was all-in against Angel Insua’s ace-king. Mancuso had the best hand preflop, but he was eliminated in 16th place when Insua struck a queen-high straight on the river, sending Mancuso home with a €6,060 payoff.
Action Set For Day Three Starting Today
Day 3 will see the 15 surviving players return to Casino Grand Cercle on Sunday, October 6, at 12 p.m. local time. Starting at Level 26, play will feature 30,000/60,000 blinds with a 60,000 large blind ante. Every level will last sixty minutes; the event will go until a winner is declared.
These players have larger stakes than ever as the final table is within reach. For many, this is a turning point in their career since it offers an opportunity to land a life-changing reward together with the esteemed FPS Aix-les-Bains Main Event title.
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