Czech Jan Ramik Leads Day 1a WPT Prague

Level 10: 500-1,000, 100 ante

(Photo: The chip leader Jan Ranik with 209,300 chips)

231 players is a pretty impressive field for a Day 1a of a tournament. With re-rentries also returning tomorrow for Day 1b we are potentially looking at an overall field size in excess of 500 players.

After ten gruelling levels of poker, 93 players made it through to Day 2 and it was fitting that a Czech national was leading the chip counts. Jan Ramik tallied up a mouth watering 209,300 chips which will stand him in good stead when Day 2 kicks off on Saturday.

Sam El Sayed was the first player to hit 100,000 and temporarily take the top spot when the blinds were only 100/200! El Sayed can lose them as quick as he can win them and he was inconspicuous by his absence when the players were bagging up at the end of the day.

While El Sayed was sat on the Day 1a throne chomping on his cigar, a raft of players were making early exits. Toby Lewis, Melanie Weisner, John O'Shea and Shannon Shorr all heading back to their hotel rooms to take a hammer to the piggy bank so they can re-enter the tournament tomorrow.


(Photo: Our early chip leader Sam El Sayed)

With El Sayed sliding down the poker pole we needed a new leader and up stepped the young Spaniard Adria Balaguer. Balaguer was folding at the right time, bluffing at the right time and picking up hands when it mattered, In fact Balaguer was in the zone.


(Photo: Adria Balaguer in the zone)

Also working hard just behing Balaguer was Jamie Rosen. Rosen already has two WPT cashes on his resume and he was racking up some impressive numbers and peaked at around 130,000 before losing almost all of it to Eran Malkin. Rosen picked up Ax Ax while Malkin was staring at A K and the two of them tangoed for a 160,000 pot and it went the way of Malkin after a spate of diamonds splashed onto the felt. The huge pre flop tussle moved Malkin ahead of Balaguer and reduced the luckless Rosen to 40,000.


(Photo: Eran Malkin)

But, as so often happens on Day 1, the eventual chip leader rose from obscurity. All eyes were on either Eran Malkin or Adria Balaguer to become our chip leader when Jan Ramik came from nowhere to put both young pretenders firmly in their place.

So that's it for Day 1a. 93 players made it through to Day 2 and Jan Ramik was at the top with 209,300 chips. Joining him in the draw were luminaries of the like of James Akenhead (89,700), Christian Jeppsson (57,300), Russell Carsson (46,200), Jan Bendik (180,300), Eoghan O'Dea (142,600) and John Eames with (44,300).  In a few short hours we will do this all again as we start Day 1b at 14.00 (CET), so make sure you you join us.