When you have over 530 poker players involved with a major event, you know that you are dealing with a special tournament. This is definitely the case with the EPT Grand Final Man Event! The fact that there was a €10,600 buy-in for the event was not the sort of thing that was going to put players off. With the final day of the Main Event Grand Final set for Sunday, there is surely going to be a lot of exciting poker action left. Just one look at the names left in the event will let you know that there is a lot of drama about to unfold at the final table. Given that the players will be battling out for a top prize of €1,224,000 the action may just be beginning.
Jake Cody, the Rochdale poker player is listed as a Triple Crown winner and he is no stranger to poker success. When you have a WSOP bracelet and you have triumphed in an EPT Main Event before, you know you have achieved something in the game but this is far from the only success that Cody can upon. Since 2009, he has been consistently cashing out on a big scale at major poker events and 2013 is no different. Sitting pretty with a lot of chips at the start of the final day is not a bad position to be in but of course, it means nothing until the final reckoning has taken place.
British hopes are still alive
However, it is good to have a UK entrant in the later stages of such a prestigious event. Victoria Coren was the most high profile poker player from the UK in the Main Event and her Twitter messages kept people amused and entertained. However, the TV presenter bombed out before she could venture too far in the tournament. Jake Cody has not been drawing attention to himself in the same manner that Victoria Coren manages to but in the grand scheme of things, he is the one who should have the spotlight thrust upon him now. Cody is currently sat in third place with 1,633,000 chips behind him. This is not a bad amount, the smallest amount of chips at the table is 786,000 but the largest amount of chips at the table is 4,452,000.
This is the amount held by chip leader Steve O’Dwyer, who will definitely consider himself in with a good chance on the final day. However, anything can happen. The fact that the final eight players have such a huge pedigree means that there may be one or two shocks and turnarounds to come. Between the final eight players, just under $40m has been picked up in live tournaments. This goes some way to showing the calibre and experience of players at the final table.
In addition to Cody and O’Dwyer, you will find Andrew Pantling, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Lodden, Noah Schwartz, Jason Mercier and Grant Levy. This means that poker fans tuning in on Sunday for the final table will be able to see some of their favourite players and some of the biggest names of the poker industry.