Boatman and Jattin Finish Strong To Lead Final 18 in Paris; Danchev Eyes Second Title
The sixth-biggest Main Event of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) is one step closer to crowning a champion in the City of Love. Out of a field of 1,747 entries, only 18 players remain after Day 4 of the 2024 EPT Paris �5,300 Main Event at Le Palais des Congres de Paris in cooperation with Le Club Barriere. They have all locked up a cash prize of �46,050 but the biggest slice of the �8,385,600 prize pool is still up for grabs in the next two days.
UK poker legend and original Hendon Mob member Barny Boatman soared into the top spot during the final level of the night when he doubled through then big stack Eric Afriat. The Canadian, who started Day 4 with a one-round penalty, then verbally declared to use all of his time banks in the penultimate hand of the night to run out the clock. Boatman finished with 7,620,000 in chips whereas Afriat will have to rebuild from just 1,225,000.
Second in chips is Colombian poker pro Farid Jattin, who is no stranger to deep runs in major live poker events. Jattin was part of the fireworks on the live stream table at the end of the night and doubled through Hans Erlandsson with aces versus kings to bag up 5,660,000.
Sindre Hansen (5,115,000) rounds out the top three but the one and a half dozen contenders still in the mix contains plenty of notables beyond that. Aussie Millions Main Event champion Ami Barer is fifth on the leaderboard with 3,610,000 and Peter Jorgne continues his pursuit of back-to-back final tables here in Paris with 2,320,000 in chips.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 4
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barny Boatman | United Kingdom | 7,620,000 | 127 |
| 2 | Farid Jattin | Colombia | 5,660,000 | 94 |
| 3 | Sindre Hansen | Norway | 5,115,000 | 85 |
| 4 | Owen Dodd | United Kingdom | 4,310,000 | 72 |
| 5 | Ami Barer | Canada | 3,610,000 | 60 |
| 6 | David Kaufmann | Germany | 3,210,000 | 54 |
| 7 | David Tous | Spain | 2,935,000 | 49 |
| 8 | Hans Erlandsson | Sweden | 2,840,000 | 47 |
| 9 | Peter Jorgne | Sweden | 2,320,000 | 39 |
| 10 | Gonzalo Almeida | Argentina | 2,310,000 | 39 |
One of the final 18 contenders is seeking a repeat victory as the 2013 PCA winner Dimitar Danchev advanced with 2,100,000. He sits just behind Mathias Siljander, who saw his stack reduced to a mere three blinds when he ran kings into aces. But the Finn came back roaring with multiple double-ups and bagged up 2,275,000.
The UK's Tom Middleton reached the final three tables but came up short in 22nd place for �40,000. It was the second-ever cash for Middleton in an EPT Main Event and first since his victory in Barcelona all the way back in 2013. Anton Wigg also had the chance to become a two-time champion but had to settle for a payday of �30,250 for his 30th place finish.
Day 4 saw 57 survivors return to their seats but that number was cut down in rapid fashion. Bryan Paris was the first casualty and missed out on a victory in the namesake city. He was followed by the likes of 2023 EPT Prague finalist Grigorii Rodin, 2023 PCA Main Event finalist Jamil Wakil, Ian Bradley, and Lewis Spencer.
As the field dwindled down to the final four tables, the pace of all-in showdowns became slower but there were still plenty of fireworks at the tables. Especially Afriat and Erlandsson ramped up their aggression but Jattin also joined the mix. The Colombian pulled off an audacious bluff against Mavritsakis from which his table neighbour never recovered.
The elimination of Omar Lakhdari on the final four tables kickstarted a hot run for Erlandsson, who knocked out three players in quick succession on the live stream table to take over the top spot. Alessandro Minasi sent his chips over to Erlandsson in the very next hand, and he also finished off Day 3 chip leader Panagiotis Mavritsakis as well.
During the final hour of play, the top of the leaderboard was shaken up in dramatic fashion with the double-ups of Jattin and Boatman, who will certainly try to go all the way.
The final 18 players return to their seats at Le Palais de Congres de Paris at noon local time and the action resumes with 60 minutes remaining in level 27 at blinds of 30,000-60,000 with a big blind ante of 60,000. On the penultimate tournament day, it is scheduled to play down to the final six players for the grand finale.
All live stream action with cards-up coverage and commentary on the PokerStars YouTube and Twitch channels as well as the PokerNews updates will be published on a security delay of 30 minutes to not spoil any of the action. Stay tuned right here to find out who walks away with the top prize of �1,287,800 and becomes the newest EPT Main Event champion in Paris.