2021 EPT Online Day 1: Series Kicks Off In Style

The 2021 European Poker Tour (EPT) Online festival shuffled up and dealt on December 8, and the series crowned its first three champions. Day 1 of the bustling schedule also saw the $1,050 buy-in Series Opener whittle its 334-strong field to a more manageable 47, who return to the virtual felt on December 9 and compete for the $62,516 top prize.

"Amadeus7777" is the player to catch when Day 2 begins at 5:05 p.m. GMT on December 9. They sit down with 2,294,131 chips, and lead two other Austrian players in Stefan "mindgamer" Jedlicka (1,886,867) and "Gogac sniper" (1,758,995).

Here is what went down on the opening day of the 2021 EPT Online.

"Henk88" Takes Down $215 8-Max PKO Event

Germany’s "Henk88" got their 2021 EPT Online off to the best possible start by becoming the EPT Online 02: $215 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO] champion. The tournament attracted 1,495 players, which meant the $299,000 prize pool blew the $150,000 guarantee out of the water.

Henk88 got their hands on $35,234 of that sum, thanks to securing the $19,519 top prize, which $15,715 worth of bounties boosted considerably. A large percentage of that impressive bounty payment came from elimination Brazil’s "Marcelinhobf" heads-up to secure the title.

The victory was made sweeter by the fact Henk88 locked horns with two of online poker’s greats at the final table. Brazilian superstar Yuri "tecaoo" Dzivielevski eventually crashed out in fourth for $12,111 while Russia’s Arsenii "josef_shvejk" Karmatckii busted one place deeper, in third, for $16,307.

EPT Online 02: $215 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO] Final Table Results

atimmy0308 Chops Mini Opener For $36,111

The $1,050 buy-in Series Opener may span two day but the $109 buy-in Mini Opener was done and dusted in in less than 11 hours. Some 2,902 players bought in and created a $290,200 prize pool, and two players walked away with more than $72,000 of that princely sum.

After the likes of "Blondin1986," "Caldini00," and Victor "VzB_Poker" Begara fell by the wayside, the surviving players locked in a five-figure score. Germany’s "crazome" won the $10,886 fifth-place prize before Augusto "yaguipoker" Hagen saw his tournament in a fourth-place finish worth $15,272.

"twalvo147" of Switzerland bowed out in third, leaving "atimmy0308" heads-up with Brazil’s Daniel "dani aziz" Aziz. The heads-up duo opted to strike an even chop deal that saw both stars have $36,111 deposited into the PokerStars accounts.

EPT Online Mini 01: $109 NLHE [8-Max Mini Opener] Final Table Results

*reflects a heads-up deal

"izilose" Secured EPT Online Title For Ukraine

Ukraine’s "izilose" triumphed in the EPT Online Mini 02: $22 [8-Max, Progressive KO] event, a $100,000 guaranteed affair that ended up paying out $216,800 in total. The Ukrainian grinder walked away with $17,153 of the pot after becoming the last player standing from the 10,840 entrants.

izilose’s heads-up opponent, "ImlykwagwanG" of the United Kingdom, was the only other player to turn their $22 investment into five figures. The Brit saw $13,994 make its way to his account, giving them plenty of ammunition for the remainder of the series.

EPT Online Mini 02: $22 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO] Final Table Results

2021 EPT Online Events Scheduled For December 9

Six fresh events get underway on December 9, including a massive $2,100 buy-on 8-Max PKO tournament that comes with a $300,000 guaranteed prize pool. Return to PokerNews on December 10 for a full recap of the day’s action.