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EPT Warsaw – Dario Minieri leads into final day

Dario Minieri has taken the chip lead into the final day at the EPT Warsaw but plenty of strong opposition stand in the way of the title.

Minieri started playing the card game “Magic: The Gathering” at the tender age of 16, where he discovered he had a talent for online gaming. His transition to online poker was a swift one after being introduced to Pokerstars by a friend. He quickly gained global online notoriety after being the first player to win a Porsche with his Pokerstars frequent player points. Minieri isn’t just an online star, though. The young Italian has tasted success at the live tables too. In 2006 he was 3rd in the EPT Baden and in 2007 made the top 100 at the WSOP. 2008 has rocketed Minieri to stardom with a WSOP bracelet and a 3rd at the EPT San Remo already under his belt. Dario will be the short priced favourite to take down the EPT Warsaw with 359,500 chips.

Standing in Minieri’s way is a list of players that may not be familiar to the regular poker fan. However, these pro’s certainly have the talent and the pedigree to claim glory in Poland today:

In seat 1 is Arnaud Mattern from Paris, France. 328,000 chips
Mattern took up poker in 2004 when his main game was Backgammon. The transition to poker has been a successful one for the Frenchman. In 2007 he won the inaugural EPT Prague for €708,400. The EPT Warsaw is Mattern’s 14th EPT event and he will be looking to make history by winning again here.

In seat 2 is Ludovic Lacay from Toulouse, France. 296,500 chips
Lacay is a regular on the EPT circuit but this is his first ever EPT final table. His previous best was an 11th at the EPT Dublin last season. Ludovic has an online gaming background like many of his opponents. By coincidence his fellow finalist and countryman, Arnaud Mattern, happens to be a great friend of Lacay’s. It will be interesting to watch the two Frenchmen square up to each other.

In seat 3 is Andrea Benelli from Prato, Italy. 100,000 chips
Andrea is a for computer sales rep that turned to professional poker in 2007. His best EPT result to date is a 36th at the EPT London for £11,419. Benelli is great friend of tournament favourite Dario Minieri.

In seat 4 is Michael Muheim from Zurich, Swizerland. 89,000 chips
Muheim is the youngest player in the final at the age of 21. The EPT Warsaw is his first major live tournament after qualifying online at Pokerstars. The young Swiss player starts the day as the short stack but is sure to put up a struggle despite the guaranteed €21,114 pay day.

In seat 5 is Joao Barbosa from Porto, Portugal. 123,000 chips
Poker in Portugal is really taking off at the moment and a Portuguese victory here at the EPT Warsaw could really ignite things for Joao’s army of fans back home. Joao has played in 4 EPTs to date and cashed in 3 of them! His impressive track record is sure to attract the attention of his opponents who will be very wary of the dangerous Porto professional.

In seat 6 is Dario Minieri from Rome, Italy. 359,500 chips

In seat 7 is Nico Behling from Jena, Germany. 343,500 chips
Nico finished 8th at the recent Aussie Millions for a $130,000 cash. The EPT Warsaw is his first EPT cash after 9 attempts. His strong online game could come into play against so many other online professionals on the final table here.

In seat 8 is Sergey Shcherbatskiy from Russia. 349,000 chips
The Russian, with the almost unpronounceable surname, is well positioned alongside Behling and Minieri in the chip counts. He qualified for the EPT Warsaw after playing in a $7.50 Pokerstars “steps” tournament. The return on his investment is already considerable and, should he win here in Poland, could soon become the stuff dreams are made of.

In seat 9 is Atanas Gueorguiev from Sofia, Bulgaria. 186,500 chips
Atanas is a former taxi driver who has been playing professional poker for three years now, but has self admittedly been gambling all his life. He has several impressive EPT and WPT cashes including an 8th at the WPT Spanish Championships.

The final table takes place today at 2pm local time. Stay with us, here at PokerChannelEurope.com, for the very latest from the EPT Warsaw.

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By Paul Sandells - November 19th 2008

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