Joseph Cheong leads the EPT’s latest stop in San Remo as he aims to expel the memory of last year’s minor choke at the WSOP Main Event. The 25-year-old assumes the number one spot heading into day three with a stack of 632,000 at what can only be described as the 6am stage – too fricking early! The pursuing pack includes serial ANZPT winner Daniel Neilson, EPT veterans in the shape of Mustapha Kanit and William Thorson and one of the best talents on the poker circuit Vanessa Selbst. Sitting just outside the top ten is the busy/successful American Elio Fox. The man that gives James Bord nightmares will be confident of adding a second part to the triple crown as he takes a stack of 346,000 into day three.
837 players began the event on Friday meaning the prize pool topped out at an impressive €3,734,694, with the top ten in the competition ranked as follows:
1. Joseph Cheong – 632,000 chips
2. Daniel Neilson – 584,500
3. Mustapha Kanit – 577,000
4. William Thorson – 508,500
5. Sergey Tikhonov – 504,500
6. Vanessa Selbst – 497,000
7. Nick Yunis – 435,500
8. Christopher McClung – 402,000
9. Ondrej Vinklarek – 396,000
10. Jon Spinks – 355,000
Cheong is perhaps best known for being third amongst 2010’s November Nine – known affectionately as the babies for their youthful average age. Now that he’s hit the ripe old age of 25, he will hope to add one part of poker’s triple crown and prove he ain’t no dud; he actually the dude. If he wins the €800,000 he gets to decide when he’s the dude and if he gets to sit around all day drinkin’ White Russians.
