The 2011 World Series of Poker Europe is off and running with Event #1, €2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Day 1 completed. Play began at the Hotel Majestic Barriere and the 360-player field dwarfed the 244 players who entered the competition last year. Phil Laak claimed victory in this event in 2010.
The day played through eight 60-minute levels leaving one third of the field still in play for Day 2 action.
It appeared that Benjamin Pollak's elimination of Nicolas Levi put Pollak as the end of the day chip leader. The hand took off when Levi started the action with a raise and Pollak called on the button with 
. Both players checked when the flop brought 
. The turned 
brought another check from both players. The river 
brought a 3,000 bet from Pollak after Levi checked. Levi raised to 10,000, and Pollak answered by moving all-in. Levi called. When Pollak turn over two pair, Levi mucked and headed for the door.
The media was wrapped for the night, players were leaving, and the press believed that Pollak was the Day 1 chip leader.
Two players were still in action!
Flavien Guenan and Alessandro Speranza were still playing, facing off over a board of 
. When Guenan checked, Speranza bet 3,800. Guenan quickly called. The 
came off on the turn. Guenan checked but this time Speranza bet 9,500. Guenan quickly called.
The river brought the 
.
Guenan checked and Speranza took at a look at Guenan's chips and decided to put him all-in. Guenan had 37,500 chips left, more than the average stack, but it didn't take long for Guenan to make the call. Speranza flashed the 
and mucked when he saw Guenan's 
.
Flavien Guenan forced the media to set back up and start rewriting the end of Day 1 Event chip leader; Guenan held 108,800 to Benjamin Pollak's 106,425.
Antonio Venneri (99,575), Casey Kastle (86,100), Peter Jetten (71,275) and Anton Wigg (67,075) were a few of the players finishing Day 1 with notable stacks. Famous faces returning for Day 2 are Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Vanessa Selbst, and John Racener.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flavien Guenan | 108,800 |
| 2 | Benjamin Pollak | 106,425 |
| 3 | Antonio Venneri | 99,575 |
| 4 | Casey Kastle | 86,100 |
| 5 | Vanessa Selbst | 81,100 |
| 6 | Johan Gustav Sundell | 72,450 |
| 7 | Peter Jetten | 71,775 |
| 8 | Anton Wigg | 67,075 |
| 9 | Guillaume Humbert | 65,900 |
| 10 | Bruno Benveniste | 64,475 |
Day 2 resumes at 15:00 CET (06:00 PDT) on Saturday at Le Croisette Casino Barriere. Follow the live action reporting at PokerNews. http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2011-world-series-of-poker-europe/
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