by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Feb 21, 2012 | Updated on Feb 21, 2012The European Poker Tour was back in action on Monday, as EPT Copenhagen held Day 1A of their Main Event. A total of 83 players turned out for the first of two starting days, with American poker pro Steve O’Dwyer ending the day’s play with the leading chip stack of over 190,000 chips.EPT Copenhagen has a 35,000 Danish kroner buy-in (with a 2,250 kroner entry fee), which works out to about €5,000 in total. While the turnout for the first day of play was small, most observers expect to see an increase in attendance on Tuesday’s Day 1B. Just how large a bump the tournament will receive is unknown; however, considering that most EPT events have had attendance numbers similar to those in recent years, and EPT Copenhagen has traditionally attracted over 400 players, it could be a very busy second day of play.In a day that saw few big names rise to the top of the leaderboard, O’Dwyer is certainly a diamond in the rough. O’Dwyer was one of the biggest money winners on the live tournament circuit in 2011, scoring over $1.4 million in total earnings. That included winning the first ever Epic Poker League Pro-Am, a second place finish at the World Poker Tour Venice, and another second place finish at the EPT/UKIPT event in London, which marked his largest ever cash. Overall, O’Dwyer has won over $2 million in his tournament career.Another notable who had a strong Day 1A was Melanie Weisner, who currently sits in 9th place with 78,900 chips. While Weisner may not have any huge scores in her career, she has cashed in eight World Series of Poker events, and has nearly $400,000 in career earnings.EPT Copenhagen will continue at 12:00 local time on Tuesday, with the field combining for Day 2 on Wednesday. Tournament play will continue through Saturday, when the tournament winner will be crowned. Prize pool and payouts will not be determined until after entries for Day 1B have been totaled.
