Daily 3-Bet: Biggest EPT Ever, Ivey Weigh-In, Fabio Luongo FTW

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Today in the 3-Bet we find the EPT holding strong to the finish, Phil Ivey worries over big changes and the other Luongo goes deep in Montreal.

1) EPT Thrives (and Ends)

Never one to rest on past accomplishments, PokerStars announced today it will rebrand all of its live tours under just two umbrellas - PokerStars Championships and PokerStars Festivals -  for 2017.

Always busy in BCN.

That makes the ongoing edition of EPT Barcelona, the upcoming EPT Malta and the year-ending EPT Prague festivals - the last of their kind. Sort of.

While the EPT has enjoyed an incredibly successful 11-year run  it might go out on its highest note ever as, despite the much-discussed shift in payouts to 20% of the field, the EPT BCN Main Event is now officially the biggest in the tour's history.

How big is that exactly, you ask? Exactly, we answer, 1,785 players who, in some form or other, forked over the €5,000 buy-in to make for an €8,925,000 prize pool and €1,122,800 top prize.

That much-discussed min-cash is €5,630 and, surprisingly, has already been reached as of the end of Day 2. Watch the full replay of the day's feature-table play here; tune in tomorrow at 12 for Day 3!

2) Ivey Ponders ... Kobe

What's on Phil Ivey's mind today as the poker world contemplates the re-shaping of its most influential global tournament series?

Kobe Bryant's HBD, obv:

Happy Birthday @kobebryant. Enjoy retirement! pic.twitter.com/Meqoqng2OI

3) Fabio Luongo in Top 5 at WPT Montreal

Remember the 2013 WSOP when brothers Fabio and Roberto Luongo  - Roberto of Vancouver Canucks/Team Canada/Florida Panthers fame, ofc - both almost made Day 3 of the Main Event?

Of course you do. We haven't seen much of Roberto at the tables in recent years (his rejuvenated goaltending career in Florida hasn't given him much time, we suspect) but Fabio still seems to have some chops at the tables.

How do we know? The Montreal native has a Top 5 stack in the WPT Montreal National event with 30 or so players left. Top prize in $80k, too, so it's nothing to sneeze at.

You can follow Fabio's progress right here.