Tennis Star Boris Becker No-Shows Day 1B of EPT German Open

Tennis legend Boris Becker failed to show up for Day 1B of the EPT German Open. (Image Courtesy of Wikimedia.org)

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades and tennis legend Boris Becker didn't exactly help the European Poker Tour's German Open get close to its attendance goal.

When all the heads were counted this morning at the Hohensyburg Casino, 213 people had come out to play in Day 1B of the EPT German Open, making for a two-day total of 411. This number falls short of last year's mark of 498, but maybe it was the absence of Becker, who was scheduled to play, that made the difference. PokerListings.com is reporting that an "unexplained illness kept him from making the trip to Dortmund."

We all know how that mysterious "illness" works. Don't we? Look, the doctor said it's not contagious and will be gone in a week...

Anyway, recognizable faces that did show up to play included Daniel Negreanu, Roland de Wolfe, Marcel Luske, WSOP Europe championette Annette "Annette_15" Obrestad, Ram Vaswani and the Norwegian god of poker, Thor Hansen. Also in the field is defending champion Andreas Hoivold, who seems to be making a pretty good run at repeating and is currently in the top ten after the dinner break.

The prizepool has yet to be announced but will still be sizable, even if smaller than last year's €672,000. Play will continue through five levels today, then the field will consolidate for Day 2 tomorrow.

If you want to head over to Europe (or not in the case of the EPT PCA) and play poker for your shot at millions, then head over to Bodog and qualify online for an EPT event. Or if you'd rather stay closer to home you can also qualify online for the 2008 WSOP .