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Bjorin will start Day 2 second in chips.

The 2010 World Series of Poker Europe kicked off today with £2,650 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event. 244 players turned out for the event and by the end of the day, Chris Bjorin was among those finishing at the top. Bjorin is 2nd in chips with 103,800. Phil Laak, Jeff Lisandro, Liv Boeree, and Praz Bansi are among the final 31 players remaining.

A couple of names that you will not be seeing at the WSOP Europe this year are Kathy Liebert and Scotty Nguyen. Both have elected to skip London this year. Both are going to play in smaller events in the US with Nguyen claiming this to be a “traveling for the fans event.”

In reality, this is likely a “I am not sponsored, therefore I do not want to put up the money for these events” type of move. Many of the pros that you will see at this event are sponsored by one of the major sites. Granted, not all are, but the majority are.

In a way, I am surprised that they wouldn’t take a shot at the WSOP Europe. These fields are guaranteed to be small due to space limitations. While the travel expenses may be higher than your typical jaunt to the east or west coast in the U.S., one would think that the chance to win a bracelet would override this.

Granted, some do not view the bracelets won in Europe in the same light, but in years to come, people will not really care whether you won the bracelet in Europe or in Vegas, they will just care about how many you have.