The first day of $10K Paris is over, and it couldn't be soon enough. It's 7 PM now, and soon we're going to get kicked out of the Exhibition Centre. All of the gamers are already trying to get out, treasuring their new purchases and showing them to their friends as they wait for the teeny tiny exits to clear. Meanwhile, Marc Hernandez, our head judge for the weekend, has just announced the Top 8. It's an impressive one.
First seed after the Swiss rounds is Julien Dez, one of four Frenchmen to make it to the final eight. The Paris native piloted his Rigged Elections deck to an 8-1 record, only losing one round to a Sentinels deck where he admitted he made a terrible misplay. He could've been 9-0, which seems like a strong testament for the deck's viability, even if it was frowned upon by some of the more experienced players in the room.
The only other player to 8-1 is France's Alexandre Grabowski with a fairly standard Sentinels deck, using Total Anarchy as his plot twist of choice to round out the deck.
In third place we find Andre Muller, one of the Germans to make the trip to Paris to try their luck. His Teen Titans deck held up well for him, and after a round 8 concession by teammate and friend Hans-Joachim Höh, he cruised into the Top 8 as the highest seeded 7-2 player. 
Speaking of Hajo, he made yet another $10K Top 8 to prove that he really is one of Europe's best player. Even American naysayers, who cite his lack of opposition as the main reason he's doing so well, have to respect the talent required to make four $10K Day 2s.
Unfortunately, both Hajo and Andre hadn't taken into account the fact that this tournament would take two days, and they had booked their flights accordingly. When they found out, they opted to not reschedule their connections and go home instead, forfeiting their quarterfinals matches.
This gave Dean Sohnle a bye in the quarterfinals, although this Canadian powerhouse doesn't seem to need any byes to do well. He won both the $10K in Amsterdam and the one in London, and was trying to take his third consecutive European title today. He's playing the Burner deck that he knows inside out and has served him well in the past.
The other recipient of a bye was another superstar. Kristian Kockott is fresh of his Top 4 finish at Pro Circuit: Amsterdam, where he went 10-2 in the Constructed portion. He's been lacking in the $10K department, though, and today will be his opportunity to put himself on the map there too. His deck of choice, Sentinels, is fairly common—except for one card that's making huge waves this tournament. Markus Magera, Kristian's teammate and unfortunate ninth place finisher, realized Total Anarchy wasn't all that and resolved to find something to help out the Fantastic Fun matchup.
Micro-Sentinels was what he came up with. The much overlooked Plot Twist can destroy unprepared opponents and shines against the Rigged Elections deck, as well as giving the Burner decks fits. He admitted that the matchup against the combo deck still isn't too hot but, he added, it also really helps in the mirror, giving you an out against the Hounds lock as well as being generally very helpful in stalls. Kristian has been singing the praises of Micro-Sentinels all day and mentioned that he essentially made top 8 on the back of that card alone. I would recommend that any Sentinels player to try out this new gem . . . or at least make sure you're prepared for it, and don't have to read it, like many of Kristian's opponents and, admittedly, this reporter as well.
Rounding out the Top 8 were Joe Thomassin and Guillaume Matignon, the other two French players. They ran Teen Titans and Fantastic Fun, respectively, with very standard lists. Unfortunately, my lack of French skills gave me no other information about these players, so all I can do is wish them and the other four players who will actually show up the best of luck in the Top 8.