Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2012 PokerStars.com EPT Madrid
Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2012 PokerStars.com EPT Madrid
Buy-in
€5,000
Entries
477
Level
31
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
10,000
EPT Madrid Final Table Set; Ibañez Leads as McDonald Bubbles
Level 25
: 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante
Today’s a day for real poker, for purists of the game where the men are separated from the boys. The final table days are great and all that but once a player has made an EPT final table that’s achievement enough in itself for some; something to tell the grand kids. The decisions one has to make to get to that final table take nerves of steel and a steady betting hand, and an equally steady mind. For a lot of us bloggers it’s the best day of a tournament.
Today’s action was fast paced all the way through the day, with big hands, big bluffs and big statements from some players. The feature table belonged to Ricardo Ibañez today, or so he would claim late on. The Spaniard ran very well as he flopped three sets to claim large pots as his stack soared to more than two million. He showed he can play without cards too as he five-bet Bruno Lopes off hand late on and then flashed the 
before saying, “I own this table!” A brave claim with a certain Mike McDonald sat opposite. Ibañez finished as the chip leader with more than three million.
And now to McDonald himself. He had had a very up-and-down day before a very down moment that ended play for the day. His stack was in danger more than once and it looked as if his final place was secured when he managed to double-up to with 
versus Ibañez’s 
, before he eliminated the dangerous Taylor Paur. The EPT double dream ended for the Waterloo, Canada resident though when his pocket tens failed to beat Andrei Stoenescu’s ace-king despite flopping a set. The same flop brought Broadway for the Romanian and he turned a flush.
Here’s how the final table will line up tomorrow:
| Seat | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ricardo Ibañez | 3,216,000 |
| 2 | Frederik Jensen | 2,144,000 |
| 3 | Fraser Macintyre | 2,473,000 |
| 4 | Bruno Lopes | 1,452,000 |
| 5 | Andrei Stoenescu | 1,974,000 |
| 6 | Ilan Boujenah | 1,382,000 |
| 7 | Jason Duval | 963,000 |
| 8 | Nicolas Levi | 709,000 |
Javier "El_Cañonero" Dominguez came back as today’s short stack and managed to to last a while but the PokerStars Team Online representative fell in 21st place. He was followed to the exit by talents such as Yury Gulyy, Clayton Mozden, the aforementioned Paur, and Tristan Clemencon.
The remaining eight will return tomorrow at midday CET where they will play down to winner. They are all guaranteed €48,000 but you can bet your bottom dollar that tonight they’ll be dreaming of €545,000 up top. As ever the PokerNews team will be on hand to bring you every major play, so please join us back here then.
Mike McDonald Eliminated in 9th Place (€35,000)
The EPT double dream is over for another tournament after the exit of Mike McDonald.
He opened to 60,000 and was three-bet to 140,000 by Andrei Stoenescu. The Canadian four-bet to 266,000 and called all-in when Stoenescu shoved.
Stoenescu: 
McDonald: 
How about this for a flop?
!! to give McDonald a set of tens, but straight with a royal flush redraw for the Romanian.
The board ran out 
to improve Stoenescu's hand to a flush. McDonald will have to be content with €35,000 and that will be scant consolation to him.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Ibañez Doing Good Work
Just a few hands into nine-handed play, Ricardo Ibañez is already setting an aggressive tone. Two hands ago, Nicolas Levi opened to 65,000 in the cutoff, and Ibañez three-bet to 130,000 next door. Levi let him take it.
Next hand, it was Mike McDonald opening to 60,000 from middle position. Another three-bet came from Ibañez — 125,000 this time. It drew the same result, too, as McDonald surrendered to the big stack, allowing him to chip up across the 3-million chip mark.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,250,000 | 282,000 |
Unofficial Final Table
The unofficial final table has just started.
| Seat | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ricardo Ibañez | 2,968,000 |
| 2 | Frederik Jensen | 2,318,000 |
| 3 | Fraser Macintyre | 2,542,000 |
| 4 | Bruno Lopes | 1,335,000 |
| 5 | Andrei Stoenescu | 1,021,000 |
| 6 | Ilan Boujenah | 1,451,000 |
| 7 | Jason Duval | 936,000 |
| 8 | Mike McDonald | 1,085,000 |
| 9 | Nicolas Levi | 657,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,968,000 | -19,000 |
|
2,542,000 | -4,000 |
|
2,318,000 | -32,000 |
|
1,451,000 | -34,000 |
|
1,335,000 | -4,000 |
|
|
1,085,000 | -64,000 |
|
1,021,000 | -4,000 |
|
936,000 | -4,000 |
|
657,000 | 91,000 |
Unofficial Final
Level 25
: 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante
With the exit of Ivan Tikhov, we are down to our final nine players. There's a redraw for the unofficial final table in progress right now, and we'll be back with the layout and the counts in a moment.
Ivan Tikhov Eliminated in 10th Place (€35,000)
On the first hand back from the break, Ivan Tikhov open-shoved his last 20 big blinds straight into the middle with pocket fives. Around in the blinds, Frederik Jensen peeked down at an ace and a king and made the call with his covering stack.
A king on the flop shot Jensen into a big lead, and Tikhov could not catch up. He's been run out in tenth place, good for a pay bump up to €35,000. That's not so bad for four days' work.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,350,000 | 681,000 |
|
Busted |
Chip Counts
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,987,000 | 487,000 |
|
|
2,546,000 | -104,000 |
|
|
1,669,000 | 369,000 |
|
|
1,485,000 | -365,000 |
|
|
1,339,000 | -70,000 |
|
|
1,149,000 | 124,000 |
|
|
1,025,000 | -225,000 |
|
|
940,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
607,000 | -317,000 |
|
|
566,000 | -59,000 |
Level: 25
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 4,000
Breaking Things
Level 24
: 12,000/24,000, 3,000 ante
We're another level down, and our ten finalists are off for a 15-minute break once again.