Quad Kings Propel Martin Nielsen to the Top; 103 Remain in EPT Barcelona Main Event
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Day 3 of the €5,300 EPT Barcelona Main Event at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona has come to a close inside Casino Barcelona, with 103 bagging up chips and still in contention for the €1,436,000 top prize out of the massive €9,918,250 prize pool.
Ending the day at the top of the chip counts was Martin Nielsen, who bagged 1,683,000. Nielsen secured a large portion of his stack just after the dinner break when Matas Cimbolas check-called him on the flop and turn before calling off the rest of his chips on the river with a pair of sixes. Nielsen revealed the stone-cold nuts with quad kings, sending Cimbolas to the rail and propelling himself into the chip lead.
EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Nielsen | Faroe Islands | 1,683,000 | 140 |
| 2 | Julian Pineda Lozano | Colombia | 1,481,000 | 123 |
| 3 | Damien Gayer | France | 1,455,000 | 121 |
| 4 | Rifat Palevic | Sweden | 1,442,000 | 120 |
| 5 | Tobias Leknes | Norway | 1,432,000 | 119 |
| 6 | Lars Tungel | Denmark | 1,271,000 | 106 |
| 7 | Artus Gimenez | Spain | 1,242,000 | 104 |
| 8 | Matthew McEwan | United States | 1,240,000 | 103 |
| 9 | Lauri Saaskilahti | Finland | 1,237,000 | 103 |
| 10 | Ramon Colillas | Spain | 1,110,000 | 93 |
Nielsen’s closest competitor is Julian Pineda Lozano of Colombia, who finished with 1,481,000, while Damien Gayer rounded out the top three after bagging 1,455,000. Gayer found himself on the right side of poker’s ultimate preflop cooler when his pocket aces held against Ramon Munoz's pocket kings, a pot that gave him a full double-up and pushed his stack into the seven-figure range to close out the day.
When play began today, only ten players stood between the field and the money. Just over 30 minutes later, the tournament was one elimination away, and after only two hands of hand-for-hand play, the bubble burst as three players fell at once, splitting two min-payouts, and taking €5,700 each.
Merijn van Rooij was the first to go, losing a flip with ace-jack against pocket eights. Moments later, Alejandro Ganivet hero-called with pocket kings but ran into a full house. Finally, Robert Kaggerud suffered the most brutal beat when his pocket kings were cracked by ten-nine suited after the chips went in preflop.
With this event attracting a whole host of players from across the globe, it’s no surprise the field is still packed with notables. Among those advancing are Thomas Eychenne (959,000), Joris Ruijs (825,000), Luka Bojovic (792,000), Leo Worthington-Leese (715,000), Brock Wilson (204,000), and Julien Sitbon (198,000). Others making it through but with the most work to do include Adam Hendrix (174,000) and Tim van de Riet (73,000), who currently sits at the bottom of the chip counts.
Remaining EPT Barcelona Main Event Payouts
Day 4 will begin at 12 p.m. local time with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and a 12,000 big blind ante. Levels will remain 90 minutes in length, with the day’s schedule to be confirmed once cards are in the air. Everyone returning is guaranteed €17,250, but all eyes will be on the much bigger prizes awaiting as the tournament moves closer to its business end.
