button in SafariPoker Hall of Famer John Juanda Getting Closer to Second EPT Barcelona Title
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More than a decade after winning the EPT Barcelona Main Event for $1.2 million, Poker Hall of Famer John Juanda is closing in on a second win in the prestigious event.
Juanda, a central figure of the Poker Boom with $26.7 million in Hendon Mob earnings, won the 2015 EPT Barcelona Main Event for €1,022,593 after a three-way deal. Eleven years later, the Indonesian poker pro advanced to Day 5 with just 28 players remaining in this year's €5,300 buy-in Main Event.
Poker Legend Running Deep
2015 was quite the year for Juanda. Not only did he win the EPT Barcelona Main Event, defeating a final table that included German crusher Rainer Kempe, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame alongside Jennifer Harman.
Juanda's 2015 Barcelona score was the fourth largest of his tournament career, according to the Hendon Mob. But it will move down to fifth if he takes down this year's event, which will award €1,370,050.
2015 EPT Barcelona Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Juanda | Indonesia | $1,164,034 |
| 2 | Steven Warburton | England | $1,071,853 |
| 3 | Frederik Rydahl Brink | Denmark | $922,371 |
| 4 | Denis Shafikov | Ukraine | $461,132 |
| 5 | Rainer Kempe | Germany | $364,716 |
| 6 | Andreas Samuelsson | Sweden | $289,018 |
| 7 | Amir Touma | Lebanon | $220,947 |
| 8 | Mario Sánchez | Spain | $156,040 |
| 9 | Victor Bogdanov | Russia | $119,295 |
This time around, Juanda was in a good position heading into the Day 4, entering 24th in chips with 67 players remaining. He had a strong Day 4 and ended in a similar position at 13th in chips with 28 players remaining.
Juanda earned some of those chips when he picked up pocket kings to eliminate Oleh Pritsak. But he lost back as he couldn't win a flip with pocket jacks against the ace-queen of Albert Grane.
Not the Only Champion Running Deep
As it turns out, Juanda is not the only EPT Barcelona champion running deep. Sebastian Malec, who won the event just one year after Juanda, is still in contention and looking to win the Barcelona Main Event again a decade on.
Malec, who was just 21 years old when he won the Barcelona Main Event and now sits fifth on Poland's all-time money list, also made a deep run in last year's EPT Monte Carlo Main Event.
Malec sits shortly behind Juanda at 17th in chips, while the chip leaders heading into Day 5 include Spanish online qualifier Jose Criado, fellow Spaniard Gerard Carbo, and Dutch pro Joris Ruijs.
PokerNews is live reporting the EPT Barcelona Main Event and providing coverage throughout the EPT Barcelona festival.
