After three busy starting days at Casino Barcelona, a field of 601 entries has emerged for the 2017 888Live Poker Festival Barcelona €1,100 Main Event and 197 players bagged up chips after their respective 12 levels of 45 minutes each. The registration remains open until the first card is dealt on Day 2 as of 2 p.m. local time and new entries will receive 30,000 chips with blinds kicking off at 1,200/2,400 and a running ante of 300.
The payout information will be finalized as soon as the registration is closed and a long day awaits for all those who wish to take a portion of the juicy prize pool. The initial guarantee of €500,000 has been eclipsed by far, and at least 10 levels of 60 minutes each will be played on the penultimate day of the flagship event of the festival in sunny Barcelona.
Spain's Lucia Martinez will unbag the most chips with 268,800 after ending up on top of the counts on Day 1a, and she is followed by 1c chip leader Terje Sirenes (253,900) and 1b chip leader Samuel Hernandez (274,600). Alec Torelli (244,900) starts fourth in chips closely followed by Oscar Romero (236,700). Other big stacks for Day 2 include Tomas Fara (207,100), William Kassouf (192,200), Sergi Escote (188,000) and Cate Hall (163,200).
2016 November Niner Fernando Pons also made it through with an above-average stack of 132,800 while Bruno "Foster" Politano is the only 888poker ambassador that successfully navigated through the minefield of Day 1 and claimed 84,300 last night.
A live stream of the feature table will be available on the Facebook and Twitch page of 888poker, and PokerNews will be your one-stop-shop for all you need to know about 888Live Barcelona, so make sure to tune back in regularly and find out who reaches the final day of the Main Event on Monday.
Jose Antonio Gascon Garcia raised from under the gun and Lucia Martinez called in the cutoff. Gregory Torrents shoved his short stack from the button and Kelly Kellner then reshoved from the big blind for more than the average. Gascon Garcia folded and Martinez quickly called, thinking Kellner had a far smaller stack.
Kelly Kellner:
Lucia Martinez:
Gregory Torrents:
The board ran out and Torrents was eliminated, while Kellner doubled for 129,500 through Martinez. The start-of-the-day chip leader has about as much left as she started with after running hot early on.
Hristian Panchev raised to 7,000 and picked up one caller before Marco Regonaschi three-bet to 29,000 out of the blinds. He picked up both callers and then bet the flop for 43,000. Panchev moved all in and the third player in the hand folded, while Regonaschi quickly called.
Marco Regonaschi:
Hristian Panchev:
The turn was a sweat for the Bulgarian, but the river bricked and Regonaschi stood up to tell the good news in Italian to some friends on another table. With that, Regonaschi jumped into the lead.
Harcharan Dogra Dogra is used to winning in Barcelona...but can he reach a final table exactly seven months after winning his best live score?
Harcharan opened from the cut-off pre-flop to 11,000 and only Daniel Soler called from the small blind.
The flop of saw Soler check and Dogra Dogra c-bet for 12,500. But when Soler check-raised to 26,000, Dogra Dogra took a long thoughtful moment. He eventually folded and Soler caught up a little, although Dogra Dogra is still dominating his table, both in terms of chips and VPIP. Measure aggression in a heavy number of pots has proved a consistent uptick for the man who final tabled the final EPT Barcelona Main Event for €230,950 just seven months ago tomorrow.
Stefan Eriksson and David Xarau Navarro have taken over the top spots at their table while former big stack Sergi Escote was just eliminated. Escote peaked at 330,000 not long ago, but now he was all in for a mere 10 big blinds and was called by Xarau Navarro.
In a five-way limped pot the flop showed and Francisco Jose Garcia Martin bet 12,000, which only Lucia Martinez called. On the turn, Garcia Martin made it 21,000 to go and Martinez called before the river saw an overbet worth 140,000 by Martinez for the remainder of her stack.
Garcia Martin eventually called and showed , Martinez only had for the inferior straight.
Harcharan Dogra Dogra is OUT after a sensational hand in which his red hot hopes were coolered.
Harcharan Dogra Dogra got his last chips into the middle in great shape, all-in pre-flop for 200,000 with against Jose Manuel Planells Castillo's .
Even the suits were covered.
The flop of ket Dogra Dogra ahead, even making him a set. The on the turn was the plainest of bricks upon which to build his new chip mountain. But the river gave Castillo an unlikely straight and sent Dogra Dogra out of the 888Live Barcelona Main Event, a bee-line made for the cash desk before Castillo could even begin stacking up his chip leading pile.
Nothing is ever easy in poker....unless right now your name is Jose Manuel Planells Castillo.
Cristian Ciuperca raised and then called the three-bet by table chip leader Marco Regonaschi to see a flop of . Regonaschi continued for 67,000 and Ciuperca called before the remaining chips of the Romanian went in after the turn.
Marco Regonaschi:
Cristian Ciuperca:
The river was a blank and Ciuperca headed to the rail.
Cate Hall as the final levels of a tumultuous Day 2 at the felt approach.
Cate Hall has the chip lead with 41 players remaining in the 888Live Barcelona Main Event. Having been busy writing up her last hand, we asked Cate to let us know what happened when she was free from the action.
"I limped in the small blind with . The flop came and we both checked. On the turn, which was an off-suit four, I made it 28,000 and the big blind called. On the river, I bet 156,000 and he called, he only showed a four, but I took it down."
That flopped flush gives Cate Hall the lead and given that she's one of only two players to have cracked a million chips so far today, there is a big chance that Hall will be here on the final day.
Over on the feature table, Alejandro Vazquez Gomez was all in with on a flop of and Besmir Hodaj looked him up with the . The turn instantly left Vazquez Gomez drawing dead, and that rendered the river to a minor formality.
and Torrents was eliminated, while Kellner doubled for 129,500 through Martinez. The start-of-the-day chip leader has about as much left as she started with after running hot early on.
turn was a sweat for the Bulgarian, but the 
saw Soler check and Dogra Dogra c-bet for 12,500. But when Soler check-raised to 26,000, Dogra Dogra took a long thoughtful moment. He eventually folded and Soler caught up a little, although Dogra Dogra is still dominating his table, both in terms of chips and VPIP. Measure aggression in a heavy number of pots has proved a consistent uptick for the man who final tabled the final EPT Barcelona Main Event for €230,950 just seven months ago tomorrow.
and that was it for Escote.
and Francisco Jose Garcia Martin bet 12,000, which only Lucia Martinez called. On the 
turn, Garcia Martin made it 21,000 to go and Martinez called before the 
for the inferior straight.
on the turn was the plainest of bricks upon which to build his new chip mountain. But the 
. Regonaschi continued for 67,000 and Ciuperca called before the remaining chips of the Romanian went in after the 
and we both checked. On the turn, which was an off-suit four, I made it 28,000 and the big blind called. On the river, I bet 156,000 and he called, he only showed a four, but I took it down." 
turn instantly left Vazquez Gomez drawing dead, and that rendered the 
