888poker Live Barcelona Main Event Turns Into the Mauro Panto Show on Day 2
Poker is an unpredictable game. Some days every move turns out wrong, and on others you can’t seem to lose. It was clear what side of the wheel of fortune Mauro Panto was on today on Day 2 of the 888poker Live Barcelona Main Event.
Panto, with his unpredictable playing style, bold raises, and relentless aggression, put on a show as the Italian went on a flurry of eliminations to build a massive chip lead going into the final table. Panto finished with 9,730,000, more than double his closest challenger among the nine who will return tomorrow at 4 p.m. local time to play down to a champion.
Panto made a straight to beat Jack Hardcastle’s tens and bust the UK pro in 24th. He then won a flip to knockout Jorge Alvarez in 21st before being the beneficiary of a bizarre “bustout”. Albert Rus had moved all in from the small blind and mucked his cards once the big blind got out of the way. Panto, though, had called in early position, and the floor ruled that Rus’ cards were dead. He was sent to the rail and the pot was pushed to Panto without a board being seen.
The Italian didn’t let up from there. He caught a deuce on the river to make trips and crack Edgar Bermejo’s aces to bust him in 17th place, then picked off a bluff from Vincent Soubrie for another knockout. Panto finally brought the night to an end when he found jacks against Paul Minzariu’s ace-ten as the final table of nine was set.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mauro Panto | Italy | 9,730,000 | 122 |
| 2 | Hector Garcia | Spain | 4,230,000 | 53 |
| 3 | Martin Guerrero | Spain | 2,800,000 | 35 |
| 4 | Pau Veciana | Spain | 2,325,000 | 29 |
| 5 | Johnny Lindroos | Estonia | 1,200,000 | 15 |
| 6 | Fabio Peluso | Italy | 935,000 | 12 |
| 7 | David McConachie | United Kingdom | 930,000 | 12 |
| 8 | Cipriano Bonet | Spain | 635,000 | 8 |
| 9 | Alexander Sokolovsky | Serbia | 395,000 | 5 |
Eight players will try to slow down Panto’s charge to the title tomorrow. Hector Garcia picked off a bluff from Martin Guerrero on the last level to double up to more than 4,000,000, bagging up 4,230,000 and in second place going to the final table. Guerrero, who earlier picked up kings to bust defending champion Josep Valls in 13th place, is in third with 2,800,000, followed by Pau Veciana (2,325,000).
Further down the leaderboard are Johnny Lindroos (1,200,000), WSOP bracelet winner Fabio Peluso (935,000), and David McConachie (930,000). McConachie is already the proud owner of an 888Live trophy, taking down the title in London in 2023. Cipriano Bonet (635,000) and Alexander Sokolovsky (395,000) round out the final table lineup.
Day 2 began with 15 new arrivals joining the survivors from the four starting flights to create a total field of 459. Only the top 55 would make the money, and 888poker Ambassadors Vivian Saliba, Ian Simpson, and Lucia Navarro were among those sent to the rail without a payout. Others to bust early included 888poker Madrid runner-up Alvaro Murciano and past WSOP Europe champion Marti Roca.
Hardcastle burst the bubble when he eliminated Day 1c chip leader Juan Velasco in a boat-over-boat cooler. Inaki Angulo (51st), Aaron Barone (50th), Day 1b chip leader Dan Hoidahl (49th), Ariel “Galactico” Faskowicz (41st), and Bucharest champion Razvan Morar (28th) were then sent to the payout desk. Start-of-day chip leader Chang Tan fell in 25th when he jammed king-queen into Minzariu’s ace-queen. Gabi Livshitz (23rd) also couldn’t make it through the day.
Minzariu busted on the last hand of Level 26. The remaining nine players will return tomorrow to a new blind level of 40,000-80,000 with an 80,000 big blind ante. They’re all guaranteed €6,305 for making it this far, while the champion tomorrow walks away with the €70,000 top prize.
The final table will be broadcast on 888poker's official YouTube and Twitch channels. PokerNews will also be following the action and providing live updates until a new champion is crowned, so stay tuned tomorrow.