button in SafariMichael Falcon Soars To a Massive Chip Lead on Day 1b of the 888poker Live Barcelona Main Event
Just 24 hours made all the difference for Michael Falcon. Yesterday, he burned through two bullets in the opening flight but couldn’t find a bag. But everything changed for him today on Day 1b of the 888poker Live Barcelona €888 Main Event.
Falcon flopped trip kings in a four-bet pot to bust Javier Tamayo, then won a race with jacks against Beniamin Luca’s ace-queen to climb up past 500,000. He finished with 548,000, making him the overwhelming chip leader among the 27 players who survived the day.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Falcon | Denmark | 548,000 | 183 |
| 2 | Jesus Ramos | Spain | 324,000 | 108 |
| 3 | Maxime Colom | France | 310,000 | 103 |
| 4 | Marcos Paneque | Spain | 297,000 | 99 |
| 5 | James Hawkins | United Kingdom | 270,000 | 90 |
| 6 | Chang Tan | Hong Kong | 242,000 | 81 |
| 7 | Lucia Navarro | Spain | 241,000 | 80 |
| 8 | Daniel Rueda | Spain | 218,000 | 73 |
| 9 | Inaki Angulo | Spain | 151,000 | 50 |
| 10 | Alexandre Coussy | France | 143,000 | 48 |
Five members of the 888poker team took to the felt today, and all five of them secured their spots for Day 2. Jesus Ramos led the team with 324,000, followed by Lucia Navarro (241,000), Inaki Angulo (151,000), Ricardo Mateus (102,000), and Vivian Saliba (75,000).
Maxime Colom (310,000) and Marcos Paneque (297,000) also finished as big stacks, while James Hawkins, who wasn’t even trying to play this flight and wanted to buy a ticket for tomorrow, earned a miraculous double up later in the day by hitting a straight on the river. “King James,” as he wrote on his chip bag, rounded out the top five with 270,000.
Other players to survive the day included Chang Tan (242,000), Adria Colomina (140,000), and Darya Hulyk (117,000). Among those who will have to try again on a later flight were 888poker Live Madrid champion Gorka Akerreta, as well as 2025 Madrid runner-up Alvaro Murciano.
A total of 85 players came to the Casino Barcelona today for the second flight, bringing the total field up to 133. That number should increase dramatically tomorrow, as Day 1c is expected to be the biggest one yet. There is also a turbo Day 1d flight at 11 a.m. on May 23 with 20-minute levels. All surviving players from the four opening flights then combine for Day 2 at 5 p.m. later that day. Late registration remains open until the start of Day 2.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow as the Casino Barcelona poker room will be packed with a new group of hopefuls taking their shot at the 888poker Live Barcelona title.