button in SafariKillian O'Brien Bags the Chip Lead, Fabian Torres Not Far Behind on Day 1c of the 888poker Live Barcelona Main Event
A portrait artist wandered around the Casino Barcelona poker room throughout the day drawing caricatures for the players. By the end of the night, it was Ireland’s Killian O’Brien who crafted the greatest masterpiece on Day 1c of the 888poker Live Barcelona €888 Main Event.
O’Brien ended up as the chip leader with 339,000 as 57 players survived to secure their spots on Day 2. O’Brien was helped along by a miracle double knockout, when he spiked a set of nines on the river to crack a pair of aces and two jacks.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Killian O'Brien | Ireland | 339,000 | 113 |
| 2 | Antonio Zito | Italy | 317,000 | 106 |
| 3 | Fabian Torres | Spain | 286,000 | 95 |
| 4 | Francisco Salvador | Spain | 286,000 | 95 |
| 5 | Stephane Verdier | France | 276,000 | 92 |
| 6 | Leo Petit | France | 230,000 | 77 |
| 7 | Thierry Mulin | France | 207,000 | 69 |
| 8 | Arnau Vazquez | Spain | 200,000 | 67 |
| 9 | Hugo Gotuzzo | Argentina | 190,000 | 63 |
| 10 | Hugo Benitez | Andorra | 186,000 | 62 |
He’s followed on the leaderboard by Antonio Zito (317,000), Fabian Torres (286,000), Francisco Salvador (286,000), and Stephane Verdier (276,000). Torres woke up with kings to bust former chip leader Evgeny Garribako earlier in the day, then scored a knockout on one of the last hands of the day by picking up ace-king. Verdier, like O’Brien, also spiked a set on the river for a knockout and then cracked aces to climb near the top of the leaderboard.
Others to make it through the day included Leo Petit (230,000), Hugo Gotuzzo (190,000), Abel Aspas (178,000), Alvaro Murciano (161,000), Zbigniew Wieczorek (155,000), and online qualifer Alex Gleeson (154,000). Further down the leaderboard were David Algarra (144,000), 888poker Live Glasgow champion Martin Lechner (130,000), and 888poker Live Madrid champion Gorka Akerreta (79,000). Defending champion Pau Veciana, meanwhile, busted early in the day, while 2024 Madrid champion Manuel Ledesma also joined the throng of eliminated players.
A total of 153 players crowded into Casino Barcelona today, bringing the total field up to 286 entries after three starting flights. The field can potentially grow much larger as the turbo Day 1d flight is still to come at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Players can also late register right up until the start of Day 2 at 5 p.m. The action picks up on Level 14 with blinds of 1,000/3,000 and a 3,000 big blind ante. Levels will once again be 40 minutes long, and play is scheduled to go down to the final table by the end of the night.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow following all the action and providing live updates on the way to the money bubble and onwards to the final table.