EPT Madrid Final Table Set; Ibañez Leads as McDonald Bubbles
Today’s a day for real poker, for purists of the game where the men are separated from the boys. The final table days are great and all that but once a player has made an EPT final table that’s achievement enough in itself for some; something to tell the grand kids. The decisions one has to make to get to that final table take nerves of steel and a steady betting hand, and an equally steady mind. For a lot of us bloggers it’s the best day of a tournament.
Today’s action was fast paced all the way through the day, with big hands, big bluffs and big statements from some players. The feature table belonged to Ricardo Ibañez today, or so he would claim late on. The Spaniard ran very well as he flopped three sets to claim large pots as his stack soared to more than two million. He showed he can play without cards too as he five-bet Bruno Lopes off hand late on and then flashed the 
before saying, “I own this table!” A brave claim with a certain Mike McDonald sat opposite. Ibañez finished as the chip leader with more than three million.
And now to McDonald himself. He had had a very up-and-down day before a very down moment that ended play for the day. His stack was in danger more than once and it looked as if his final place was secured when he managed to double-up to with 
versus Ibañez’s 
, before he eliminated the dangerous Taylor Paur. The EPT double dream ended for the Waterloo, Canada resident though when his pocket tens failed to beat Andrei Stoenescu’s ace-king despite flopping a set. The same flop brought Broadway for the Romanian and he turned a flush.
Here’s how the final table will line up tomorrow:
| Seat | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ricardo Ibañez | 3,216,000 |
| 2 | Frederik Jensen | 2,144,000 |
| 3 | Fraser Macintyre | 2,473,000 |
| 4 | Bruno Lopes | 1,452,000 |
| 5 | Andrei Stoenescu | 1,974,000 |
| 6 | Ilan Boujenah | 1,382,000 |
| 7 | Jason Duval | 963,000 |
| 8 | Nicolas Levi | 709,000 |
Javier "El_Cañonero" Dominguez came back as today’s short stack and managed to to last a while but the PokerStars Team Online representative fell in 21st place. He was followed to the exit by talents such as Yury Gulyy, Clayton Mozden, the aforementioned Paur, and Tristan Clemencon.
The remaining eight will return tomorrow at midday CET where they will play down to winner. They are all guaranteed €48,000 but you can bet your bottom dollar that tonight they’ll be dreaming of €545,000 up top. As ever the PokerNews team will be on hand to bring you every major play, so please join us back here then.