2013 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona

€5,300 Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2013 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
55
Prize
€942,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€5,984,900
Entries
1,230
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
50,000

€5,300 Main Event

Day 1a Started

The First Main Event of Season 10 On the EPT

Welcome to the first Main Event of Season 10 on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour. The PokerNews live reporting team is here in Barcelona to bring you all the action from the felt for what plans to be a very, very massive event. Barcelona has been a stop on the EPT every season since the tour's inception, getting better and better every year.

Last year, Mikalai Pobal defeated a field of 1,082 entries to earn €1,007,550. That's both a massive number of entries and amount for first place, but the stars seem to be aligning for an even bigger event this time around. All of the events here at the Barcelona festival have been huge, with jam-packed tournament rooms and mile-long registration lines. One can only expect much more today for Day 1a of the €5,300 Main Event.

There will be plenty of big names in the mix, including Team PokerStars Pros, online qualifiers, and other top international players. The cards will be in the air at 12 p.m. local time, so prepare yourself for a great day of action from the felt. PokerNews will have all your live updates right here, so saddle up and enjoy the show.

You can also check out PokerNews' coverage of the €50,000 Super High Roller event. The field was down to eight players after Day 2 with over €770,000 to the winner. WIth only seven spots paying, a very big bubble will be in effect right from the get go.

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/100

Ante:

Barny Boatman Arrives

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Just before the cards were in the air PokerNews was heading for the tournament area and who should be in front of us? None other than Barny Boatman, who won a much celebrated bracelet at Event #49 at this year’s World Series of Poker.

He was briefly asked by staff here if he was playing the Main Event. “Yes,” he replied. Was he an online qualifier? “No,“ he said, and off he went through the briefly dark room to find his table, as the tournament director thanked the players and the sponsors for such a great event, ending with the words booming out, “Dealers, shuffle up and deal!”

The cards were dealt, Boatman made it 250 to go and won the pot. Good luck Barny, good luck everyone.

Tags: Barny BoatmanBrandon Wong

Who's Here

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Here's an early list of some of the notables in the field for Day 1a, including Team PokerStars Pros Jason Mercier, Andre Akkari, Leo Margets, and Jan Heitmann. Also in the mix are two former champions of this event — the past two champions — in Mikalai Pobal and Martin Schleich.

Player Chips Progress
Scott Seiver us
Scott Seiver
30,000 30,000
Leo Margets es
Leo Margets
30,000 30,000
David Vamplew gb
David Vamplew
EPT 1X Winner
30,000 30,000
Jason Mercier us
Jason Mercier
30,000 30,000
Kevin Iacofano us
Kevin Iacofano
30,000 30,000
Atanas Gueorguiev bg
Atanas Gueorguiev
30,000 30,000
James Dempsey gb
James Dempsey
30,000 30,000
Martin Schleich de
Martin Schleich
EPT 1X Winner
30,000 30,000
Ignat Liviu ro
Ignat Liviu
30,000 30,000
Jan Heitmann
Jan Heitmann
30,000 30,000
Andre Akkari br
Andre Akkari
30,000 30,000
James Mitchell gb
James Mitchell
30,000 30,000
Jonathan Roy ca
Jonathan Roy
30,000
Joseph El Khoury lb
Joseph El Khoury
30,000 30,000
Dimitar Danchev bg
Dimitar Danchev
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
30,000 30,000
Dmitry Gromov ru
Dmitry Gromov
30,000 30,000
Christopher Brammer gb
Christopher Brammer
30,000 30,000
Jude AInsworth ie
Jude AInsworth
30,000 30,000
Mikalai Pobal by
Mikalai Pobal
EPT 2X Winner
30,000 30,000
Paul Klann ca
Paul Klann
30,000 30,000
Sam Chartier ca
Sam Chartier
30,000 30,000

Tags: Andre AkkariJason MercierLeo MargetsMartin SchleichMikalai Pobal

Flushy Puts Out the Feelers

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

James “Flushy” Dempsey, another WSOP bracelet winner, is here early and looking for some action from the start. He called an open to 250 on the button, the big bind called, and three players saw a flop of {5-Diamonds}{6-Spades}{j-Diamonds}. The opener made it 450 and Dempsey was the only caller. The turn brought the {8-Spades}, checked to Dempsey who bet 600 and got a call. They both checked the river {10-Clubs}. His opponent showed {7-Hearts}{6-Hearts} for a pair on the flop but Dempsey showed {9-Clubs}{8-Diamonds} hitting the better pair on the turn. Pot to Dempsey.

Tags: James Dempsey

Early Action

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

In the early levels of poker tournaments, the action can tend to be slow. The blinds are still very low, allowing for lots of deep-stack play, and the players are working to get a feel for their table. While the chips may not be flying just yet, every little bit of chips can add up. Here's a couple examples of some small pots we caught here in the first level of play.

On the {K-Clubs}{8-Diamonds}{2-Spades} flop, two players checked before Sam Chartier fired a bet of 300 in position. The first player called, then the next player folded. The turn was the {3-Hearts}, and both players checked to see the {6-Diamonds} land on the river. The first player led for 1,125, and Chartier folded.

Over on another table, Scott Seiver raised from under the gun to 300, and only the player in the small blind made the call. The flop came down {9-Clubs}{7-Clubs}{3-Clubs}, and both players checked. The turn was the {A-Diamonds}, and the small blind checked. Seiver bet 400, and his opponent folded.

Tags: Scott SeiverSamuel ChartierSam Chartier

Gone in Thirty Minutes

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

The Barcelona EPT Main Event is a €5,300 buy in event over 6 long days. Whether the players have bought in direct or qualified online the goal remains the same today, survival. Make it back to day 2 and take it from there. Chip up where you can, pick your spots, roll with the punches. However you want to describe it you don’t want to risk everything too early.

Alessandro Ielli, an Italian PokerStars qualifier, was unfortunate to run into the nut flush of Abdulaziz Abdulaziz from Canada. Abdulaziz held {a-Hearts}{q-Hearts} on a board of {j-Spades}{7-Clubs}{10-Hearts}{4-Hearts}{9-Hearts}. With all the chips going in on the river Ielli was left reeling and out after less than thirty minutes of play while Abdulaziz doubled up early.