Will the €10,300 High Roller See 400+ Entries? We'll Find Out Today
Today marks the start of the €10,300 High Roller from the 2015 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona. Kicking off at 12:30 p.m. local time, Day 1 action will see the first 10 levels on the structure sheet played out, starting with the 100/200/25 level and finishing with the 800/1,600/200 level. Players will begin with 50,000 in chips and levels will last one hour each. If all goes according to the schedule, play should end at 12:45 a.m.
Over the years, this event has proven to be quite the attraction. Last year, it drew a whopping 393 entries to the felt. That event was won by Belarus' Ihar Soika for a huge €747,200. Soika defeated Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier heads up to take the title.
Given all that's happened at this season's EPT Barcelona festival, it is highly expected that the €10,300 High Roller will attract another large field. Plus with the single reentry option, players will have the chance to fire more than one bullet and juice up the prize pool.
Every year this event has grown, and a field size of over 400 total entries wouldn't come of a surprise. According to statistics from HendonMob.com, here's how this event has looked throughout history since its inception in 2010:
| Year | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | 1st Prize | Runner-Up | 2nd Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 393 | €3,851,400 | Ihar Soika | €747,200 | Jason Mercier | €476,400 |
| 2013 | 180 | €1,764,000 | Thomas Muehloecker | €390,700 | Daniel Negreanu | €263,800 |
| 2012 | 111 | €1,087,800 | Laurent Polito | €270,229 | Alex Bilokur | €295,451* |
| 2011 | 67 | €670,000 | Philipp Gruissem | €234,500 | Jean-Baptiste Tomi | €147,400 |
| 2010 | 36 | €380,000 | Fernando Brito | €127,500 | Juha Helppi | €127,500* |
*Denotes a deal was made.
One should expect all of the well-known high-stakes players to be in the mix, including Mercier, Isaac Haxton, Steve O'Dwyer, Tobias Reinkemeier, Ankush Mandavia, Philipp Gruissem, and many more. Martin Finger is also expected to play, fresh off his victory in the €25,500 Single-Day High Roller last night where he won €865,900.
We'll also likely see Liv Boeree and Igor Kurganov in the field. Both of whom were featured in the following PokerNews video with Sarah Herring where the duo goes flyboarding.
Also of note, the registration and reentry period will remain open until the start of Day 2, allowing for plenty of time for additional entries to grow the field. With that, stay tuned for all of the action coming your way right on these pages from the 2015 EPT Barcelona €10,300 High Roller.