€1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2023 PokerStars EPT Barcelona
€1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2023 PokerStars EPT Barcelona
Buy-in
€1,100
Prize Pool
€7,102,080
Entries
7,398
Level
42
Blinds
1,000,000 / 2,000,000
Ante
2,000,000
Entries
26
Players Left
6
Cohen in Control in €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
The penultimate day of the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event has concluded after 147 hands at Casino Barcelona, with the final six players bagging one last time after another eight hours of play.
With the final elimination of the night at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona, the remaining contenders are looking up at Lucien Cohen. The Frenchman carries nearly 30 percent of the chips into an added Day 5 on the schedule Monday with his stack of 65,500,000, more than double that of his closest opponent.
Cohen, known as the "Rat Man," was the only player to begin the day with an EPT Championship, claiming that illustrious title in Deauville in 2011. Now, the 59-year-old will lead the pack with a chance to add ESPT Champion to his poker resume.
All six remaining players are guaranteed €136,850, but the largest prize in ESPT history is still up for grabs. The record field of 7,398 entries created a prize pool of €7,102,080, with Monday’s champion taking home €676,230 to go along with the coveted PokerStars trophy.
Final Table Contenders
The closest challenger to Cohen’s chip lead is Petros Karadimos of Greece, who vaulted up the leaderboard after winning a big flip to eliminate Diogo Ferreira with just ten players remaining. This will easily mark the largest live cash of Karadimos’ young career after picking up the game of poker six years ago.
Right behind Karadimos is Danilo Velasevic, who continues a stellar summer that includes his biggest live score of $214,500 with a top-five finish at the recent Triton series event in London. The 35-year-old from Belgrade also brings an impressive online resume to the felt, which includes a $470,000 score and two PokerStars SCOOP titles.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucien Cohen | France | 65,500,000 | 66 |
| 2 | Avihai Smadga | Israel | 11,000,000 | 11 |
| 3 | Petros Karadimos | Greece | 42,200,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Ferdinando D'Alessio | Belgium | 30,100,000 | 30 |
| 7 | Danilo Velasevic | Serbia | 40,900,000 | 41 |
| 8 | Ankit Ahuja | India | 32,200,000 | 32 |
Ankit Ahuja brings 32,200,000 chips into the final day, entering play as one of the more accomplished players remaining with more than $1.5 million in live tournament earnings. The native of India will be looking to best his career-high cash of $330,134. Day 3 chip leader Ferdinando D'Alessio remains well in contention with 30,100,000 chips, with a chance to climb as high as 11th place on Belgium’s all-time money list with a win on Monday.
Day 1e chip leader Avihai Smadga (11,000,000) is the short stack heading into the final day of action, already having surpassed a previous deep run in this event. Smadga earned a 30th-place finish in Barcelona seven years ago for €8,430, making his way through a field of 3,447 runners.
Remaining Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | € 676,230 | ||
| 2 | € 415,320 | ||
| 3 | € 294,620 | ||
| 4 | € 232,090 | ||
| 5 | € 177,810 | ||
| 6 | € 136,850 | ||
| 7 | Parker Talbot | Canada | € 105,590 |
| 8 | Igor Kaufman | Israel | € 81,230 |
Day 4 Action
The action began quickly with the returning 26 players with the field narrowed down to the final three tables after Ionut Dragomir was dealt an unlucky river to hit the rail less than half an hour into the day.
Cohen helped speed things along by scoring a double knockout, taking out Luc Lafontaine and Stefan Fabian before players reached the final two tables.
Once the field was combined into the unofficial final table of nine, play slowed down considerably with the next elimination coming almost two hours later. The first knockout of the final eight was Igor Kaufman, who moved his short stack in and could not catch Velasevic.
The final elimination of the night was PokerStars Ambassador Parker Talbot, who survived a pair of all ins before his pocket pair came second best to D'Alessio on the last hand of Day 4.
Day 5 will begin at 12:30 p.m. local time on Monday, with play resuming on Level 38. Blinds will be 500,000/1,000,000 with a 1,000,000 big blind ante. The final six will battle until a winner is crowned.
Stay tuned to the PokerNews reporting team for complete coverage of the final table and all of the other action at EPT Barcelona.
End of Day Chip Counts
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
65,500,000 | |
|
42,200,000 | -1,900,000 |
|
40,900,000 | -2,400,000 |
|
32,200,000 | 1,800,000 |
|
30,100,000 | |
|
11,000,000 |
Day 4 Complete
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
With the field down to six players, action has concluded for the day.
The final day will begin Monday at 12:30 p.m. local time, where a new ESPT champion will be crowned. Stay tuned for a full recap of the day.
Parker Talbot Eliminated in 7th Place (€105,590)
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Parker Talbot shoved his last 1,600,000 with 8♠8♥ and Ferdinando D'Alessio called from the cutoff with Q♥Q♦. Lucien Cohen came along with K♣7♣ and action was three ways with Talbot at risk.
Both players checked through the full board of 3♠3♣9♦4♣10♥ and D'Alessio's pocket queens were good enough to eliminate Talbot from the tournament in seventh place for €105,590.
The final six players are now bagging their chips to return for Monday's finale at 12:30 p.m.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
65,500,000 | -3,200,000 |
|
|
30,100,000 | 10,500,000 |
|
Busted |
Cohen Collects More Chips
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Ankit Ahuja opened to 1,700,000 from under the gun with A♠Q♥ and Lucien Cohen elected to call to his left with A♥K♣.
The rest of the table folded as Ahuja checked the 8♥8♠10♥ flop. Cohen fired 2,400,000 to see the 7♣ fall on the turn.
Ahuja checked once more, with Cohen also tapping the table. Ahuja checked again on the A♦ river, calling one last bet of 2,500,000 from Cohen.
Ahuja could only laugh as Cohen's kicker played to take down another pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
68,700,000 | 8,600,000 |
|
|
30,400,000 | -4,100,000 |
Smadga Leaves Talbot Short
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Avihai Smadga shoved his last 4,700,000 and Parker Talbot called with just a bit more. The rest of the table was out of the way and action was heads up.
Avihai Smadga: 8♥8♣
Parker Talbot: K♥J♠
The board ran out J♣Q♦4♣3♣7♣ and Smadga picked up a flush on the river to double through Talbot and leave him short.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
11,000,000 | 3,900,000 |
|
|
1,600,000 | -8,300,000 |
Cohen Crosses 60 Million
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Lucien Cohen raised to 2,100,000 on the button with 5♠3♥ and Petros Karadimos defending his big blind with J♦5♣.
Karadimos checked to Cohen on the 4♥6♣Q♥ flop, who continued for 2,100,000. Karadimos called to the 6♦ turn, then checked again.
Cohen fired 7,000,000 into the middle, producing a quick fold from Karadimos.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
60,100,000 | 9,800,000 |
|
|
44,100,000 | -7,800,000 |
Ahuja Boats Up
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Ankit Ahuja raised to 2,000,000 from the button with A♦Q♦ and Lucien Cohen called from the small blind with K♣10♥.
The flop was 10♣5♦K♦ and Cohen checked. Ahuja fired 1,900,000 with his two pair and Cohen called with his draws.
The turn was 10♦ and Cohen checked again. Ahuja bet 2,000,000 with tens-full and Cohen called once again with his flush.
The K♠ on the river double-paired the board to gave Ahuja kings-full and Cohen checked his nut flush again. Ahuja went into the tank before he bet 6,900,000. Cohen was wise to the situation and he tossed his hand in the muck to give up the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
50,300,000 | -5,800,000 |
|
|
34,500,000 | 6,000,000 |
Rat Man Rivers the Nuts!
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante