Joel Casanovas shoved his last 29,500 on the button, and Thierry Navarro quickly made the call in the big blind.
Joel Casanovas: 4♦4♣
Thierry Navarro: A♦J♥
Casanovas seemed enthusiastic when he saw it was a flip, but that quickly changed as the dealer fanned the J♦9♠7♠ flop. Casanovas tapped the table and stood up, and the dealer completed the board with the 9♣ turn and the 2♣ river.
Sylvester Kubiak opened to 10,000 from the hijack and was three-bet to 25,000 by Valentino Konachiev in the cutoff. Jose Nadal four-bet to 65,000 from the small blind and Kubiak called all in for approximately 50,000 total. Konachiev shoved for 262,500 and Nadal called to put both players at risk.
Sylvester Kubiak: Q♣10♣
Valentino Konachiev: K♠K♥
Jose Nadal: J♦J♥
Konachiev was well ahead with his cowboys, and the 3♥3♣10♦6♥3♦ runout kept him best to send the monster pot his way and eliminate Kubiak as the Day-2 bubble nears.
Jose Nadal opened 12,000 under the gun, and both Barny Boatman and Anton Gililov called before Maria Konnikova put in the squeeze to 60,000. Only Boatman stuck around with a call.
When the J♣7♠2♣ flop hit the felt, Boatman took the lead as he jammed for 87,000. Konnikova thought about it for about 45 seconds before sigh-calling.
Barny Boatman: Q♦Q♠
Maria Konnikova: A♠K♠
Boatman was ahead with his pair of queens and was able to fade the two overcards as the board completed with the 5♣ turn and the 6♥ river.
Jose Nadal opened 18,000 in the hijack and only Anton Gililov called from the button.
The dealer fanned a flop of 4♠4♣2♠, and Nadal continued for 15,000. Gililov snap-called.
When the Q♠ hit the turn, Nadal flung 47,000 across the line. This time Gililov took a bit more time, but decided to make the call once again.
The 4♦ completed the board, and Nadal showed no signs of slowing down as he announced all-in. Gililov went deep into the tank, taking more than four minutes before deciding to let his hand go.
Three ways on a 10♠9♣7♠ flop, Sean Jazayeri check-raised all in for his last 80,000 from the big blind facing a bet from Jose Nadal, who was in middle position. Valentino Konakchiev folded from early position and Nadal put in a single chip to indicate a call.
Sean Jazayeri: 8♠4♠
Jose Nadal: Q♠10♣
Jazayeri held a combo draw against Nadal's top pair, but the K♣K♦ runout bricked out for Jazayeri — eliminating him on the stone bubble and ending play for the day.
The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona got off to a hot start today, with Day 1a of the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) Main Event drawing 338 entrants by the time late registration ended. Following nearly 17 levels of play, just 51 managed to find a bag and secure their seat into Day 2.
Leading the way by a large margin is Mexican poker pro Jose Nadal, who managed to bag up a staggering 882,000 by the time the final hand was completed. His next closest competitor is Valentino Konakchiev, who ended with 512,000. Rounding out the top three is Brian Battistone, who also cleared the half-million mark with 510,000 here at Casino Barcelona.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Jose Nadal
Mexico
882,000
2
Valentino Konakchiev
Bulgaria
512,000
3
Brian Battistone
United States
510,000
4
Tero Laurila
Finland
505,000
5
Borja Martinez
Spain
478,000
6
Tudor Zapsa
Moldova
441,000
7
Jose Gonzalez Sanchez
Spain
394,000
8
Bogdan Petrascu
Romania
370,000
9
Sergiy Antonov
Ukraine
347,000
10
Kevin Kent
United States
333,000
Barny Boatman
Day 1a Action
Day 1a began with 86 players taking their seats and it didn't take long for the chips to start flying. EPT Paris Main Event Winner and PokerStars Ambassador Barny Boatman got off to an eventful start after doubling up with a runner-runner flush early on. Boatman had a bit of a roller coaster day, finding himself amongst the chip leaders at various points before slipping to a below-average stack late in the day. Boatman ultimately ended with a respectable 300,000 after doubling up through fellow PokerStars Ambassador Maria Konnikova during the last level with pocket queens.
Nadal was responsible for several eliminations throughout the day en route to emerging as the chip leader and, despite taking a big hit to his stack late in the day after running pocket jacks into Konachiev's cowboys, Nadal wouldn't be denied.
Nadal added massively to his stack during the Day-2 bubble after forcing a tough laydown from Anton Gililov and fading a lot of outs to eliminate Sean Jazayeri on the stone bubble to end play for the night.
Other notables who made it into Day 2 include "Hollywood" Dave Stann (38,000), Konnikova (75,000), Vladas Tamasauskas (146,000), Archibald Seaton (202,000), and 2024 Irish Open Main Event ChampionTero Laurila (505,000).
All players who earned a Day-2 berth have already made the money, although the exact amount of a min-cash won't be calculated until after all starting flights have been played to completion.
Among the less fortunate who entered but fell short of Day 2 include Fabian Rolli, Nicholas Palma, PokerStars Ambassador Parker Talbot, Shiina Okamoto, and Jari Mahonen, who lost a race with queens against Borja Martinez's big slick late in the day.
All players who failed to make it to Day 2 still have several chances left as the event has six more starting flights. Day 1c is the next flight, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, August 27 at 11 a.m. local time. Day 2 will take place on Friday, August 30 at 11 a.m.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action as the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event is just getting warmed up!
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