€550 Estrellas Cup Day 1 | 2024 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

08-30-2024 16:19 UTC+1

Sarro Finds Rockets on Short Stack

Frank Visser

Level 7 : Blinds 500/1,000, 1,000 ante

Richard Bruno had open-raised from early position before Alessandro Sarro three-bet all-in for 8,200 in middle position. A quick call followed from Bruno, leading to a showdown.

Alessandro Sarro: A♠A♦ All in
Richard Bruno: A♣8♣

Bruno flopped an eight on 8♥9♦3♥, but no further help arrived on the 7♠Q♦ runout to double up his opponent.

Player	Chips	Progress
Richard Bruno	21,000 21,000	21,000
Alessandro Sarro	18,900 18,900	18,900

Tags: Alessandro Sarro Richard Bruno

08-30-2024 15:28 UTC+1

Schneiders Is Stumped by Issa

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Ollie Garland

Level 5 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

The pot had grown to approximately 23,000 with two players navigating a board of 10♠Q♦Q♥K♦.

Felix Schneiders, in the big blind, bet out for 5,500, with approximately 13,000 behind the line. Kodor Issa, in the cutoff, responded with a raise to 12,500; a considerable portion of Schneiders' stack.

Schneiders thought aloud for some time exclaiming "I feel like you had me beat on the flop", finally electing to fold A♦K♥ face up.

Issa raked in the pot as he flashed the A♥ to the table.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kodor Issa	50,000 50,000	50,000
Felix Schneiders	13,000 13,000	13,000

Tags: Felix Schneiders Kodor Issa

08-30-2024 14:04 UTC+1

Kroustalakis Out After Running Into Set

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Frank Visser

Level 3 : Blinds 200/400, 400 ante

The action was picked up on a turn of K♠9♣4♦10♦. With 14,000 in the pot, Konstantino Kroustalakis made a bet of 12,000 from under the gun, after which Agustin Naranja in the cutoff put him all-in for 20,000 total.

Kroustalakis called it off as both players tabled their cards.

Konstantino Kroustalakis: K♣Q♥ All in
Agustin Naranja: 9♠9♥

Kroustalakis needed to hit a straight to beat the set of Naranja, but he failed to do so on the 7♠ river and quickly headed to the exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Agustin Naranja	63,000 63,000	63,000
Konstantino Kroustalakis	Busted

Tags: Agustin Naranja Konstantino Kroustalakis

08-30-2024 13:13 UTC+1

Ivarsson Gets One-Outed to Early Exit

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Frank Visser

Level 2 : Blinds 100/300, 300 ante

Alexander Ivarsson had raised to 600 in the small blind, which Felix Vu three-bet to 1,600 in the big blind. Ivarsson then moved all in for 17,000, which Vu immediately called.

Alexander Ivarsson: A♠Q♠ All in
Felix Vu: Q♥Q♣

Ivarsson needed to hit an ace to stay alive, and he did just so on the A♥10♦9♥ flop. However, Vu hit the final queen in the deck on the Q♦ turn to take an enormous lead.

The 5♠ river did not give Ivarsson a full house, leaving him empty-handed as he exited the tournament room.

Player	Chips	Progress
Felix Vu	57,000 57,000	57,000
Alexander Ivarsson	Busted

Tags: Alexander Ivarsson Felix Vu

08-30-2024 12:45 UTC+1

Davey and Erlandsson Battle Early

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Frank Visser

Level 1 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante

Hans Erlandsson had raised under the gun when Daragh Davey made it 1,500 to go in the cutoff. Erlandsson made the call as the players saw a flop of 9♥4♠10♠.

Erlandsson checked to Davey, who bet 2,000. Erlandsson then raised to 4,600, and Davey called. Erlandsson put in another 5,300 on the 6♣ turn, which Davey called as well.

The river fell the K♠ and saw Erlandsson bet 7,700. Davey gave it some thought but ultimately let his hand go to preserve his stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
Hans Erlandsson	41,700
Daragh Davey	18,600

Tags: Daragh Davey Hans Erlandsson

08-30-2024 11:30 UTC+1

Bumper Crowd Expected as EPT Barcelona Gears Up for €550 Estrellas Cup

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Frank Visser

The ever-popular Cup tournaments have been a staple at PokerStars Live events for many years, being known under different names, and with different buy-ins and structures throughout its history.

At the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona, like last year, the €550 Estrellas Cup will be a two-day tournament, with a singular Day 1 flight, and is the lowest buy-in tournament of the series.

In 2023 it was Spain's very own Jesus Lorca who hoisted the trophy in Casino Barcelona, besting a field of 1,093 and taking home the huge sum of €87,450. However, the Barcelona cup has known an assortment of international winners ever since it received the €550 price tag in 2018, with champions hailing from Italy, Estonia, and Poland back when the cup had multiple starting flights.

EPT Barcelona €550 Estrellas Cup History

Year	Entries	Winner	Country	Prize
2023	1,093	Jesus Lorca	Spain	€87,450
2022	3,310	Anonymous player	Italy	€142,691
2019	3,260	Ottomar Ladva	Estonia	€223,870
2018	3,287	Dariusz Paszkiewicz	Poland	€157,500

* Event not held in 2021 and 2020.

This year's Estrellas Cup will kick off today at 1:30 p.m. local time, with a starting stack of 30,000 chips. Blinds will commence at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante, and all levels will be 30 minutes long. There will be ten levels of late registration available, during which unlimited reentries can be made.

A 75-minute dinner break is scheduled after Level 10, roughly 7:15 p.m. local time. Those who decide to hop in at the last possible moment will start with 20 big blinds at their disposal. Day 1 will play on until 15 percent of the field remains, at which point all players left will be in the money as they bag and tag for Day 2, which will take place on Saturday, August 31.

Stay tuned as PokerNews will be on the floor from start to finish to provide all of the updates from the low-stakes spectacle, and check out the EPT Barcelona hub for live reporting of other events.

Tags: Dariusz Paszkiewicz Jesus Lorca Ottomar Ladva