Day 2 of the PokerStars Open Barcelona Main Event wrapped up early Friday evening as part of PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona at Casino Barcelona. Leading the 107 remaining players after eight hours of play is India's Vidur Sethi with a stack of 3,890,000 as he seeks his first major poker title.
Closely trailing Sethi are big stacks Kazuhiko Yotsushika (3,880,000), Joseph Bardakji (3,805,000) and Yakiv Syzghanov (3,760,000), as well as notable pros including Bulgaria's Boris Kolev, France's Julien Sitbon and 2023 EPT Barcelona Champion Simon Wiciak of France.
PokerStars ambassador Kenny Hallaert, who is just a few weeks removed from a fourth-place finish in the WSOP Main Event, continued his hot summer as he made it through Day 2 with a stack of 1,865,000.
Somewhat ironically, Sethi, who has $139,467 in Hendon Mob earnings, bagged the chip lead amid news that the Indian president is expected to sign legislation effectively outlawing online poker and other forms on online gambling.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vidur Sethi | India | 3,890,000 | 130 |
| 2 | Kazuhiko Yotsushika | Japan | 3,880,000 | 129 |
| 3 | Joseph Bardakji | France | 3,805,000 | 127 |
| 4 | Yakiv Syzghanov | Ukraine | 3,760,000 | 125 |
| 5 | Bernardo Neves | Portugal | 3,660,000 | 122 |
| 6 | Conor O'Driscoll | Ireland | 3,400,000 | 113 |
| 7 | Thibaud Martin | France | 3,195,000 | 107 |
| 8 | Eros Calderone | Italy | 3,175,000 | 106 |
| 9 | Adam Martinsson | Sweden | 3,015,000 | 101 |
| 10 | Jakub Sterba | Czechia | 2,865,000 | 96 |
Reigning Champ Falls on Day 2
There were 753 players who returned for Day 2 after the event drew 5,036 players for a record-setting prize pool of €7,251,840. A total of 85 countries were represented, with nearly a third of the field flying French and Spanish flags.
Other well-represented countries include Italy with 274 players (11.99%), Germany and the United Kingdom with 94 players each (4.11%), and the Netherlands with 84 players (3.67%).
The field dwindled from several hundred players to less than 200 over the course of several hours. Those who were eliminated in the early and mid-stages of the day include Michael Wang, Ren Lin, Justin Zaki, Adam Hendrix, Brock Wilson, PokerStars Team Pro Benjamin Spragg, and EPT Main Event champions Sebastian Malec and Simon Brandstrom.
Reigning EPT Barcelona Main Event champion Stephen Song looked like he could have a shot at back-to-back major titles in Barcelona as he ran deep on Day 2. However, the 2022 GPI Player of the Year was eliminated during the last level of the day. Other late-night eliminations included reigning GPI Female Player of the Year Cherish Andrews and fellow American pro Joey Weissman.
Among the highlights of the day were Martin Zamani three-bet jamming and showing a deuce, Robert Seelen coolering Jon Kyte and poker media's Terrance Reid getting maximum value with aces.
Action will resume with Day 3 on Saturday, August 23 at 11 a.m. local time on Level 25 with blinds of 20,000/40,000/40,000.
Each returning player will be guaranteed a payday of at least €10,200, while €772,000 awaits the next EPT Barcelona Main Event champion.
PokerNews is on-site in Barcelona and will be back for continued coverage on Day 3.
