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€1,650 PokerStars Open
Day 3 Completed
2025 PokerStars EPT Barcelona
€1,650 PokerStars Open
Day: 3
Event Info
2025 PokerStars EPT Barcelona
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
Buy-in
€1,650
Prize Pool
€7,251,840
Total Entries
5,036
Level
41
Blinds
750,000 / 1,500,000
Ante
1,500,000
Entries
107
Players Left
13
Players Left 1 / 5,036
Filter
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Kazuhiko Yotsushika and Chin Wei Lim are no strangers to big buy-in events, tangling with some of the best poker players in the world in some of the largest games around. On Day 3 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona €1,650 PS Open Main Event, they proved more than capable of mixing it up at lower stakes in crowded fields, as well.
Yotsushika ran over the field on Day 3 on his way to bagging up the chip lead over the remaining 13 players with 32,400,000, more than 10,000,000 ahead of his closest challenger. The Japanese pro began the day in second place and didn’t let up, flopping a set of eights to crack two queens and bust Conor O’Driscoll, then spiking a flush on the river to send Thibaud Martin out in 16th. While he’s chasing his first EPT trophy, Yotsushika has had success on the tour before. He finished third in a €2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event in Prague last December, and he also made the final table of a €10,000 event at EPT Monte Carlo in 2024.
Day 3 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kazuhiko Yotsushika | Japan | 32,400,000 | 81 |
| 2 | Chin Wei Lim | Malaysia | 19,800,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Ben Zech | Germany | 19,755,000 | 49 |
| 4 | Mengshi Tian | Hong Kong | 16,525,000 | 41 |
| 5 | Daniele Cuomo | Italy | 13,875,000 | 35 |
| 6 | Efrim Erdinc | Turkey | 10,900,000 | 27 |
| 7 | Alexis Nicolai | France | 9,950,000 | 25 |
| 8 | [Removed:526] | France | 7,175,000 | 18 |
| 9 | Bernardo Neves | Portugal | 6,650,000 | 17 |
| 10 | David Taieb | France | 4,275,000 | 11 |
| 11 | Adis Zukanovic | Luxembourg | 3,950,000 | 10 |
| 12 | Yakiv Syzghanov | Ukraine | 3,800,000 | 10 |
| 13 | Jakub Sterba | Czechia | 2,325,000 | 6 |
Behind him in second place is the Malaysian high roller Lim, who would be just as comfortable playing in the €100,000 Super High Roller that was taking place across the room today as he was storming up the leaderboard in this event. Lim made a big hero call with a pair of nines and picked off a bluff from Tor Skardi right at the end of the night as he finished with 19,800,000. The title in this event would be only the latest in a series of crowning achievements for Lim, who already has more than $15 million in career earnings, including a WSOP bracelet, three Triton titles, and an EPT trophy in a €25,000 High Roller at EPT Prague in 2019.
Ben Zech (19,755,000), Mengshi Tian (16,525,000), and Daniele Cuomo (13,875,000) round out the top five who will return tomorrow at noon local time to play down to a champion. Zech, the chip leader back on Day 1, went on a tear at the end of the day, including making a full house to cooler Simon Wiciak before the 2023 EPT Barcelona champion busted in 17th. Others still in contention include Efrim Erdinc (10,900,000), WSOP bracelet winner Bernardo Neves (6,650,000), and Yakiv Syzghanov (3,800,000), while Jakub Sterba (2,325,000) returns as the short stack.
Day 3 began with 107 players remaining out of 5,036 entries. UK Player of the Year Matthew Davenport (102nd), Eugene Katchalov (94th), Martin Zamani (84th), Andras Nemeth (75th), and Monte Carlo PS Open champion Jon Kyte (71st) were among the first to be sent to the rail. Terrance Reid busted in 49th when he turned a flush against Cuomo, but Cuomo spiked a full house on the river. Start-of-day chip leader Vidur Sethi fizzled out in 44th, while PokerStars Team Pro Kenny Hallaert continued his scorching summer with a deep run in this event that ended in 43rd.
The final day resumes tomorrow at noon with blinds picking up on Level 35 at 200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 60 minutes long until the final table is reached, when they switch to being 24 hands. Each of the remaining 13 players has locked up €49,550, with a spot at the final table worth €92,770. The eventual champion takes home €772,000 and the EPT Shard trophy.
PokerNews will be back following all the action as the field heads toward the final table and onward to the crowning of a champion.
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
32,400,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
||
|
19,800,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
19,755,000
245,000
|
245,000 |
|
||
|
16,525,000
975,000
|
975,000 |
|
13,875,000
3,875,000
|
3,875,000 |
|
10,900,000
5,900,000
|
5,900,000 |
|
9,950,000
450,000
|
450,000 |
![Profile photo of [Removed:526]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
|
7,175,000
1,925,000
|
1,925,000 |
|
6,650,000
350,000
|
350,000 |
|
4,275,000
475,000
|
475,000 |
|
3,950,000
3,050,000
|
3,050,000 |
|
3,800,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
2,325,000
2,275,000
|
2,275,000 |
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Day 3 has ended and the final 13 players are bagging up their chips for the night.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Mengshi Tian raised to 600,000 in the cutoff before Ben Zech three-bet to 2,250,000 in the small blind.
Tian then four-bet to 5,500,000, and Zech spent a moment staring down Tian's stack before flashing the A♦ and mucking. Tian showed him the A♥, followed by the A♠ as he took in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,000,000
4,000,000
|
4,000,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
17,500,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Yakiv Syzghanov open-jammed a stack of 1,675,000 in the small blind, and [Removed:526] let out a trademark cough — something that multiple opponents have complained about — into his shirt before calling.
Yakiv Syzghanov: A♦9♣ 
[Removed:526]: Q♥7♠
The flop of 8♣Q♦3♦ gave [Removed:526] the lead, and he let out an excited cough before the A♥ turn gave Syzghanov the lead. [Removed:526] coughed a few more times as the 5♣ river bricked off to earn Syzghanov a double.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,100,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
|
|
3,500,000
1,500,000
|
1,500,000 |
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Alexis Nicolai raised to 600,000 in the cutoff and Mengshi Tian called in the big blind.
The flop came A♥10♥4♣ and Nicolai continued for 800,000. Tian called and they checked through the J♣ turn.
Tian led out for 800,000 on the 4♦ river and Nicolai called. Tian turned over J♠10♦ for two pair, and Nicolai mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,500,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
|
|
9,500,000
2,000,000
|
2,000,000 |
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Jakub Sterba raised to 600,000 in middle position, then [Removed:526] moved all in from the small blind. Sterba had around 5,500,000 remaining and tanked for several minutes before giving up his hand.
Sterba then raised to 600,000 under the gun, and Kazuhiko Yotsushika called in the small blind.
Both players checked the 5♥9♣5♦ flop. Yotsushika then bet 475,000 on the J♥ turn, and Sterba called.
Yotsushika bet another 2,000,000 on the 7♥ river, and Sterba again surrendered the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
32,000,000
5,000,000
|
5,000,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
10,000,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
|
|
4,600,000
3,400,000
|
3,400,000 |
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Chin Wei Lim opened to 600,000 in middle position, and Tor Skardi three-bet to 1,500,000 in the cutoff. Lim called.
Lim checked on the flop of 10♣3♣8♦ and Skardi continued for 700,000. Lim called. Lim checked again on the 3♥ turn, and Skardi sized up to 1,700,000. Lim again called.
Lim checked once more on the 6♠ river, and Skardi took some time before putting Lim to the test by moving all in for 3,600,000. Lim had him covered, but took several minutes as he considered calling off the majority of his stack. Eventually, he called.
Skardi sheepishly turned over K♥4♥ for squadoosh, and Lim triumphantly flipped over 9♠9♥ to bring gasps from the table.
"Nice call!" one player said as Skardi was sent to the rail in 14th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
20,000,000
10,500,000
|
10,500,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 34
: Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Alexis Nicolai raised to 700,000 in the hijack before Tor Skardi three-bet to 2,200,000 in the big blind. The word "raise" had barely left Skardi's mouth before Nicolai moved all in for 9,000,000, and Skardi folded.
"He's never bluffing there," Skardi said.
On the next hand, David Foldy moved all in for 2,050,000 on the button and Mengshi Tian called in the big blind.
David Foldy: A♣9♠
Mengshi Tian: 7♣7♠
"Fair fight," Foldy said, going to the flop, which came 8♠7♦6♥. Tian flopped a set, while Foldy was looking to complete an open-ended straight draw. The 3♣ turn was no help, while the 3♦ river gave Tian a full house and sent Foldy to the rail in 15th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
15,500,000
3,500,000
|
3,500,000 |
|
|
11,500,000
2,900,000
|
2,900,000 |
|
|
7,500,000
1,100,000
|
1,100,000 |
|
Busted |
