Heads-up on a flop of J♠7♦4♥, Maksym Filipovskyi bet 120,000 from the small blind and Ben Zech called in early position.
The turn was the 9♥ and Filipovskyi moved all in. Zech snap-called for 580,000 and turned over 4♦4♠ for a set, while Filipovskyi had A♥6♥ for a flush draw. Filipovskyi missed the J♦ river as Zech improved to a full house to secure the double up.
More than 600,000 was in the pot as Terrance Reid and Gergely Rona went to a flop of A♥10♠2♠. Rona put out a bet from under the gun before Reid raised to 190,000 in the small blind. Rona called and the J♠ fell on the turn.
Reid then moved all in, having Rona's remaining 900,000 slightly covered. Rona spent several minutes shaking his head, letting out a few deep sighs as he went deep into the tank. Reid eventually called the clock, and Rona allowed his countdown to nearly reach zero before flicking in a chip to signify a call.
He showed A♠Q♣ for top pair and flush draw, but Reid had him out-kicked with A♦K♠. The 3♥ fell on the river and Rona left the table, still shaking his head as Reid dragged in the big pot.
Miroslav Alilovic opened to 85,000 in the hijack and Kazuhiko Yotsushika three-bet in the small blind. Alilovic responded with a four-bet to 430,000 and Yotsushika called.
Yotsushika checked on the flop of Q♣7♥7♠ and Alilovic continued for a small 180,000. Yotsushika check-raised to 475,000 and Alilovic called.
Yotsushika then bet 1,100,000 on the 10♦ turn and Alilovic raised all in. Yotsushika called with the bigger stack.
Miroslav Alilovic: Q♠Q♥
Kazuhiko Yotsushika: A♠Q♦
Yotsushika's top pair was crushed by the queens full of Alilovic, who had flopped his opponent nearly dead before the 5♥ river confirmed a big double through one of the Day 2 chip leaders.
"Only big pots!" exclaimed Ewen Trevidy.
"You woke up spicy today!" Andras Nemeth told the dealer.
Aydin Vahabov was all in for around 1,100,000 against Kenny Hallaert, who had him covered.
Aydin Vahabov: A♣Q♣
Kenny Hallaert: J♣J♦
Vahabov took a dominant lead in the flop as the flop landed 4♥Q♦3♥ and the A♥ turn improved him to top two pair. However, the river brought the J♠ to give Hallaert a set and the Belgian could only shrug as he eliminated Vahabov to continue his summer heater.
It's almost time for Day 3 of the PokerStars Open Barcelona Main Event as part of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona at Casino Barcelona, which will see 107 players return in the fight for the title and €772,000 top prize.
India's Vidur Sethi leads heading into the third day of play with a stack worth 130 big blinds, while also among the top ten chip stacks are Adam Martinsson of Sweden and Eros Calderone of Italy and Thibaud Martin of France, all of whom ended the Day 2 with more than a hundred big blinds.
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Vidur Sethi
India
3,890,000
2
Kazuhiko Yotsushika
Japan
3,880,000
3
Joseph Bardakji
France
3,805,000
4
Yakiv Syzghanov
Ukraine
3,760,000
5
Bernardo Neves
Portugal
3,660,000
6
Conor O'Driscoll
Ireland
3,400,000
7
Thibaud Martin
France
3,195,000
8
Eros Calderone
Italy
3,175,000
9
Adam Martinsson
Sweden
3,015,000
10
Jakub Sterba
Czechia
2,865,000
Toward the middle of the counts is PokerStars' own Kenny Hallaert, who has already had a seven-figure summer that the Belgian now looks to continue in Barcelona. Meanwhile, 2023 EPT Barcelona Main Event champion Simon Wiciak is after another title inside Casino Barcelona.
Also in the field is Ukraine's Eugene Katchalov, an old-school pro who spoke about his recent return to poker last year on the Life Outside Poker podcast, as well as American pros Martin Zamani and Justin Saliba.
Eugene Katchalov
Day 3 gets underway at 11 a.m. local time and will feature blinds levels of 20,000/40,000/40,000 on Level 25. Levels will remain an hour in duration for the remainder of the tournament, which is scheduled to wrap up with Day 4 on Sunday, Aug. 24.
All 107 players returning on Saturday are guaranteed a minimum payout of €10,200, and the payouts will increase gradually ahead of the €772,000 top prize.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is on-site at Casino Barcelona and ready to provide updates on the Day 3 action.
