Packed House Expected When Day 1b of the EPT Barcelona Main Event Kicks Off at Noon
A massive crowd is expected to pack the Casino Barcelona today when Day 1b of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event begins at noon local time.
The first starting flight yesterday saw 715 players already taking their shot at the title, with 221 securing their ticket into Day 2. Daiki Shingae ended up as chip leader with 444,000, while Marc Bougaret (339,000), Demis Mariani (309,500), Volodymyr Pashchetnyk (278,500), and Panagiotis Pantazis (266,000) round out the top five.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daiki Shingae | Japan | 444,000 | 296 |
| 2 | Marc Bougaret | France | 339,000 | 226 |
| 3 | Demis Mariani | Italy | 309,500 | 206 |
| 4 | Volodymyr Pashchetnyk | Ukraine | 278,500 | 186 |
| 5 | Panagiotis Pantazis | Greece | 266,000 | 177 |
| 6 | Wouter Beltz | Netherlands | 264,500 | 176 |
| 7 | Sergio Leyva | Spain | 264,500 | 176 |
| 8 | Danilo Carvalho | Brazil | 261,000 | 174 |
| 9 | Caio Ozawa | Brazil | 258,000 | 172 |
| 10 | Matthew McEwan | United States | 252,500 | 168 |
Others who survived the day included Julien Sitbon (224,000), Swedish online legend Niklas Astedt (187,500), Jack Sinclair (175,500), two-time EPT finalist Peter Jorgne (160,000), Brock Wilson (142,500), 2019 champion Simon Brandstrom (110,000), Adam Hendrix (109,000), and Alex Keating (108,000). Further down the leaderboard were Luke Schwartz (97,000), last year’s finalists Boris Kuzmanovic (71,000) and Rania Nasreddine (66,500), as well as Joey Weissman (54,000).
An even bigger field is expected today as the event is currently on pace to surpass last year’s total of 1,975 entries. Players on Day 1b begin with a starting stack of 30,000. The schedule calls for ten 60-minute levels, with a break after every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break at the end of Level 6 around 6:40 p.m. Players are allowed a maximum of two entries across both starting flights, with late registration remaining open until the start of Day 2 tomorrow at noon.
Stay tuned as PokerNews follows all the action and provides live updates throughout the day.