€5,300 Main Event
Day 1b Completed
€5,300 Main Event
Day 1b Completed
After a strong start with 715 entries on Day 1a, the €5,300 Main Event of the 2025 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona continued on solid ground this Monday at Casino Barcelona.
By the end of the day, 1,213 runners had entered on Day 1b, slightly more than last year’s second flight (1,194). This brings the provisional total to 1,928 entries, with more contenders expected to join the field as late registration remains open until the start of Day 2. Only 47 additional entries are needed to surpass the 2024 total (1,975), while just 25 more would push the 2025 edition past the 2,000-entry milestone.
Daiki Shingae led Day 1a with 444,000 and found no equal on Day 1b as Anton Kraous finished as the second flight’s chip leader with (only) 330,000. Among the hands that propelled him to the top, Kraous eliminated Ivo Bartoletti with a flopped straight during the late levels of the day. That hand may have been the difference, as Kraous holds a narrow lead over Jerry Odeen (302,500) and recent PokerStars Open finalist Jakub Sterba (291,000).
Other notables in the Top 10 include Cesar Garcia (277,500), Olivier Fazio (276,000), and EPT champion Steve O’Dwyer (266,000). In total, 424 players advanced to Day 2.
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anton Kraous | Bulgaria | 330,000 | 275 |
| 2 | Jerry Odeen | Sweden | 302,500 | 252 |
| 3 | Jakub Sterba | Czechia | 291,000 | 243 |
| 4 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | 277,500 | 231 |
| 5 | Olivier Fazio | France | 276,000 | 230 |
| 6 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 266,000 | 222 |
| 7 | Aleksei Savenkov | Russian Federation | 257,000 | 214 |
| 8 | Rifat Palevic | Sweden | 254,500 | 212 |
| 9 | Fabio Peluso | Italy | 254,000 | 212 |
| 10 | Candido Cappiello | Italy | 253,000 | 211 |
Just like O’Dwyer, five former EPT Main Event champions found a bag at the end of Day 1b, starting with the defending champion Stephen Song, who will return with 88,000 chips in his chase for a back-to-back win. The 2023 winner Simon Wiciak finished with a nearly identical stack of 85,000 after sharing the table with Mark Teltscher (48,500) all day long. Meanwhile, Sebastian Malec (76,000) and Dominik Panka (44,000) will return with shorter stacks.
PokerStars Team ambassador Kenny Hallaert (81,000) also bagged chips, as did teammates Alejandro Lococo (73,500), and Marle Spragg (46,500), who re-entered after busting before the dinner break. Benjamin Spragg will also be in action on Day 2, but with just 11,000 chips, he’ll need to take risks early to rebuild his stack.
Among the other players who advanced to Day 2, David Taieb (231,000) and Timo Kamphues (196,500) built some of the bigger stacks. Lorenzo Arduini survived a fortunate three-way all-in to finish with 131,000 and finds himself surrounded by players like Omar Lakhdari (140,000), Leo Worthington-Leese (132,500), and Jorge Ufano (129,000).
Ramon Colillas (116,000) also made his way to Day 2,slightly ahead of French streamer Julien “Jbzz” Dupré (112,000), who spent the final levels with Martin Kabrhel (51,000) on his right. All of them finished above the starting stack, unlike Kalidou Sow (30,000), Boris Angelov (28,500), and the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller champion Leon Sturm (22,500), who will return short-stacked.
Day 2 is set to resume this Tuesday, August 26, at 12 p.m. local time. Four 90-minute levels are scheduled, with 20-minute breaks at the end of each level. This should bring the field closer to the money, although the bubble might not burst during Day 2. The official payouts and confirmed prize pool will be announced once late registration closes at the start of the day.
Stay tuned as PokerNews keeps providing you updates until a winner is crowned!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
330,000
145,000
|
145,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
302,500
262,500
|
262,500 |
|
|
291,000
61,000
|
61,000 |
|
|
277,500
7,500
|
7,500 |
|
|
276,000
276,000
|
276,000 |
|
|
266,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
257,000
167,000
|
167,000 |
|
|
254,500
56,500
|
56,500 |
|
|
254,000
49,000
|
49,000 |
|
|
253,000
145,800
|
145,800 |
|
|
248,500
233,500
|
233,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
231,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
|
223,500
93,500
|
93,500 |
|
|
223,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
220,500
220,500
|
220,500 |
|
|
219,500
59,500
|
59,500 |
|
|
214,500
59,500
|
59,500 |
|
|
214,000
214,000
|
214,000 |
|
|
212,500
27,500
|
27,500 |
|
|
198,000
16,800
|
16,800 |
|
|
196,500
196,500
|
196,500 |
|
|
196,500
74,500
|
74,500 |
|
|
191,500
191,500
|
191,500 |
|
|
189,000
46,000
|
46,000 |
|
|
188,000
188,000
|
188,000 |
Day 1b has ended with approximately 424 players remaining out of 1,213 entries.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
With around 15,000 in the middle on a 10♦K♣2♥7♠ board, Henri Mejjati bet 5,000 from the big blind and Daniel Marx called from the button.
They went to a 9♥ river where Mejjati bet 11,000. Marx went into the tank while he contemplated how to proceed, but did eventually lay his cards down.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
240,000 | |
|
|
90,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
|
30,000
42,800
|
42,800 |
Tournament officials announced that players will see four more hands before bagging up their chips for Day 2.
Enrico Camosci moved all in for his last 12,000 under the gun, Volga Uyanik reshoved on the button, and the rest of the table got out of the way.
Enrico Camosci: 2♣2♠
Volga Uyanik: J♥J♦
Camosci picked up outs to a straight as the board came 10♦3♦6♥4♦ through the turn, but he missed the 10♣ river and the Italian high roller was sent to the rail in the closing moments of the day.
At the same table, Rayan Chamas and Anton Suarez have both built up stacks of more than 200,000. Sebastian Malec is also at this table, while Parker Talbot, Maria Konnikova, Tony Dunst, and David Coleman were all recently eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
220,000
181,800
|
181,800 |
|
|
||
|
|
200,000
163,300
|
163,300 |
|
|
80,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
|
|
50,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
Cards went on their backs on a flop of 3♠9♣8♥ with Erik Bauer at risk for 16,400 from the small blind against Nima Jenabi in the cutoff.
Erik Bauer: A♥A♠
Nima Jenabi: J♦9♠
Bauer was on his way to double up after the Q♠ was revealed, but the 9♥ river gave trips to Jenabi, ending Bauer's tournament just 15 minutes before the end of the day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
89,000 | |
|
|
Busted |
Heads-up on a flop of A♠3♠8♦, Philippe Narboni in the big blind was all in and at risk for 29,400 against Ruben Ventoso on the button.
Philippe Narboni: A♦8♥
Ruben Ventoso: A♣7♥
Narboni flopped two pair. He hit an unuseful third pair with the 3♣ turn and doubled up on the 2♠ river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
40,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
|
21,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
Danilo Cangianiello three-bet to 7,500 in middle position and Tarik Ozdemir called in the hijack. Action folded back to Jakub Sterba who four-bet to 20,000, and Cangianiello got out of the way. Ozdemir, though, announced he was all in for 61,000 by placing his gold, big-earred cartoon character card protector in the middle.
Sterba asked for a count and tanked for several minutes, but he eventually called to put Ozdemir at risk.
Tarik Ozdemir: A♣Q♥
Jakub Sterba: Q♣Q♦
Sterba was ahead with his queens while Ozdemir was looking for an ace to stay alive. The 10♠7♣4♠ flop was safe for Sterba, while the turn was the K♥. Ozdemir picked up a straight draw going to the river, but he missed the 3♦ as Sterba slammed the table in celebration after scoring the knockout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
230,000
174,900
|
174,900 |
|
|
65,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
|
|
Busted |