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.
End of Day 1b Chip Counts
| 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!
