€5,300 Main Event Day 1b | 2025 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

08-25-2025 11:13 UTC+1

Tricarico Fills Up to Score the First Knockout

David Salituro

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

Alexandro Tricarico and Billal El-Tanji had already built a pot of around 10,000 as they went heads-up to the turn on a board of J♣Q♣8♦7♣. El-Tanji then bet 5,500 from the cutoff and Tricarico called on the button.

The river was the 7♦ and El-Tanji moved all in. Tricarico snap-called and turned over Q♥Q♣ for a full house. El-Tanji threw 7♠5♠ into the muck as the stacks were counted down. Tricarico had El-Tanji's remaining 17,300 covered, and El-Tanji hit the rail as the first elimination of the day.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alexandro Tricarico	60,000 60,000	60,000
Billal El-Tanji	Busted

Tags: Alexandro Tricarico Billal El-Tanji

08-25-2025 11:12 UTC+1

Nobody Pulls the Trigger on the River

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Kai Cocklin

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

With around 2,000 in the middle on a 9♥J♦4♦ board, Gonzalo Mencia checked from under the gun and Roope Tarmi fired 500 from the hijack. Nuri Hadioglu called on the button, and Mencia also called.

When the 3♣ hit the turn, Mencia checked again and Tarmi went big with a pot-sized bet of 3,300. Hadioglu went nowhere, but Mencia did find a fold.

The 9♠ filled out the board and both quickly checked it down, with Tarmi showed a missed combo draw holding 10♦8♦. Hadioglu also missed his draw with A♦6♦, but took it down with ace-high.

Player	Chips	Progress
Nuri Hadioglu	35,000 35,000	35,000
Gonzalo Mencia	28,500 28,500	28,500
Roope Tarmi	26,000 26,000	26,000

Tags: Gonzalo Mencia Nuri Hadioglu Roope Tarmi

08-25-2025 11:11 UTC+1

Vos Starts with a Small Pot

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Maxime Taldir

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

Cyril Monbrun-Massot was on the button when he raised to 400. Pascal Vos in the small blind called and Alexej Macht defended from the big blind.

The dealer fanned a flop of 7♥4♠Q♣ and after the blinds checked, Monbrun-Massot continued for 600. It didn't take long for Vos to check-raise to 1,500 and make everybody fold.

Player	Chips	Progress
Pascal Vos	31,000
Cyril Monbrun-Massot	29,600
Alexej Macht	29,600

Tags: Alexej Macht Cyril Monbrun-Massot Pascal Vos

08-25-2025 11:06 UTC+1

Bura Gets There on the River

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David Salituro

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

Around 4,000 was in the pot in a blind versus blind battle between Maksim Bura and Ibrahim Aksu with the board showing Q♦2♣3♦J♣. Bura then led out for 3,000 and Aksu called.

The river was the 10♦ and Bura bet another 7,500. Aksu quickly called and Bura turned over A♦K♣ for a rivered straight. Aksu buried his head in his hands before mucking as he surrendered nearly half of his stack on one of the first hands of the day.

Player	Chips	Progress
Maksim Bura	45,000
Ibrahim Aksu	17,500

Tags: Ibrahim Aksu Maksim Bura

08-25-2025 11:00 UTC+1

Notables in the Field

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David Salituro

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Stephen Song	30,000 30,000	30,000

Sam Grafton	30,000 30,000	30,000

Tony Dunst	30,000 30,000	30,000
Juha Helppi	30,000 30,000	30,000
Alessio Isaia	30,000 30,000	30,000
Kimmo Kurko	30,000 30,000	30,000
Dominik Panka	30,000 30,000	30,000

Marton Czuczor	30,000 30,000	30,000
Darren Rabinowitz	30,000 30,000	30,000
Antoine Saout	30,000 30,000	30,000
Mark Teltscher	30,000 30,000	30,000

Rayan Chamas	30,000 30,000	30,000
Michael Wang	30,000 30,000	30,000
Boris Kolev	30,000 30,000	30,000
Jason Wheeler	30,000 30,000	30,000
Samuel Mullur	30,000 30,000	30,000

Felix Schneiders	30,000 30,000	30,000
Fahredin Mustafov	30,000 30,000	30,000
Blaz Zerjav	30,000 30,000	30,000
Steve O'Dwyer	30,000 30,000	30,000

Antoine Labat	30,000 30,000	30,000
Frederic Delval	30,000 30,000	30,000

08-25-2025 11:00 UTC+1

Shuffle Up and Deal

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David Salituro

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

Action is underway with 394 players currently registered.

Level: 1

Blinds: 100/100

Ante: 100

08-25-2025 09:37 UTC+1

Packed House Expected When Day 1b of the EPT Barcelona Main Event Kicks Off at Noon

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David Salituro

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.

Tags: Adam Hendrix Alex Keating Boris Kuzmanovic Brock Wilson Daiki Shingae Demis Mariani Jack Sinclair Joey Weissman Julien Sitbon Luke Schwartz Marc Bougaret Niklas Astedt Panagiotis Pantazis Peter Jorgne Rania Nasreddine