Day 5 of the €5,300 Main Event at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona has ended with only 11 players still in the hunt for the title. From the field of 2,045 entries, the remaining contenders have each locked up at least €102,150 from the €9,918,250 prize pool, while the ultimate goal is the €1,436,000 first-place prize. Play will resume Saturday inside Casino Barcelona with the final table firmly in sight.
Leading the way is Anton Suarez, who bagged a commanding 15,340,000 after winning the biggest pot of the tournament late in the day. He is followed by France's Thomas Eychenne, who bagged 9,595,000 after he eliminated Joao Webber in the final hand of the night. Sebastian Ionita (6,820,000) and Tomasz Brzezinski (6,525,000) also secured spots near the top of the leaderboard.
Others advancing include Julian Pineda Lozano (4,730,000), Sergio Carro Marin (4,520,000), Umberto Zaffagnini (4,410,000), Marc Foggin (3,655,000), and Cesar Garcia (3,285,000). Flying the French flag at the bottom of the counts are Youssef Zereg (1,350,000) and Yohan Rascar (1,125,000), who will return as the short stacks with plenty of work to do on Day 6.
End of Day 5 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anton Suarez | Sweden | 15,340,000 | 153 |
| 2 | Thomas Eychenne | France | 9,595,000 | 96 |
| 3 | Sebastian Ionita | Romania | 6,820,000 | 68 |
| 4 | Tomasz Brzezinski | Poland | 6,525,000 | 65 |
| 5 | Julian Pineda Lozano | Colombia | 4,730,000 | 47 |
| 6 | Sergio Carro Marin | Spain | 4,520,000 | 45 |
| 7 | Umberto Zaffagnini | Italy | 4,410,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Marc Foggin | United Kingdom | 3,655,000 | 37 |
| 9 | Cesar Garcia | Spain | 3,285,000 | 33 |
| 10 | Youssef Zereg | France | 1,350,000 | 14 |
| 11 | Yohan Rascar | France | 1,125,000 | 11 |
Day 5 Action
There were 29 players that started the day, and it did not take long for the eliminations to begin. El Mostafa Bel Khayate, Artus Gimenez, and Juan Carlos Vecino were all eliminated in the first level.
The second level of the day was even more dramatic, with ten players hitting the rail over the 90 minutes. Alexandros Michas was responsible for two of them, sending Thales Morelli and Firoz Mangroe to the exit. Soon after, Matthew McEwan was coolered when his ace-king ran straight into the aces of Eychenne.
In perhaps the most brutal elimination of the day, Rifat Palevic three-bet preflop with aces and bet both the flop and turn, only for Rascar to shove over him with a double gutter. Palevic snap-called, but was sent to the rail when a jack on the river completed Rascar’s straight.
The bust-outs continued at pace as Kevin Houghton, Jimmy Kebe, Leo Worthington-Leese, and Hiroki Karatsu all fell in quick succession. As the level drew to a close, two outer table hands played out simultaneously, and both ended in eliminations. Alejandro Romero lost out with ace-king against the pocket jacks of Suarez, while start of Day 3 chip leader Martin Nielsen lost a flip with ace-jack against the pocket eights of Ionita. As the two went out almost simultaneously, they split the payouts for 17th and 18th places.
The field then condensed to two tables, but the action remained lively. Michas was eliminated in 16th place after losing a flip with pocket jacks against the ace-queen of Brzezinski. Soon after, Hugo Gotuzzo was in prime position with pocket queens, but Pineda Lozano cracked them with pocket sixes, turning a straight. Lauri Saaskilahti was next to go when his shove with ace-five ran into the ace-king of Foggin.
Throughout the day, players were told that play would stop once 12 remained, but just before the end, it was decided to halt at 11, an odd number. That information came immediately after the biggest hand of the tournament so far. Tobias Leknes opened with ace-four suited before Suarez three-bet with ace-king. Leknes responded by four-bet shoving for around 60 big blinds, and Suarez made the call. The Norwegian player could not find any help, and Suarez, already the chip leader at the time, pulled even further ahead with a massive stack.
Day 5 finally ended with a cooler as Suarez raised, Webber three-bet, and Eychenne four-bet from the small blind. Suarez folded, but Webber shoved with his pocket aces, and Eychenne snap-called with pocket queens. A queen on the flop gave Eychenne a set, and despite Webber picking up outs on the turn, the river improved Eychenne to a full house. With Webber covered, the Brazilian was eliminated in 12th place, leaving 11 players to bag chips for Day 6.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €1,436,000 |
| 2 | €898,350 |
| 3 | €641,200 |
| 4 | €493,250 |
| 5 | €379,350 |
| 6 | €291,800 |
| 7 | €224,450 |
| 8 | €172,700 |
| 9 | €132,800 |
| 10-11 | €102,150 |
All 11 survivors have locked up €102,150, with the next pay jump coming at the final table. Reaching the top nine will be worth €132,800, while the payouts climb steadily toward the seven-figure score awaiting the champion. The eventual winner will walk away with €1,436,000, while the runner-up receives €898,350 and third place earns €641,200 from the €9,918,250 prize pool.
Play resumes at 12 p.m. local time on Saturday, August 30, with 67 minutes left in Level 29 (50,000/100,000/100,000). The final 11 will battle for a seat at the official final table of nine, as the race toward the €1,436,000 first-place prize continues.
Follow along with the PokerNews team for all the live updates direct from Barcelona to see who can make it into the final 6.
