Sebastian Ionita’s PokerStars European Poker Tour resume wasn’t a long and distinguished one before he came here to Barcelona: two main events, zero cashes. But the Romanian is making the most of his third opportunity, as Ionita takes the chip lead with 14,725,000 over the final six into the last day of the EPT Barcelona Main Event.
“It feels very good, but at the same time, it’s very hard. There are very good players here. The chips are pretty tight. Anything can happen, we all know,” Ionita said after the six players who made their way through a starting field of 2,045 bagged up their chips for the night. “Everyone who plays poker knows how it works. It can go very good, but it can also go very bad. All you can do is play your best hands, play the best you can.”
EPT Barcelona Final Six Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Ionita | Romania | 14,725,000 | 59 |
| 2 | Thomas Eychenne | France | 11,375,000 | 46 |
| 3 | Julian Pineda Lozano | Colombia | 9,700,000 | 39 |
| 4 | Umberto Zaffagnini | Italy | 9,525,000 | 38 |
| 5 | Anton Suarez | Sweden | 8,400,000 | 34 |
| 6 | Tomasz Brzezinski | Poland | 7,625,000 | 31 |
Ionita came into the event with around $300,000 in live earnings, according to The Hendon Mob, his highest career score of $177,000 coming from a third-place finish in an event in Cyprus in May. His EPT results have all come from Eureka events, including 263rd in Prague last December. He had only played two EPT Main Events before Barcelona with no success, but he’s one step closer to achieving a goal he set for himself long ago.
“It was always my dream to become a professional poker player, and winning an EPT title, I think, will get me closer,” he said. “It will mean a lot to me. Especially my first time here in Barcelona playing. This is my third EPT. My first two that I played, I haven’t cashed, and this, the third one, the chip leader at the final table.”
Ionita still has to overcome a talented group of five opponents that will try to snatch away the Golden Shard trophy and €1,436,000 top prize tomorrow. In second place sits French high roller Thomas Eychenne (11,375,000), who can usually be found competing against some of the biggest names in the game in some of the largest buy-in events in the world. Eychenne’s $2.7 million in live earnings include a final table run in a PokerStars event, when he finished in seventh place in the 2023 PSPC for $801,000.
Colombia’s Julian Pineda Lozano (9,700,000) and Umberto Zaffagnini of Italy (9,525,000) sit in the middle of the pack, while Anton Suarez (8,400,000) and Tomasz Brzezinski (7,625,000) round out the six who return tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. local time to play down to a champion.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €1,436,000 |
| 2 | €898,350 |
| 3 | €641,200 |
| 4 | €493,250 |
| 5 | €379,350 |
| 6 | €291,800 |
Day 6 Action
Day 6 began with 11 players returning to Casino Barcelona, hoping to secure a spot at the EPT Barcelona final table. Suarez had a massive chip lead with 15,340,000, while two Frenchmen, Youssef Zereg and Yohan Rascar, were at the bottom of the counts at the start of the day.
Zereg had a dream start, picking up aces on the first hand, then making quads on the second to double off Pineda Lozano. Rascar wasn’t as fortunate, as he called off his last 850,000 on the turn with a pair of nines but ran into Brzezinski’s tens.
Pineda Lozano was all in for 2,900,000 with two deuces and racing against Suarez’s ace-queen on the final table bubble. Suarez picked up a straight draw on the flop to go with his overcards, but Pineda Lozano held on through the turn and river to double up. Sergio Carro Marin then fired three bullets against Suarez until the river gave Suarez a flush. Suarez moved all in and Marin folded, leaving himself on a short stack. He was eliminated shortly after when Brzezinski made two pair on the river to beat his turned pair of kings, setting the nine-handed final table.
Suarez still maintained a big advantage over the field with 16,275,000 at the start of the final table, with Ionita (10,290,000) and Eychenne (10,195,000) trailing far behind. Zereg had blinded back down to less than 1,000,000 when he got his last chips in with ace-five against Eychenne’s sixes. Eychenne spiked a set on the flop, then improved to a full house on the turn to leave the sharp-dressed Zereg drawing dead and heading to the rail as the first casualty of the final table.
Cesar Garcia then moved all in for 975,000 in the big blind and Suarez called under the gun. Garcia’s ace-jack had Suarez’s ace-ten dominated as both players flopped an ace, but Suarez hit two pair on the river to bust Garcia in eighth. On the next hand, Marc Foggin was all in for 1,800,000 against Brzezinski. Both players showed ace-king and were poised to chop the pot until the turn gave Brzezinski a flush, ending Foggin’s run in cruel fashion.
Suarez was still comfortably in the lead, but one hand changed all that. Heads-up against Ionita on a seven-five-high flop, Suarez bet 275,000 and Ionita called with a pair of fives. The turn paired sevens and Suarez bet another 650,000. Ionita again called and saw a queen fall on the river, where Suarez slid out a massive bet of 2,600,000. Ionita went deep into the tank, burning up five time banks before he called with two pair. Suarez could only show jack-high and handed over the pot, and with it the tournament chip lead for the first time in the day.
Ionita later explained that the size of Suarez’s river bet aroused his suspicion. “I was thinking. he bet very big on the river. If he wanted to represent a seven…he knew I had a weak hand like a five, and if he wanted me to call his value, he would’ve bet smaller. Not that big. His bet was very polarized. I put him on eight-nine, ten-eight, jack-eight, hands like this,” Ionita said.
Ionita’s chip lead didn’t last for long, as Eychenne made trip fives and bet 4,000,000 on the river to get Ionita to fold ace-high. Eychenne, though, was then caught bluffing by Pineda Lozano who called a bet of 850,000 on the river holding just a pair of deuces. Pineda Lozano ended the night with a four-bet jam against Suarez, sending Suarez tumbling down to fifth place.
The action on the final day picks up on Level 33 with blinds of 125,000/250,000 and a 250,000 big blind ante. Levels will again last 30 hands each. Each player has already locked up €291,800 for making it this far, while the champion earns €1,436,000. The final table will be streamed on PokerStars’ YouTube and Twitch channels on a 30-minute delay beginning at 1 p.m.
The EPT began here in Barcelona more than two decades ago, and over the years the EPT Barcelona Main Event has grown into one of the largest and most prestigious tournaments on the poker calendar. Illustrious names such as John Juanda and Stephen Song have lifted this trophy, while new stars such as two-time EPT champ Mikalai Pobal, Sebastian Malec, and Simon Wiciak have been made. Another name will be added to the list of champions tomorrow, and PokerNews will be following all the action until the confetti rains down and the trophy is held aloft.
