button in SafariIreland's Michael Dwyer Bags Day 1a Chip Lead in EPT Barcelona Main Event
The first flight of the €5,300 Main Event at the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona is in the books after a busy day at Casino Barcelona. A total of 635 entries hit the felt for Day 1a, and after ten one-hour levels of play, 193 of them were still standing and able to put chips in a bag for Day 2.
Sitting on top of the pile at the end of it all was Ireland's Michael Dwyer, who bagged up 363,500. Dwyer was already one of the biggest stacks late in the night before rivering two pair to crack Jakob Karlsson's cowboys in a huge pot during the final level, sending him soaring to the top of the counts.
Italy's Matteo Cecchetti finished second with 345,000, while 2005 EPT London champion Mark Teltscher showed he's still got it by rounding out the podium positions with 324,000. Today's entries have already pushed the prize pool to €3,079,750, and there's plenty of room for that number to grow with Day 1b still to come and registration remaining open until the start of Day 2.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Dwyer | Ireland | 363,500 | 303 |
| 2 | Matteo Cecchetti | Italy | 345,000 | 288 |
| 3 | Mark Teltscher | United Kingdom | 324,000 | 270 |
| 4 | Andrija Cvetkovic | Croatia | 287,500 | 240 |
| 5 | Eros Calderone | Italy | 282,000 | 235 |
| 6 | Vito Recchimurzo | Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 262,500 | 219 |
| 7 | Ivo Colaco | Portugal | 260,500 | 217 |
| 8 | Eduardo Escada | Brazil | 251,500 | 210 |
| 9 | Jose Criado | Spain | 224,500 | 187 |
| 10 | Remi Derossi | France | 223,000 | 186 |
Almost cracking the top ten was the United Kingdom's Matthew Frankland, who bagged 200,500 after recovering from a rocky start. Frankland tripled up just before dinner and came back firing on all cylinders, first rivering a flush to send Alexander Yen to the rail before his queens held to bust Seunghyuk Jung in the penultimate level. This year's EPT Paris Open High Roller champion, who took home almost half a million for that victory, has put himself in a good spot for another deep EPT run.
Other big names to navigate their way through to Day 2 include Romain Locquet (200,500), Nicholas Seward (141,000), Arian Kashani (136,500), and 2010 EPT Copenhagen Main Event winner Anton Wigg (131,000). Mihai Niste (126,500), 2024 EPT Paris Main Event champion Barny Boatman (125,500), and PokerStars ambassador Maria Konnikova (109,000) also found bags.
Former EPT Main Event champions Nicolas Chouity (106,500), Tomasz Brzezinski (105,500), Simon Wiciak (97,500), and Simon Brandstrom (60,000) will also return for Day 2 looking for a second title, while Benjamin Spragg (93,500) joins Konnikova as the other PokerStars ambassador to make it through Day 1a, having more than tripled his starting stack.
Attention now shifts to Day 1b, the final starting flight, which gets underway at noon local time on Sunday, August 23, and follows the exact same structure as the opening flight. It will be the last chance to build a stack beyond the initial 30,000, as late registration closes when the first card is dealt on Day 2.
Remaining €5,300 Main Event Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 23 | Day 1b | 12 p.m. | 60 minutes |
| August 24 | Day 2 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| August 25 | Day 3 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| August 26 | Day 4 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| August 27 | Day 5 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| August 28 | Day 6 | 12 p.m. | 90 minutes |
| August 29 | Day 7 | 12:30 p.m. | 90 minutes |
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as the live reporting team returns for Day 1b to bring you all the action from the moment cards get in the air at Casino Barcelona.