button in SafariDario Sammartino Bags Healthy Stack as Bharath Janardhan Tops Main Event Day 1b
The second and final starting flight of the €5,300 Main Event at the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona has wrapped up after another ten levels of poker at Casino Barcelona. Day 1b attracted 1,049 more entries, with 342 players punching their ticket into Day 2.
India's Bharath Janardhan finished with the biggest stack of the flight, bagging 321,000 chips to put himself fourth overall heading into Day 2. Davide Marchi takes second with 303,000, while Oliver Wulf rounds out the Day 1b podium with 294,500. Yurii Zabrodotskyi also finished with a top-five stack of 278,000 and will be looking to go even deeper than his 11th-place finish here in the 2024 EPT Barcelona Main Event.
Further down the counts, Giovanni La Padula bagged a top-ten stack of 248,000 after getting a little help from Lady Luck to send Scott Margereson to the showers just before dinner. PokerStars ambassador Dario Sammartino enjoyed a great day on the felt, bagging 201,500 to take the biggest stack of any PokerStars ambassador into Day 2. A few of those chips came from a four-bet jam preflop, before he rubbed a little salt in the wound by showing his opponent a three.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bharath Janardhan | India | 321,000 | 214 |
| 2 | Davide Marchi | Italy | 303,000 | 202 |
| 3 | Oliver Wulf | Germany | 294,500 | 196 |
| 4 | Bartlomiej Kijak | Poland | 280,500 | 187 |
| 5 | Yurii Zabrodotskyi | Ukraine | 278,000 | 185 |
| 6 | Alan Raymundo | Argentina | 277,500 | 185 |
| 7 | Rene Lehmann | Switzerland | 265,500 | 177 |
| 8 | Hans Bakkelund | Norway | 257,000 | 171 |
| 9 | Giovanni La Padula | Italy | 248,000 | 165 |
| 10 | Ali Abdulzahra | United Kingdom | 232,500 | 155 |
Across the two starting flights, the Main Event has now attracted 1,684 entries, with 535 players already securing their spots in Day 2. The prize pool currently stands at €8,217,750, and that number isn't quite done growing yet, with late registration remaining open until shortly before cards get in the air on Day 2, when the final numbers will be confirmed.
Fellow PokerStars ambassador Marle Spragg (86,000) also made it safely through to Day 2. Defending champion Thomas Eychenne (14,500) found a bag just hours after winning the PokerStars Open High Roller, although he'll have some work to do in his bid to go back-to-back. Former EPT Main Event champions Sebastian Malec (129,500) and Jan Bendik (75,500) are also still in the mix.
Day 1b wasn't quite as kind to everyone, with former EPT Main Event champions Kevin MacPhee, Manig Loeser, and Robin Ylitalo among those unable to find a bag. PokerStars ambassador Sebastian Huber also hit the rail, while Biao Ding, Samuel Ju, Benny Glaser, and Rania Nasreddine were some of the other familiar faces whose Main Event came to an early end.
Day 2 gets underway at noon local time on Monday, August 24, with the surviving players from both starting flights coming together for the first time. Play resumes at Level 11 with blinds of 1,000/1,500 and a 1,500 big blind ante, with levels increasing to 90 minutes from here on out. Registration closes ten minutes before cards get in the air, with the official prize pool and payouts to be announced shortly after play begins.
Remaining €5,300 Main Event Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 2 to bring you all the action from Casino Barcelona as the field moves towards the money.