button in Safari"Super Happy" Grzegorz Kozieja Takes Chip Lead Into Day 3 of EPT Barcelona Main Event
When play resumed earlier today for Day 2 of the €5,300 Main Event at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona, there was plenty to be excited about. With late registration closing shortly before play got underway, the final prize pool was still to be announced, the first-place prize was waiting to be revealed, and the bubble was set to burst inside Casino Barcelona.
A total of 535 players returned having successfully navigated their opening flight, and were joined by 139 late entrants, bringing the starting field to 674.
Overall, the 1,823 entries created a prize pool of €8,841,550, to be shared among the top 271 finishers. A minimum payout of €8,600 was guaranteed for each player who survived the bubble, while €1,370,050 awaits the winner, along with the coveted Golden Shard trophy.
Leading the way, and closest to that seven-figure score, Grzegorz Kozieja steered clear of the limelight throughout the day. However, as the tournament neared the bubble, he found the perfect spot to surge towards the chip lead and never looked back.
"It was pretty steady overall, like no big spots, but then I coolered someone. I flopped a set of tens, 60 big blinds effective; he check-raised all-in. So that was a massive pot, ten from the bubble. Aside from that, happy sailing.", Kozieja shared with PokerNews after bagging his chips. Upon learning he had finished the day as frontrunner, Kozieja was "Super happy" to get the news.
Kozieja was the only player to cross the seven-figure mark, and will return with a stack of 1,040,000, good for 208 big blinds when play resumes.
Closest to the chip leader, Sarah Jarry and Yves Henrion are flying the flag for France at the top of the counts, with Jarry bagging 926,000 and Henrion 805,000.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grzegorz Kozieja | Poland | 1,040,000 | 260 |
| 2 | Sarah Jarry | France | 926,000 | 232 |
| 3 | Yves Henrion | France | 805,000 | 201 |
| 4 | Josep Ruiz | Spain | 673,000 | 168 |
| 5 | Miroslav Rizov | Bulgaria | 645,000 | 161 |
| 6 | Pasi Laihinen | Finland | 641,000 | 160 |
| 7 | Jonas ten Cate | Netherlands | 637,000 | 159 |
| 8 | Raffael Pereira | Brazil | 627,000 | 157 |
| 9 | Vinicius Camargo | Brazil | 602,000 | 151 |
| 10 | Duncan Cameron | Australia | 599,000 | 150 |
Further down the chip counts, five previous EPT Main Event winners remain in contention, as Mark Teltscher (502,000), Sebastian Malec (488,000), Anton Wigg (404,000), Simon Wiciak (336,000), John Juanda (226,000), Barny Boatman (206,000), and Nicolas Chouity (181,000) each found safe passage to Day 3.
Other notables still in the field include Joris Ruijs (512,000), Alexandre Reard (468,000), Michel Molenaar (424,000), Brock Wilson (415,000), Nacho Barbero (404,000), Parker Talbot (343,000), Dean Hutchison (175,000), Romain Lewis (96,000), and Mathew Frankland (36,000).
Day 1a and Day 1b chip leaders Bharath Janardhan (359,000) and Michael Dwyer (273,000) also punched their tickets to Day 3.
Day 2 Action
Felix Schneiders got the ball rolling on Day 2, finding himself all in and at risk shortly after play began. The German had started the day on the feature table with the shortest stack in the room, but also had the loudest rail behind him. Unfortunately for Schneiders, despite his support, he was eliminated shortly after play began, and his early exit set the tone for what was to come.
By the first break, 170 more players had hit the rail. Among them, Jan Bendik, Dimitar Danchev, Kenny Hallaert, Brandon Wilson, Chris Hunichen and Roberto Romanello all saw their latest charge at an EPT Main Event fall flat.
When play resumed after the break, the tournament immediately lost its reigning champion. Thomas Eychenne had already won the PS Open High Roller for €589,395 earlier this week and was looking to make it two trophies in Barcelona. Alas, his title defence came to an abrupt end as he was the first player eliminated after the restart.
As the field powered towards the bubble, many more notables fell along the way. EPT Main Event champions Tomasz Brzezinski and Simon Brandstrom, Hall of Fame inductee Erik Seidel, online powerhouses Jerry Odeen and Alisson Piekazewicz, back-to-back EPT Main Event final tablist Rania Nasreddine, and Team PokerStars Pro member Marle Spragg all fell foul of the deck.
The Bubble
It didn't take long for the bubble to burst once hand-for-hand play began, but before it did, three other players had found themselves all-in and at risk, but held on to survive.
The next player to try his luck at surviving wasn't quite as fortunate. Left with just a couple of big blinds, Mohamed Zazri moved all-in with a pocket pair. Once the action on all the other tables was complete, the hands were revealed; Zazri's table was engulfed by a swarm of cameras, reporters, tournament officials, and, of course, opponents who had come to watch, hopefully, the demise of a fellow player.
As the runout was shared over the PA system, allowing everyone away from the table to follow the action, it looked as though Zazri was heading for a double-up. However, his opponent improved on the river to make the better hand, bursting the bubble and sending Zazri empty-handed to the rail.
A flurry of eliminations followed inside the money, as Maria Konnikova, Gilles Simon, Tobias Peters, Nicholas Seward, Dario Sammartino, Andras Nemeth, and Benjamin Spragg all fell before the day concluded.
The remaining players have now advanced to Day 3, which will get underway at 12 p.m. local time on Tuesday, August 25. Play will resume on Level 16, with blinds of 2,000/5,000 and a 5,000 big blind ante.
The schedule is set for a further five 90-minute levels, although that is subject to change. Once play concludes, those still in contention will bag their chips and return for Day 4.
Remaining €5,300 Main Event Schedule
| Date | Day | Time | Blind Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Keep it locked in to PokerNews as we bring you all the action as it happens until a 2026 EPT Barcelona Main Event champion is crowned.