Robbie Bull raised to 300 from under the gun, which received calls from Vahe Martirosyan one seat to his left, Jan Bendik on the button and Simon Lofberg in the big blind.
The action checked to Bendik on an 8♣9♠J♥ flop, who bet 1,200. Lofberg quickly folded, but Bull responded with a check-raise to 2,500. Martirosyan folded after some consideration, and Bendik followed suit, surrendering the pot to Bull.
Renzo Pedrotti raised to 300 from the cutoff and Arthur Gouriten three-bet from the small blind to 1,700. Pedrotti opted to four-bet to 4,100, which Gouriten called.
Gouriten checked the 2♣J♣9♦ flop, then quickly folded when Pedrotti fired for 7,000.
Robbie Bull raised to 300 in the hijack, which Vahe Martirosyan called in the cutoff and Jan Bendik called in the big blind.
The action checked to Martirosyan on a 5♦4♣Q♥ flop, who bet 1,200. Bendik then check-raised to 1,200, which removed Bull from the equation, but Martirosyan called.
Bendik continued for 1,500 on the 7♠ turn, which Martirosyan called before the J♠ river checked through.
Bendik flipped over 6♠5♥, which was no good when Martirosyan tabled 8♠8♣.
With about 14,000 in the pot on a completed board of 5♦9♦3♥K♥7♠, Pavel Timofeev bet just over the pot for 15,000 from the big blind, sending Mikhail Nikolaev into the tank.
Nikolaev, who was seated in early position, thought for quite some time before making the call.
Timofeev revealed 9♠9♥ for a flopped set to drag in the pot, sending Nikolaev's stack down to less than half of what he started with.
Gerard Rubiralta raised to 300 from the hijack and Zeljko Tokic called in the cutoff. Malcolm Franchi squeezed to 1,700 from the small blind, and Anderson De Carvalho cold-called from the big blind. Rubiralta also called, while Tokic got out of the way.
The A♦9♦2♦ flop checked around to Rubiralta, who bet 1,600. Franchi and De Carvalho both called.
The action checked to Rubiralta again on the 2♥ turn, and he fired a second barrel of 6,500. This time, only Franchi stuck around with a call.
Both players checked the 9♠ river and Franchi tabled A♣K♣ for top pair to take down the pot.
Arturo Sola raised to 300 from the hijack, which only Paul Lagan called from the small blind.
Lagan check-called a bet of 500 on a monotone Q♥2♥K♥ flop before leading out on the 6♦ turn for 1,100, which Sola called.
The 9♣ completed the board, and Lagan bet 2,500. This time, Sola quickly released his cards to the dealer.
Cards are in the air and play has started on Day 1b of the €5,300 Main Event.
Level: 1
Blinds: 100/100
Ante: 100
With the first starting flight of the €5,300 Main Event at the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona now done and dusted, attention inside Casino Barcelona turns to the second and final starting flight, kicking off at noon local time.
Yesterday’s opening flight drew a field of 635 entries, generating a prize pool of €3,079,750, with 193 of those players advancing to Day 2 after navigating ten levels of play.
When those entering today look back at yesterday’s Day 1a flight for inspiration, they will see Michael Dwyer atop the leaderboard. The Irishman bagged twelve starting stacks to end the day with 357,000, finishing just clear of Matteo Cecchetti (345,000) and Mark Teltscher (324,000), who were the only other two players to clear the 300,000 chip mark by the end of play.
| 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 |
Day 1b will mirror the structure used for the opening flight, with players starting with 30,000 chips and working through ten 60-minute levels. Blinds begin at 100/100, with a 100 big blind ante, and a short break is scheduled at the end of every two levels. A 75-minute dinner break will take place after Level 6, around 6:40 p.m. local time.
Late registration will remain open throughout Day 1b and will close at the start of Day 2. However, each player is allowed just two entries in total across the entire EPT Main Event, including Day 1a and Day 2.
| Level | Small Blind | Big Blind | Big Blind Ante | Duration (Min) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 60 |
| 2 | 100 | 200 | 200 | 60 |
| Break | 20 | |||
| 3 | 100 | 300 | 300 | 60 |
| 4 | 200 | 400 | 400 | 60 |
| Break | 20 | |||
| 5 | 200 | 500 | 500 | 60 |
| 6 | 300 | 600 | 600 | 60 |
| Dinner Break | 75 | |||
| 7 | 400 | 800 | 800 | 60 |
| 8 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 60 |
| Break | 20 | |||
| 9 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 60 |
| 10 | 600 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 60 |
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Stay tuned to PokerNews, where you will find live coverage of all the major moments until an EPT Barcelona Main Event Champion is crowned.
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