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.
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.
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
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.
Stay closer than ever to the action with MyPlayers. This brand new, free feature on PokerNews puts your favorite poker players front and center. Whether you're keeping tabs on poker's biggest stars or following a friend grinding their way through a Day 2, MyPlayers delivers real-time updates tailored just for you.
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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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