Arriving on the 9♣6♠6♥ flop in a pot of 175,000, Axel Hilmisson bet 50,000 from early position. Xiaosheng Zheng then raised all in from the next seat over, and Hilmisson snap-called for his stack of 170,000.
Axel Hilmisson: K♠K♦
Xiaosheng Zheng: J♥J♣
Zheng was in dire shape against Hilmisson's kings. The 5♥ turn was of no help, but the J♠ river saw Zheng hit a set to eliminate his opponent. Hilmisson took the bad beat in stride and calmly exited the table.
The action was picked up with roughly 50,000 already in the pot, and a 2♥5♦10♦ flop face up on the felt.
After a series of bets, middle-position player Tuan Tran manoeuvred his stack of 178,000 into the middle, and the early-position raiser Miguel Gurrea called.
Tuan Tran: 5♥5♣
Miguel Gurrea: J♠J♣
Tran had flopped a set to take the lead, and when the 3♠ and 4♣ completed the board, Gurrea slid a large percentage of his stack one seat to his left and was left with just a few big blinds.
Arnaud Enselme open-raised in middle position, after which Josep Ruiz three-bet to 33,000 in the cutoff. Enselme then four-bet to 85,000 and quickly called off his stack of 328,000 when Ruiz moved all in.
Arnaud Enselme: K♥K♦
Josep Ruiz: Q♠Q♦
Enselme found a third king on the K♠7♣6♦ flop. Ruiz's hopes of runner-runner quads were dashed on the 2♠ turn, and the irrelevant 4♦ river completed the board as Ruiz cut out the required chips from his stack.
Meanwhile, Rui Bouquet was eliminated at another table, with his last chips being added to Aaron Mermelstein's stack.
After Davide Marchi raised in the cutoff, Fabiano Kovalski moved all-in for 90,000 from the big blind, and Marchi called, looking to reduce the field by one.
Fabiano Kovalski: A♣7♠
Davide Marchi: A♥Q♥
The deck came to the rescue for Kovalski, as the A♠7♣9♦ flop saw him flip the script. The K♠ turn and 6♣ river offered no relief for Marchi, ensuring Kovalski kept his seat in the Main Event.
Sarah Jarry had open-raised in the cutoff when Ezequiel Kleinman three-bet to 35,000 on the button. Jarry responded with a four-bet to 110,000, which Kleinman called after some deliberation.
Jarry then checked the 3♠3♥7♥ flop to Kleinman, who bet 63,000, around a third of his remaining chips. Jarry quickly moved all in, and Kleinman called for his tournament life.
Ezequiel Kleinman: J♥J♦
Sarah Jarry: A♥K♥
Jarry's flush draw completed on the 5♥ turn, and Kleinman did not find a full house on the 4♠ river. Kleinman was sent to the exit while Jarry's stack eclipsed the seven-figure mark.
Tugce Hallner limped under the gun and Aleksander Da Silva Boski called on the button. Tommaso Briotti completed from the small blind and Claudia Bueno checked her option in the big blind.
After Briotti checked, Bueno bet 15,000 on the 10♠9♥7♠ flop, which only Hallner called.
A bet of 20,000 came from Bueno on the Q♣ turn, and it was met by an instant shove for 110,000 from Hallner. Bueno called and the players flipped their cards.
Tugce Hallner: Q♦J♦
Claudia Bueno: 10♦9♦
Bueno had two pair against the top pair and straight draw of Hallner.
The A♣ river was a brick, and Hallner wished the table good luck as she exited the tournament area.
Anton Wigg committed his last 15,000 in early position. Nicholas Palma had around 35,000 in front of him and reshoved in the cutoff. Big blind Mihai Tabac had both covered and called.
Anton Wigg: Qx9x
Nicholas Palma: 5♥5♦
Mihai Tabac: K♠Q♠
"This is just what we need," Palma declared as he rooted for the board to brick on the A♦A♠J♥ flop and 6♥ turn.
The river came the 6♦, however. It double-paired the board, counterfeiting Palma's fives and giving the victory to Tabac's king kicker.
A big pot worth 250,000 was in the middle between Xiaosheng Zheng in early position and Anton Wigg in the cutoff, along with a 3♥9♠4♦7♠5♣ board. Zheng bet 100,000, leaving only 88,000 behind.
Wigg then moved all in, covering his opponent by about three big blinds. Zheng snapped off the bet, revealing 9♥9♣ for top set. Wigg could only show ace-high with A♥K♣, doubling up Zheng and leaving Wigg in critical condition.
Day 3 of the €5,300 Main Event at the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona gets underway today at 12 p.m. local time inside Casino Barcelona, with the bubble now behind everyone and all remaining players having locked up at least €9,900 from the €8,841,550 prize pool.
The ultimate target, however, remains the €1,370,050 top prize and the coveted Golden Shard trophy, with Poland's Grzegorz Kozieja beginning the day in pole position. The Polish professional was the only one to cross the seven-figure mark on Day 2, bagging 1,040,000 to return with 208 big blinds.
Next in line behind Kozieja are France's Sarah Jarry with 926,000 to play with and Gabin Henrion on 805,000, who round out the podium positions. Spain's Josep Ruiz sits fourth with 673,000, while Miroslav Rizov takes fifth with 645,000.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Grzegorz Kozieja
Poland
1,040,000
208
2
Sarah Jarry
France
926,000
185
3
Gabin Henrion
France
805,000
161
4
Josep Ruiz
Spain
673,000
135
5
Miroslav Rizov
Bulgaria
645,000
129
6
Pasi Laihinen
Finland
641,000
128
7
Jonas ten Cate
Netherlands
637,000
127
8
Raffael Pereira
Brazil
627,000
125
9
Vinicius Camargo
Brazil
602,000
120
10
Duncan Cameron
Australia
599,000
120
John Juanda
Seven former EPT Main Event champions remain among those hoping to chase down Kozieja, with Mark Teltscher (502,000) best placed among them. Sebastian Malec (488,000) and Anton Wigg (404,000) are also well positioned, while Simon Wiciak (336,000), 2015 EPT Barcelona champion John Juanda (226,000), and Barny Boatman (206,000) will also be back in action.
Elsewhere, Joris Ruijs brings 512,000 into the day, with Alexandre Reard (468,000), Michel Molenaar (424,000), Brock Wilson (415,000), Nacho Barbero (404,000), Parker Talbot (343,000), Matas Cimbolas (291,000), and Mathew Frankland (36,000) among the other familiar faces still chasing the title.
Nacho Barbero
Day 3 gets underway at noon local time, with play starting on Level 16 with blinds of 2,000/5,000 and a 5,000 big blind ante. Levels will continue to run for 90 minutes, with five currently on the schedule for the day and a 75-minute dinner break set to take place after Level 19, although the schedule is subject to change depending on how the day unfolds.
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.
No subscriptions, no paywalls, just the hands, chip counts, and bustouts that matter most. It’s simple: log in, search for any player in our live coverage, hit the star, and they’ll be added to your personalized MyPlayers list. You’ll see their progress across all live-reported events, with chip counts and updates pinned right where you need them at the top.
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For those who can't make it down to the venue, the action will also be streamed on a delay on the PokerStars YouTube channel. Of course, the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor from the first hand to bring you all the action throughout Day 3.
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