button in SafariCardoso and Dalfo Dominate Day 1c as Barbero Takes Overall Lead on 1d
While all eyes were on Day 1c of the World Series of Poker Circuit Madrid Main Event at Casino Gran Vía, the tournament's fourth and final flight was also taking place, featuring shorter levels. However, with the bubble lasting longer than expected on Day 1c, Day 1d flew under the radar, eventually wrapping up with 23 players remaining out of 147 entries, led by none other than Nacho Barbero.
The WSOP bracelet winner arrived late today, but that was more than enough to bag a massive 1,500,000, the largest stack among all 140 players who qualified for Day 2. Day 1c chip leader Joao Cardoso Novais wasn't even close with 980,000, despite clearly holding the biggest stack of the field during the final levels.
At the end of 1c, Ladislao Dalfo Batlle (841,000) and Jack Nathan (751,000) weren't too far behind. Lazaro also closed the gap by cracking pocket jacks to burst the bubble and secure his place in Day 2 with 785,000.
Day 1c recorded 371 entries, bringing the overall field to a final total of 918 entries. This generated a €1,164,942 prize pool, which will be distributed among the players remaining on Day 2.
Day 1c Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joao Cardoso Novais | Portugal | 980,000 | 82 |
| 2 | Ladislao Dalfo Batlle | Spain | 841,000 | 70 |
| 3 | Rene Lazaro Cifuentes | Spain | 785,000 | 65 |
| 4 | Jack Nathan | United States | 751,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Yoel Ramirez Pulido | Spain | 716,000 | 60 |
| 6 | Hans Rasmussen | Sweden | 714,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Jorge Paredes Andia | Spain | 712,000 | 59 |
| 8 | Cristobal Ochoa Aguilera | Venezuela | 664,000 | 55 |
| 9 | David Sacksick | France | 522,000 | 44 |
| 10 | Vasileios Panagiotidis | Greece | 512,000 | 43 |
Among the 56 players who qualified through 1c, Jorge Paredes Andia (712,000), Cristobal Ochoa Aguilera (664,000) and David Sacksick (522,000) built big stacks. High Roller winner Pierre Calamusa also had a successful day, more than doubling his stack during the bubble before doubling Alejandro Vazquez up to finish with 434,000.
Kyle Julius's first trip to Madrid started pretty well with 429,000 in the bag. He is followed by Day 1b bubble boy Ignacio Sole (384,000), Polyvios Polykarpou (377,000), Zheng Yang (303,000) and Fausto Munz (284,000), who doubled up on the bubble.
Norberto Lopez Rodriguez (179,000), Wouter van Efferen (161,000), Nicholas Petitti (140,000), Aliaksandr Shylko (106,000) and WSOP bracelet winner Magnus Edengren (81,000) have shorter stacks, while Alistair Hill (56,000) and Ahmet Kalebas (15,000) sit at the end of the counts.
Quite a few notable players added their names to the list of qualifiers after Day 1d, including Ignacio Molina, who sits second in chips behind Barbero with 711,000. WSOP Europe Main Event finalist Antonio Guimaraens (601,000) follows, alongside Thomas Taylor (402,000), Serafim Kovalevskiy (204,000) and Arnaud Enselme (176,000).
All 140 remaining players will return this Saturday, October 31 at 12:30 p.m. local time for Day 2, playing 60-minute levels with blinds resuming at 5,000/10,000 and a 10,000 big blind ante. They are all now in the money, but the detailed prize pool distribution will be revealed at the restart. The goal for the day will be to reduce the field to eight players, who will return on Sunday to play the final table.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow following all the action from Day 2, so be sure to tune in for updates!