€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day 5 Completed
2019 PokerStars.es EPT Barcelona
€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 5
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 PokerStars.es EPT Barcelona
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€9,641,800
Entries
1,988
Level
35
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
The final table for the 2019 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event is set! The penultimate day saw a field of 16 out of a record-breaking field of 1,988 being reduced to its final six. It took the span of two full levels before the first player of the day was eliminated, and ultimately just shy of five full levels to bag up for the day.
For each of the six remaining finalists, their dream run has already resulted in a gigantic slice of at least €295,520 out of the €9,641,800 prize pool. However, the ultimate prize awaits on Sunday, September 1, when cards go back into the air at noon and a life-changing amount of €1,659,000 awaits the eventual champion.
Coming in with the most chips is Sweden's Simon Brandstrom, who will start off with a stack of 18,500,000 — or 74 big blinds. The 37-year old Brandstrom, who played as Simon Persson until 2016 before taking on his wife's last name, will smash his previous best score of €187,880 and surpass his $1M in lifetime winnings according to The Hendon Mob.
Following Brandstrom in the counts is Marton Czuczor from Hungary, who will bring 14,445,000 into the final day. The final table is rounded out by Day 4 chip leader and PokerStars online qualifier Rui Sousa (9,100,000) from Portugal, Brazil's Diego Falcone (8,600,000) and the two short stacks, China's Yunye Lu (4,500,000) and Giovani Torre (4,450,000), making it two Portuguese players left with a chance at the title.
Poker veteran Johan Storakers, who's been cashing poker tournaments since 1998, narrowly missed out on the final day, finishing in seventh for €226,490. Others to final table but miss out on top six were Pasquale Braco (8th - €159,580) and Kully Sidhu (9th - €121,760). Alexander Ivarsson, roommates with Brandstrom here at the EPT, won the €2,200 EPT National High Roller earlier this week for nearly €500k and added €101,820 for his tenth-place finish. Well-known American poker pro Shannon Shorr made his exit in 15th place (€81,130).
2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event Final Table Seating and Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rui Sousa | Portugal | 9,100,000 | 36 |
| 2 | Giovani Torre | Portugal | 4,450,000 | 18 |
| 3 | Simon Brandstrom | Sweden | 18,500,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Yunye Lu | China | 4,500,000 | 18 |
| 5 | Marton Czuczor | Hungary | 14,450,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Diego Falcone | Brazil | 8,600,000 | 34 |
*Big Blinds based on 125,000/250,000 with a big blind ante of 250,000
Brandstrom Catapults from Short Stack to Top
Brandstrom started the day off in the bottom part of the standings and remained there during the first few levels of the day, even dropping to dead last after the second level. The Swede then started his journey from rags to riches by winning aces versus Shannon Shorr's queens before taking down his right-hand neighbor Balakrishna Patur to become a force.
Patur, certainly one not to shy away from a bold bluff, held the chip lead early in the day but lost it after losing two big pots in a row against Brandstrom. After the third break, Brandstrom finished what he started and laid a trap for Patur with pocket aces, one that proved fatal for the American playing in his first EPT.
With his newfound chips, Brandstrom began the final table as the chipleader after his roommate and fellow Swede Ivarsson bubbled the final table. After using his lead to chip up a bit, he then felted fellow countryman Storakers with ace-ten versus queens in what would be the final hand of the night. An ace flopped to end it for Storakers and give Brandstrom a sizable lead into the biggest final table of his career.
Czuczor Gets Second Shot at EPT Glory
While Brandstorm had to work the short stack for quite a while, Czuczor amassed the lead at the other table during the second level of the day after Jiayuan Liu ran a daring bluff that came up short. Liu subsequently busted out in 14th place shortly after.
With the massive double-up, the 29-year old professional from Budapest, Hungary, started wielding his big stack as a sledgehammer, ultimately pounding his way to second place on the leaderboard. Czuczor will get a rare second shot at an EPT Main Event title after finishing second to Jasper Meijer van Putten in the EPT13 Prague Main Event.
Czuczor has both the stack and the experience to go all the way this time. Just three months ago, Czuczor finished third in a €25K High Roller at the EPT Monte Carlo, and with a decade of experience to look back to the Hungarian will be among the favorites to capture his long-awaited first EPT-title.
Portugal Brings Two, Lu and Falcone Round it Out
Portugal will have two irons in the fire when action resumes as both Rui Sousa and Giovani Torre are representing the Bandeira das Quinas. Sousa started the penultimate day as the chip leader and scored a double knockout at the final table to launch himself back up the leaderboard, while Torre will begin as one of the two shortest stacks. Portugal has had two previous EPT Champions but it's been 10 years since the last one — Antonio Matias — was crowned.
The final table is rounded out by Yunye Lu, a 41-year old investment analyst and former professional poker player from China (now residing in Hong Kong), and Diego Falcone. Just 21 years of age, the Brazilian has a Spanish grandfather and resides in Malaga, Spain. Falcone is passionate about the game, splitting his time between grinding online in Brazil and playing live in Spain, and can claim the glory if he's to top the biggest EPT Main Event of all time.
All six finalists will be back at noon in Casino Barcelona to play the remaining 45 seconds of Level 32. The blinds will then move up to 100,000/250,000 with a 250,000 big blind ante. Make sure to come back to PokerNews and not miss any of the action as the 2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event champion will be crowned!
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
The remaining six players have bagged and tagged their chips. They will return tomorrow at 12 p.m. noon local time to play down to a champion.
A full recap of today's action is to follow.
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rui Sousa | Portugal | 9,100,000 | 36 |
| 2 | Giovani Torre | Portugal | 4,450,000 | 18 |
| 3 | Simon Brandstrom | Sweden | 18,500,000 | 74 |
| 4 | Yunye Lu | China | 4,500,000 | 18 |
| 5 | Marton Czuczor | Hungary | 14,450,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Diego Falcone | Brazil | 8,600,000 | 34 |
*Big Blinds based on 125,000/250,000 with a big blind ante of 250,000
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
18,500,000 | |
|
||
|
14,450,000
-400,000
|
-400,000 |
|
9,100,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
8,600,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
|
4,500,000 | |
|
4,450,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Simon Brandstrom raised to 425,000 from the cutoff and Johan Storakers shoved from the small blind for 1,300,000. Diego Falcone folded his big blind instantly.
Johan Storakers: 
Simon Brandstrom: 
The flop came 
for Brandstrom to hit top pair to leap ahead of Storakers.
The turn was the 
which now gave Storakers some extra outs as he picked up the flush draw.
The river was the 
to not help Storakers at all as he was eliminated in seventh place for €226,490 to bring an end to the day as the final six players get to bag up their chips for the final day.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
18,500,000
1,210,000
|
1,210,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Simon Brandstrom found 
on the button and raised to 400,000. Yunye Lu shoved in the small blind for 1,950,000. Johan Storakers asked for a count and then quickly decided to shove too for 3,250,000. Brandstrom got out of their way immediately.
Yunye Lu: 
Johan Storakers: 
The flop came 
for Lu to hit two pair but still be behind against Storakers.
The turn was the 
to not change things as Lu still needed another deuce or ace to stay alive.
The river completed the board with the for Lu to find the out he needed to double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,500,000
2,550,000
|
2,550,000 |
|
|
1,300,000
-2,150,000
|
-2,150,000 |
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Diego Falcone raised to 450,000 in the hijack with 
and Giovani Torre called on the button with 
, Yunye Lu came along with the 
.
On a flop of 
, Yu checked and Falcone bet 425,000. Torre called and Yu sent his cards into the muck. The 
turn paired the board and Falcone fired a second barrel for 825,000 to win the pot right there.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,640,000
1,630,000
|
1,630,000 |
|
|
4,480,000
-850,000
|
-850,000 |
|
|
1,950,000
-650,000
|
-650,000 |
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Simon Brandstrom made it 450,000 to go with the 
and Giovani Torre called in the big blind with 
. On a 
flop, Torre checked and Brandstrom claimed the pot with a continuation bet of 400,000.
Diego Falcone raised the 
to 450,000 and Brandstrom called with 
in the big blind. The flop brought 
and both players checked to the turn. Brandstrom checked and a bet of 700,000 by Falcone ended the hand right there.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
17,290,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
14,850,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
9,110,000
-1,000,000
|
-1,000,000 |
|
|
7,010,000 | |
|
|
5,330,000
-745,000
|
-745,000 |
|
|
3,450,000 | |
|
|
2,600,000 | |
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Johan Storakers found 
in the cutoff and raised to 655,000. Marton Czuczor picked up on the button and made the call.
The flop came 
for Storakers to hit top pair and pick up the flush draw. Czuczor hit a set of eights. Storakers checked and Czuczor took over the initiative by leading out for 900,000. Storakers made the call.
The turn brought them the 
to pair the board up and for Czuczor to make a full house. They both checked to see the 
complete the board.
Storakers checked for the last time. Czuczor glanced at Storakers' stack and tanked, using a time bank card, before betting 2,500,000. Storakers counted out his stack, cut out calling chips, put them to the side, spread out his time bank cards, used two of them, and then folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,845,000
2,055,000
|
2,055,000 |
|
|
3,450,000
-2,060,000
|
-2,060,000 |
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Yunye Lu shoved from the cutoff for 1,100,000 and Marton Czuczor asked for a count from the small blind. The dealer confirmed the amount and Czuczor glanced at Diego Falcone's stack in the big blind. After a few seconds, Czuczor decided to shove too while Falcone quickly got out of their way.
Yunye Lu: 
Marton Czuczor:
The flop came for Czuczor to hit top two pair but it also gave Lu a flush draw.
The turn was the to give Lu the flush indeed but he still had to avoid another ace or jack on the river as it would give Czuczor a full house.
The river completed the board with the to not change things as Lu doubled up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
12,790,000
-1,750,000
|
-1,750,000 |
|
|
2,600,000
1,400,000
|
1,400,000 |
Level 32
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante