Nasreddine Among the Chip Leaders After Day 2 of EPT Barcelona Main Event
Following four 90-minute levels of play Tuesday, the bubble now awaits 293 survivors from Day 2 of the PokerStars EPT Barcelona Main Event.
Leading the field into Day 3 will be Kian Kiani, who bagged 775,000 chips, but not far behind him is Hans Erlandsson with 720,000 and Javey Timmer with 692,000 to round out the top three.
One very notable name ending the day in the top ten was EPT Monte Carlo Main Event third place finisher Rania Nasreddine who finished the day with 609,000 chips, good enough for seventh place entering Day 3.
Nasreddine entered the day in the top 20 and quickly began building her stack, continually adding to it throughout, eliminating multiple opponents along the way.
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kian Kiani | United Kingdom | 775,000 | 193 |
| 2 | Hans Erlandsson | Sweden | 720,000 | 180 |
| 3 | Javey Timmer | Netherlands | 692,000 | 173 |
| 4 | Ahmed Karrim | South Africa | 664,000 | 166 |
| 5 | Malcolm Franchi | France | 637,000 | 159 |
| 6 | Raoul Kanme | Netherlands | 633,000 | 158 |
| 7 | Rania Nasreddine | United States | 609,000 | 152 |
| 8 | Nicolas Julien | France | 550,000 | 137 |
| 9 | Claudio Di Giacomo | Italy | 546,000 | 136 |
| 10 | Mark Teltscher | United Kingdom | 519,000 | 129 |
What They’re Playing For
Including an additional 85 last-minute registrants before Day 2 began, a field of 713 players started the day from a final total of 1,975 entries, the fourth largest EPT Main Event in the tour’s illustrious 20-year history.
From that total, a prize pool of €9,578,750 was announced with a €1,512,000 first prize going to the champion on Sunday, September 8. When the bubble bursts on Wednesday, the final 287 players are guaranteed a min-cash of €8,700.
Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,512,000 | 10-11 | €107,450 | 40-55 | €23,350 |
| 2 | €944,000 | 12-13 | €89,550 | 56-71 | €20,300 |
| 3 | €674,150 | 14-15 | €74,600 | 72-95 | €17,600 |
| 4 | €518,600 | 16-17 | €62,150 | 96-119 | €15,350 |
| 5 | €398,950 | 18-20 | €51,800 | 120-143 | €13,300 |
| 6 | €306,900 | 21-23 | €43,200 | 144-183 | €11,600 |
| 7 | €236,100 | 24-27 | €36,000 | 184-223 | €10,050 |
| 8 | €181,600 | 28-31 | €30,950 | 224-287 | €8,700 |
| 9 | €139,750 | 32-39 | €26,900 |
Day 2 Action
Chip leader Kiani made moves up the chip counts right from the start of the day, first unceremoniously eliminating Thierry Van den Berg with an ace on the river versus Van den Berg’s kings, then flopping the nuts in a huge three-way pot and holding on to move near the chip lead midway through the day.
He continued to increase his stack until the end of the day to claim his place atop the counts.
Other notables advancing to Day 3 include defending champion and PokerStars Ambassador Simon Wiciak (400,000), EPT commentator Griffin Benger (345,000), PokerStars Ambassador Ramon Colillas (268,000), 2023 EPT Barcelona Main Event champ Tom Middleton (213,000), PokerStars Ambassador Parker Talbot (99,000) and Hall of Famer Erik Seidel (65,000). Start of day chip leader Jeremie Zouari had a rough day and finished with just 39,000.
GPI award-winning vlogger “Wolfgang Poker” Alexander Seibt was among those to max-late-reg and he successfully spun up a healthy stack of 147,000, thanks in part to flopping the nuts in a big hand in the second half of the day.
Plenty of big names were also eliminated along the way Tuesday. PokerStars Ambassadors Andre Akkari, Maria Konnikova, Benjamin Spragg, and Jen Shahade were among the day’s early eliminations with Shehade going out in particularly nasty fashion.
Rafael Moraes and Kenny Hallaert got through more of the day, but they also failed earn a seat on Day 3.
Patrik Antonius, Olga Iermolcheva, Noah Boeken, Dzmitry Urbanovich, and Justin Saliba were some of the other notables to fall in the first level of the day.
Others who were eliminated during the day include Former EPT champions Mike Watson, Davidi Kitai, Robin Ylitalo, and Arsenii Karmatckii. Maria Ho, Calvin Anderson, Sam Greenwood, and Benny Glaser were also among those who couldn't quite make it to Day 3.
Next Up, the Money
Next up is Day 3, beginning at noon local time on Wednesday, when the bubble will burst and the remaining field will be thinned significantly. Keep your browsers locked right here for continuing coverage from the PokerNews live reporting team along with streamed coverage as well until a champion is crowned.