2am: Pratyush Buddiga wins €25K Single Day High Roller

What a day’s poker. A total of 162 players entered this tournament (138 unique entries) as yet another record was broken in Barcelona. After almost 15 hours of poker it’s Pratyush Buddiga who’s emerged victorious and earned €690,275 for a single day’s work.

A decent day for Buddiga

A quirk of the modern poker tournament is that he didn’t quite get the largest slice of the prize pool. A three-way deal between David Yan, Adrey Shatilov and Buddiga when Yan had a slight chip lead meant that the New Zealander picked up €704,755 and Shatilov €606,020.

Yan’s scored the biggest cash of his career

Sometimes deals leave money on the table to play for but these three weren’t interested in that. Instead they decided to flip for the trophy and it took two all-in flips for Buddiga to be the last man standing. He outlasted a talented final table that also included Tobias Reinkemeier and Steve O’Dwyer.

Reinkemeier – fourth

O’Dwyer – fifth

Before the final table could be reached there was the small matter of making sure you made the money at all. In all 23 players get a slice of the pie and for a while it looked like Gerard Pique would be amongst them. However he lost the last of his stack to Parker Talbot to bust a few places before the money.

Pique came close to a cash

The last to leave empty handed was Robert Soogea who busted to Dmitry Yurasov. The first out in the money is more used to finishing first these days as Steve O’Dwyer found the magic formula to bust Fedor Holz. Yeah you heard it right, Holz didn’t win this one.

You can’t win them all Fedor

He did cash though and the full results can be seen below. But for now, from Barcelona it’s goodnight.

*Denotes three-way deal

01:25am: Pratyush Buddiga wins €25K Single Day High Roller; David Yan second; Andrey Shatilov third
Level 23 – Blinds: 80,000/160,000 (20,000 ante)

It took two hands of all-in fun to settle this. Every player was all-in blind and on the first hand this is what happened:

Shatilov: 6♥ 5♥
Buddiga: 8♠ 5♠
Yan: K♠ J♦

David Yan was a favourite to end it right here but the J♥ A♠ 9♠ 9♣ 6♠ board meant Buddiga spiked a flush on the river to eliminate Shatilov and leave Yan with just 460,000.

They went in the next hand (of course) with Buddiga holding 9♦ 7♠ and Yan 8♥ 4♥ . The 9♣ 6♣ 9♥ J♦ 10♦ board meant we had a winner and it’s Pratyush Buddiga who’s emerged victorious after nearly 15 hours of poker.

Thanks for reading, a wrap of the days play will appear above shortly. –NW

01:15am: Deal agreed
Level 23 – Blinds: 80,000/160,000 (20,000 ante)

An ICM deal has been agreed and this is what each player will get:

David Yan – €704,755
Pratyush Buddiga – €690,275
Andrey Shatilov – €606,020

The three players have agreed to flip for the trophy, which effectively means that they’ll be going all-in every hand until we have a winner. –NW

01:05am: Deal talk
Level 23 – Blinds: 80,000/160,000 (20,000 ante)

The clock has been paused and the three remaining players are discussing a deal. The original payouts and current chip counts are as below:

1st – € 939,900
2nd – € 636,700
3rd – € 424,450

12:55am: Tobias Reinkemeier eliminated in fourth place (€ 347,650)
Level 23 – Blinds: 80,000/160,000 (20,000 ante)

In the first hand at this new blind level Pratyush Buddiga opened to 325,000 from under-the-gun and action passed to Tobias Reinkemeier in the big blind. He had 1,300,000 total and after thinking it over for around one minute he moved all-in. Buddiga got a count and then called.

Buddiga: A♣ 3♣
Reinkemeier: A♥ 6♠

The J♣ 8♥ 8♦ flop meant that a chop was possible, but the 3♦ turn all but extinguished that and the 4♦ river kept Buddiga in front. –NW

Reinkemeier is out in fourth

12:30am: Unscheduled break
Level 22 – Blinds: 60,000/120,000 (20,000 ante)

With 10 minutes and 13 seconds left in the level the final four players have taken an unscheduled break. We took the opportunity to do some chip counts and this is how the final four stack up:

12:30am: Steve O’Dwyer eliminated in fifth place (€ 278,900)
Level 22 – Blinds: 60,000/120,000 (20,000 ante)

What’s going on? First Kanit, then Holz and now O’Dwyer. Neither of that triumvirate will be winning this tournament, it’s somebody else’s turn it seems.

In O’Dwyer’s final hand he was set all-in for his final 1,190,000 by Pratyush Buddiga, who was in the small blind. O’Dwyer was the big blind and wanted a count of Tobias Reinkemeier’s stack before making his decision. Reinkemeier was the other short stack at the table but he just had O’Dwyer out chipped (1,280,000) and perhaps that swung O’Dwyer’s decision as he called all-in and showed 10♦ 8♦ .

Buddiga was ahead with K♥ 4♦ and it stayed that way on the K♣ J♥ 5♣ A♠ 10♥ board and O’Dwyer’s latest deep run in a high roller has ended in fifth place. –NW

Another deep run for O’Dwyer

12:25am: Alex Komaromi eliminated in sixth place (€ 216,250)
Level 22 – Blinds: 60,000/120,000 (20,000 ante)

And then there were five…

Action folded to Andrey Shatilov in the small blind and he open shoved. Alex Komaromi had exactly 1,000,000 back and thought for a bit before calling all-in. He showed A♣ 8♦ and was in a race against Shatilov’s pocket twos. The community cards came 3♥ 5♣ Q♥ Q♣ 6♦ and kept the pair in front to boost Shatilov to 5,040,000. –NW

Alex Komaromi

12:15am: Two shoves in a row for Reinkemeier
Level 21 – Blinds: 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

Tobias Reinkemeier just shoved two hands in a row and picked up the blinds and antes each times. He was down to around 11 big blinds so they were much needed. –NW

12:10am: Parker Talbot eliminated in seventh place (€ 160,080)
Level 21 – Blinds: 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

From early position Parker Talbot raised to 1,300,000. It was an effective all-in as the Canadian had about 1,500,000 total. It folded to David Yan who moved all-in and Talbot put in the rest of his chips to take them to showdown.

Yan: A♦ K♠
Talbot: 10♥ 10♠

The 3♦ 5♥ 3♠ A♦ 9♠ board hit Yan’s hand to give him the pot, he’s up to 5,700,000 and leads the final six. –NW

Parker Talbot

12am: Parker Talbot doubles through Steve O’Dwyer
Level 21 – Blinds: 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

From the department of hands that play themselves comes this one:

Steve O’Dwyer opened to 200,000 from under-the-gun with two black tens, Parker Talbot shoved for 700,000 from the big blind with Q♦ Q♥ and O’Dwyer snap called. They looked on as the board came 5♥ 7♠ 6♥ Q♥ 5♣ to double Talbot to 1,520,000 and drop O’Dwyer to around 1,250,000. –NW

11:50pm: Sergey Lebedev eliminated in eighth place (€ 117,640)
Level 21 – Blinds: 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

Sergey Lebedev was the shortest stack of the remaining eight and it’s he who’s gone out but he was unlucky to do so.

He shoved for 475,000 with A♣ 5♠ after Andrey Shatilov had opened to 250,000 with A♦ 4♦ . His Russian counterpart called the extra and outflopped him on the 9♠ 7♣ 4♥ flop. The 3♣ turn and Q♥ river kept Shatilov in front and we’re down to seven. –NW

Sergey Lebedev – eighth place

11:50pm: The final eight return
Level 21 – Blinds: 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

The break is over and there’s the small matter of €939,900 to play for. The remaining eight are guaranteed €117,640.

Here’s how they stack up:

11:30pm: Time to take a break
Level 20 – Blinds: 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

That’s the end of level 20 and the eight remaining players are on a 15 minute break. During that break the tournament staff are moving the table to a quieter section of the poker room as there’s a large rail forming which is spilling into the area where the €2,000 turbo is taking place. –NW

11:20pm: Dmitry Yurasov eliminated in 9th place (€93,790)
Level 20 – Blinds: 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

We’ve reached the official final table and it’s Dmitry Yurasov who’s out in ninth. He shoved for 675,000 after David Yan had opened to 160,000. Yan made the call with J♦ 10♦ and was behind to Yurasov’s A♦ J♥ .

But the New Zealander made a flush on the 6♦ 7♦ 4♣ K♦ A♦ run out and he stretches his chip lead. –NW

11:10pm: Andrey Shatilov wins a big pot
Level 20 – Blinds: 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

David Yan min-raised to 160,000 from the cutoff and picked up calls from Andrey Shatilov (button) and Alex Komaromi (big blind).

The three of them saw a J♥ 9♣ 4♥ flop on which Shatilov bet 225,000 and Komaromi was the only caller. The 6♥ turn checked through and the J♦ completed the board. Komaromi elected to lead for 350,000 and after about a minute in the tank Shatilov matched the bet. Komaromi opened A♠ 9♠ but Shatilov had him beat with pocket tens. He’s up to 3,700,000 while Komaromi is down to 900,000. –NW

11pm: David Yan doubles through Dmitry Yurasov
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

When big hands collide, big pots will occur.

David Yan opened to 120,000, Dmitry Yurasov three-bet to 325,000, Yan shoved for 1,845,000 and Yurasov called.

Yan: Q♠ Q♥
Yurasov: J♣ J♥

Dominik Nitsche was railing Yan and his reaction to the 2♠ Q♣ K♦ flop was to say: ‘Very good’. It got even better as the K♣ turn and K♥ river gave Yan the win and he doubled to the chip lead while Yurasov was left with around 500,000, although he’s since won a hand to get to 800,000. –NW

10:55pm: Play restarts
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Action is back underway. –NW

10:47pm: Unofficial final table chip counts
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

One of these nine will win €939,900.

Will David Yan be the man?

10:40pm: Short break
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

While the tournament staff colour up some chips the players have been sent on a 10 minute break. –NW

10:35pm: Kully Sidhu eliminated in 10th place (€ 78,830)
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

The players have reached the unofficial final table and it’s Kully Sidhu who’s out in 10th. He opened to 165,000 from under-the-gun and Pratyush Buddiga then moved all-in. Back on Sidhu he tanked before calling off for around 700,000 total.

Sidhu: 10♠ 9♠
Buddiga: 9♣ 9♥

The 4♠ 3♦ 2♥ K♦ A♦ board kept Buddiga in front and he’s now up to 2,350,000. –NW

10:25pm: Andrey Shatilov doubles through Alex Komaromi and then doubles through David Yan
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

From the button Alex Komaromi raised to 125,000 with Q♥ 4♥ and Andrey Shatilov defended from the big blind with K♣ 7♣ . So they both caught a decent piece of the K♥ 10♥ 7♦ flop. Komaromi c-bet 85,000, Shatilov check-raised all-in for 415,000 and Komaromi called.

The 2♠ turn and 8♣ river kept Shatilov in front. Then two hands later…

He shoved for 1,110,000 from the button with pocket jacks and David Yan re-raised all-in from the small blind with A♠ 9♣ . The J♦ 9♠ 4♠ 2♥ K♣ board means Shatilov now has around 2,300,000 while Yan is down to 1,900,000 and Komaromi has 1,400,000. –NW

10:15pm: Alexandros Kolonias eliminated in 11th place (€78,830)
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

There will be no back to back high roller final tables for Alexandros Kolonias as he’s just busted in 11th place. He got it in with A♣ 9♣ against Kully Sidhu’s K♠ 9♦ but Sidhu made a flush to send him tumbling out. –NW

10:10pm: Salman Behbehani eliminated in 13th place; Farid Jattin 12th (both €68,720)
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

An exit on each table in quick succession to tell you about and both involved races where a small pair beat two overcards.

First to go was Salman Behbehani, he shoved for 635,000 with A♣ Q♠ and couldn’t hit against David Yan’s pocket fours. Yan now has 2,700,000.

Salman Behbehani

On the other table Farid Jattin shoved for 525,000 with A♥ 9♥ and Pratyush Buddiga called with pocket fives. The 2♦ 3♦ 4♠ flop was a beauty for Buddiga and he held on the 4♣ turn and 3♠ river to climb to 1,700,000. –NW

Farid Jattin

10pm: Dmitry Yurasov doubles through Parker Talbot
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Dmitry Yurasov is the new chip leader as he just won a huge flip against Parker Talbot. From the button Yurasov raised it up to 110,000, Talbot jammed from the small blind and Yurasov called all-in for 1,340,000 total.

Talbot: 3♥ 3♣
Yurasov: A♠ K♠

The 2♦ 9♦ 5♠ 6♠ 10♠ board made Yurasov a flush and he doubled to over 2,700,000 while Talbot drops to 580,000. –NW

9:50pm: Christoph Vogelsang eliminated in 14th place (€62,660)
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

It folded to Christoph Vogelsang on the button and he moved all-in for 530,000. Dmitry Yurasov folded the small blind but Parker Talbot was not so quick to release his hand. He wanted a count and said: “I’m probably calling.” He got the count and did indeed call.

Vogelsang: 9♣ 9♥
Talbot: K♦ 10♠

The A♣ Q♣ 2♥ flop gave Talbot some additional outs and he hit one of them on the J♠ turn. It left Vogelsang drawing dead and he was on his way to shake Talbot’s hand before the 7♣ had hit the river. –NW

9:40pm: Alexandros Kolonias doubles through Martin Jacobson
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

From early position Alexandros Kolonias shoved for 525,000 and after getting a count of the shove Martin Jacobson called.

Kolonias: Q♥ Q♠
Jacobson: A♦ Q♣

The 9♠ 10♠ 7♠ 9♣ 3♠ board left Jacobson with just over one big blind and he was out shortly afterwards in 15th position for €62,660. –NW

The 2014 Main Event champion departs

9:35pm: Two table re-draw
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

9:35pm: Two table re-draw
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Below is how the final two tables line-up. Martin Jacobson is short on chips due to a hand he played against Alexandros Kolonias. Details on that coming right up.

9:26pm: Lebedev doubles
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

It was a role reversal as Sergey Lebedev, who recently doubled up Murad Akhundov, just got his chips back from the same players. The latter shoved for 355,000 from under-the-gun with A♥ 9♥ and Lebedev called all-in for 240,000 from the big blind with pocket sevens. The 5♦ 7♣ K♦ 3♠ A♣ board favoured Lebedev and he doubled.

Akhundov was left with just three big blinds and was eliminated on the next hand. –NW

9:20pm: Down to two tables
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

It took just 10 minutes to reduce the field from 22 to 16. Also out are Juha Helppi (19th), Vojtech Ruzicka (18th) and Pasquale Grimaldi (17th). –NW

9:15pm: Akundov doubles through Lebedev
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Sergey Lebedev shoved for around 350,000 with A♦ 4♦ and Murad Akhundov – who had just 155,000 – called off with K♠ Q♣ . The board ran Q♥ 8♠ 5♥ 6♦ K♣ and Akhundov survived.

Not so lucky however are Pasi Sormunen (22nd), Mikita Badziakouski (21st) and Shan Huang (20th) who are all out –NW

9:10pm: Chip counts from the break
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Here’s how the final 22 stack up, David Yan leads the way.

8:51pm: Break time
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

The 22 remaining players are now on a 20 minute break. –NW

8:50pm: Fedor Holz first out in the money
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Your eyes do not deceive you, Fedor Holz has been busted from a poker tournament and it’s Steve O’Dwyer – another high roller boss – who got him.

O’Dwyer opened to 75,000 from late position and Holz flatted from the big blind. On the 7♠ 6♥ 8♣ flop Holz open shoved for around 165,000 and O’Dwyer tank-called. Holz showed 2♥ 2♣ and was ahead of O’Dwyer’s A♠ J♥ . The 3♠ was a blank but the A♣ river boosted O’Dwyer to 1,465,000 and sent Holz to the rail. –NW

A rare picture of Fedor Holz not smiling at the poker table

8:45pm: Robert Soogea bubbles
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

On the third round of hand for hand play the bubble burst and it was Robert Soogea and his short stack that went.

Dmitry Yurasov opened to 75,000 from the button with Q♥ J♥ and Soogea committed his final 52,000 with A♣ 5♥ . He needed to hold but couldn’t manage to as the board came 10♥ 6♣ J♠ 6♠ 7♣ .

The remaining 23 players are now in the money. –NW

No one likes to bubble

8:35pm: Final three tables
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Below is the seat draw of the final three tables:

8:25pm: Soogea most at risk
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Just before the redraw Robert Soogea lost a big pot to Kully Sidhu and as a result is down to just 70,000. –NW

8:15pm: Bubble time: Heath and Lewis fall just short
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

We’re now on the bubble in this event as just 24 players remain. Out in 26th was Ben Heath. He shoved for 288,000 from early position with K♠ Q♦ and Steve O’Dwyer called with pocket nines and the pair held up.

A few minutes later Romain Lewis got his final 10 or so big blinds in with J♦ J♥ against Tobias Reinkemeier who had pocket fives. The 10♥ 5♦ 6♣ 8♥ 7♦ run out favoured Reinkemeier and with 390,000 he just had Lewis covered.

They’ll now be a short break while tournament staff do a redraw of the final 24 players. –NW

8:05pm: Holz dented by Yurasov
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Perhaps Fedor Holz is human after all as Dmitry Yurasov just won a big pot against the German. I picked it up on a 2♣ J♣ 7♥ flop to see Yurasov (button) betting 40,000 and Holz (big blind) smooth calling.

On the 2♥ turn Holz led for 120,000 an Yurasov stuck around. The 7♦ fell on fifth street and Holz went deep, betting 365,000. Yurasov tanked for over a minute before jamming for 674,000 in total. Holz took a look back at his cards grimaced and thought for a while before folding. He’s down to 610,000 now whilst Yurasov soars to around 1,500,000. –NW

8pm: Holz sends Petrangelo packing
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

When your hot your hot. Fedor Holz is on fire right now and the other players should be terrified. He’s up to 1,000,000 after eliminating Nick Petrangelo. The latter shoved for 355,000 from under-the-gun with K♦ Q♦ and Holz re-raised all-in from the small blind with A♣ K♣ . Sergey Lebedev folded the big blind and it was time to run the board.

It came K♠ 8♦ 10♠ 9♣ 9♥ and we’re now just three eliminations from the money. –NW

7:50pm: Yan takes the chip lead in huge pot against O’Dwyer
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Big hand alert!

From the hijack Steve O’Dwyer opened to 54,000 and action folded to David Yan on the button. He three-bet to 151,000 and it folded back to the Irishman. He took a look at Yan’s stack and asked for a rough count – Yan had about 600,000 behind – O’Dwyer then paused a few beats before announcing all-in, it took Yan less time to call. It was near instant.

Yan: K♣ K♠
O’Dwyer: A♠ Q♥

This huge pot went the way of Yan as the board ran K♦ 10♦ 7♠ 4♠ 2♥ . He was all-in for 763,000 and is now the chip leader with around 1,600,000. O’Dwyer is down to 570,000. –NW

7:40pm: Pique busts
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

We didn’t catch it live but we’re told Parker Talbot is the man who took out Gerard Pique. The footballer shoved from the small blind and ran into Talbot’s ace-king. The Canadian flopped broadway and that was that. –NW

7:30pm: Holz busts Carrel
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

After an open to 60,000 from Murad Akhundov, action was on Fedor Holz and he moved all-jn for roughly 330,000. Another red triangle was needed as Charlie Carrel moved in for less – about 120,000 – and when it got back to Akhundov he check-folded.

Holz rolled over A♦ A♣ and Carrel needed help as he had K♦ Q♠ . The 2♥ K♥ A♠ K♠ J♣ board meant there was no way back for the Brit. 32 players remain. –NW

Carrel is the latest to fall victim to Holz

7:25pm: Teltscher busts
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

It’s a turbo tournament and it can come crashing down in one hand. After doubling twice Mark Teltscher had chips again but he didn’t keep them for long as he busted with A-10 against Dmitry Yurasov’s pocket queens, with all the chips going in pre-flop. Yurasov now has just over a million and is second in chips. –NW

7:15pm: Teltscher on the comeback trail
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Just a few hands ago Mark Teltscher had dipped below the 100K mark but he’s since doubled twice and now has 420,000.

His second double came against Jason Koon, the American’s cards were already in the muck by the time we arrived but Teltscher had shoved from the small blind with K♠ 7♦ and won the hand on a 2♠ 8♠ 7♣ 2♥ 7♥ . –NW

7:05pm: Kanit can’t crack kings
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Sometimes it’s just not a bros day! Mikita Badziakouski opened to 33,000 from the hijack, Mustapha Kanit smooth called and Juha Helppi then jammed for 185,000 total. That got rid of the original raiser but Kanit got a count and called.

Helppi: K♦ K♠
Kanit: J♠ 10♠

A K♥ 5♣ 3♣ 7♣ 9♦ board meant Kanit was drawing dead after the turn, he’s down to 230,000 while Helppi is up to 430,000. –NW

6:55pm: Koon over Kenney
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Jason Koon raised from the cutoff, Bryn Kenney jammed from the big blind for 240,000 and Koon – who had 245,000 – called the shove. Showdown!

Koon: A♠ K♥
Kenney: A♦ 10♥

The 8♥ 3♥ 2♦ 7♠ 5♥ board kept the dominating ace in front and we lose another one. 37 players remain, 23 get paid. –NW

6:50pm: Georgios gone
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Georgios Zisimopoulos is the first man out in level 13 and it was Christoph Vogelsang who got him. The Greek player shoved for 174,000 from under-the-gun+1 and two seats over Vogelsang smooth called.

After everyone else folded Zisimopoulos said: “I’m definitely behind,” and showed K♠ Q♦ . He was right as Vogelsang had K♣ K♥ and held on the 8♣ Q♥ 2♥ 9♥ 4♦ board. He’s up to around 1,050,000 as a result and looks to be the chip leader.

Parket Talbot is also at the table and as Vogelsang was stacking his chips he said: “Don’t be mad Christoph but I’m going to call the clock on you a lot.” –NW

6:45pm: Chip counts
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Here are the top ten counts at the break. To view all of the chip counts, click here.

O’Dwyer leads the way

6:21pm: Break time
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

The 39 remaining players are now on a 20 minute break. We’ll bring you full chip counts of those players shortly. –NW

6:20pm: On the rail
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Among the latest players to leave without winning a penny are: Jani Sointula, Ramin Hajiyev, Martin Kabrhel, Mikhail Rudoy and Rainer Kempe. –NW

6:20pm: Carrel jams on Jattin
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

After Farid Jattin opened to 29,000 it folded to Charlie Carrel and the UK youngster moved all-in for around 180,000. Jattin gave it some serious thought before giving up and showing A♣ J♥ as he folded. –NW

6:10pm: Prize pool information
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

The prize pool has just been announced to the players and the information displayed on the tournament screens. As expected 23 players will get paid, the winner will receive €939,900 with a min-cash worth €46,900.

6:02pm: Piqué more than OK
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

If you’re wondering how football superstar Gerard Piqué is getting on, the answer ‘very well’. The FC Barcelona centre back is currently playing a stack of 540,000, good for 45 big blinds. –JS

6pm: Gone
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Down to 48 now. Some of the big names to fall in level 11 were: Sam Greenwood, Erik Seidel, Leo Fernandez, Byron Kaverman, Stanley Choi and Jason Mercier. –NW

5:49pm: Koon calls his hand but still doubles Lebedev
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Sergey Lebedev opened to 22,000 and after one call the action was on Jason Koon.

“How much are you playing Sergey?” he asked. “About 250,” he replied.

Koon then moved all, putting both players at risk, but only Lebedev would call for his tournament life.

“You have Ace King?” asked Koon. “Ace King,” Lebedev replied.

Koon had the 9♣ 9♥ against the A♥ K♣ – he was bang on. However a King on the flop would crack his pair and drop him to 93,000, while Lebedev moved up to around 500,000. –JS

5:45pm: Double knockout for Kolonias
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Alexandros Kolonias finished fourth in the €50,000 super high roller yesterday, where we saw a four-way all-in and although he wasn’t involved in it, he almost created one in this tournament.

The action was started by Mustapha Kanit, he made it 20,000 to go, Jyri Merivirta then shoved for 44,000, Adnan Chamaa then moved in for just under 100,000 and Kolonias quickly shoved over the top.

Kanit wanted a count – it was 175,000 – gave it a brief think and then folded. So just a three-way party then:

Kolonias: J♦ J♣
Merivirta: 8♠ 7♠
Chamaa: 7♣ 7♥

The 5♣ K♥ 4♦ A♥ 8♦ run out meant Kolonias scored a double knock out and climbed to 340,000. He’s to the right of Kully Sidhu who’s on a charge and is up to 650,000. –NW

Another day, another high roller for Kolonias

5:40pm: Some prize pool details
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Whilst tournament staff are still working on the exact payout structure they’ve been going table to table to let the players know the situation and the key information.

The details they’ve been told is that 23 players will get paid, the min-cash will be approximately €47,000 and the winner will get around €940,000. We’ll bring you full details when we get them. –NW

5:38pm: Holz IS human after all
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Fedor Holz might be a genius, but he’s no robot. The German wunderkind is capable of making poker mistakes, as we’ve just witnessed.

Murad Akhundov opened to 23,000 and was three-bet by Holz to 66,000. The player from Azerbaijan called and the two saw a 3♦ 5♥ 10♦ flop, which was checked to the rasier, allowing Holz to continue for 59,000. Akhundov stared at Holz, who was staring right back (they were sat next to each other, just 20 inches between them). Akhundov then moved all-in for 209,000.

“Gahhhh. You looked nervous on the flop,” Holz said, trying to wrap his head around what his opponent was up to. It took him a good three or four minutes before he’d make the call, to find his 7♥ 7♠ were behind Akhundov’s K♥ 10♥ for top pair. The Q♦ river changed nothing and Akhundov doubled to 430,000, while Holz is down to around 260,000. –JS

A Holz malfunction

5:33pm: Kolonias gets help from Helppi
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Juha Helppi opened to 23,000 only for Alexandros Kolonias to jam for 86,000 – less than nine big blinds. The action was on Helppi and he agonised over the decision. Eventually he made the call and showed the Q♦ 10♠ which was racing against the Greek’s 5♠ 5♣ .

Helppi picked up a straight draw on the 9♣ 7♥ 8♠ flop, but the 4♣ turn didn’t help him. The 5♥ hit the river improving Kolonias to a set, and he doubled to around 180,000. Helppi, meanwhile, drops to 153,000. –JS

5:30pm: Bust
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Plenty of players fell during level 10 including: Shaun Deeb, Liv Boeree, Dario Sammartino, Paul Newey and David Peters. –NW

5:20pm: Chip leaders
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

With 60 players remaining the average stack is 266,000 but those at the top of the tree have far more than that. The current chip leaders are:

Mikita Badziakouski, 880,000
Farid Jattin, 680,000
Dmitry Yurasov, 670,000
Ben Heath, 600,000
Steve O’Dwyer, 580,000

O’Dwyer doing what O’Dwyer does

5:10pm: Sointula doubles through Cheong
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Twenty big blinds and a dream that hangs on winning a race. We see a lot of race situations of this type in turbo poker tournaments and the latest entry in the ledger involved Joseph Cheong and Jani Sointula. The latter had pocket sixes, 139,000 and was all-in. Cheong had the overcards – K♦ Q♦ – and slightly more.

The 7♣ 9♥ 5♣ 3♠ 8♣ board improved the pair to a straight and Sointula doubled to around 294,000 while Cheong was left with just 14,000. –NW

5:05pm: ‘A conversation’ – starring Fedor Holz and Shan Huang
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

INT: The corner of a large poker room filled with more than a thousand players. The board shows the 9♠ 6♦ 3♠ K♣ . Shan Huang has moved all-in for 174,000 into the 100,000 pot. The action is on Fedor Holz.

Holz: You have a good hand huh. [JS][TS]? Better?! Q♠ 10♠ ?!!

Huang: King Queen!

Holz: I don’t think so. Is it good though?

Huang: Almost!

Holz: ARRGHH! I have a good hand.

Huang: You should bet!

Holz: But a King is no good! I think you’re not lying. Do you want me to call?

Huang: Call is fine, no call is fine.

Holz: I’m confused.

Huang: Me too!

Holz: You need one more spade. You have spades for sure.

Huang: Errrr…yeah, I dunno!

Holz folds with a sigh. Huang shows him the Q♥ .

Huang: King Queen! I told you!

Holz: Did you really? I had a good hand.

Charlie Carrel enters.

Carrel: You should tell us what you had Fedor. [jokingly] We didn’t call the clock so it’s only fair!

Holz: I think it’s pretty obvious what my hand was.

THE END –JS

5pm: Jacobson jams
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

I joined the action on the turn of a K♦ Q♣ 7♦ 3♦ board to see a big pot in progress. Martin Kabrhel had bet 20,000, Adnan Chamaa had raised to 40,000 and Martin Jacobson had then check-raised all-in for 134,000 in total.

Action was now back on Kabrhel and he looked pained before eventually folding, Chamaa instantly followed suit and Jacobson took the pot to climb to around 230,000. Kabrhel drops down to 146,000 and Chamaa 102,000. –NW

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4:55pm: Level nine exits
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Just 77 players remain now and among those to fall in the previous level were: Jeffrey Hakim, Ryan McEathron, Yingui Li, Jean-Noel Thorel, Adrian Mateos, Sergio Aido, Vladimir Troyanovskiy, Sylvain Loosli, Zvi Stern, Nick Yunis and Imad Derwiche. –NW

4:44pm: Loosli crippled by Kornuth
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Sylvain Loosli was already short stacked; now he’s the shortest stack in the room. Having just two chips will do that.

He moved all-in for 79,000 in mid-position and it folded to Chance Kornuth in the small blind. He jammed too – for 77,000 – and Gerard Piqué folded his big blind.

Kornuth – Q♥ Q♠
Loosli – 8♥ 8♣

The Frenchman needed help, but couldn’t find a piece of eight on the A♣ Q♦ K♠ 4♥ 10♠ board. Not that it would have mattered after the flop as Kornuth flopped a set. He’s up to 166,000, while Loosli has just 2,000 – two orange chips. –JS

4:40pm: More for Kanit
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Mustapha Kanit’s default emotion is happy and he was all smiles after eliminating Martin Kozlov. The latter’s chips went in on a 8♦ 2♠ 7♣ flop with 10♦ 7♠ but Kanit had top pair and held up on the 4♠ turn and A♣ river. –NW

Kanit get any better?

4:32pm: Koon’s eights are good
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Tobias Reinkemeier opened to 15,000, his only caller Jason Koon from the big blind. They saw an 8♣ 6♠ K♥ flop fall and Koon checked it, letting Reinkemeier in for a c-bet worth 18,000. Koon came along once more to see the 4♠ turn and both checked. The 10♥ river card didn’t speed up the action either, and after both checked a final time Koon turned over the 8♠ 9♠ for a pair of eights. That was good, as Reinkemeier mucked. The German is on 175,000, while Koon has 295,000. –JS

4:30pm: Talbot takes out Chidwick
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Parker Talbot has just eliminated Stephen Chidwick. We missed exactly how the chips went in but the last of Chidwick’s chips went in on the river of a 9♣ 3♣ A♣ 8♦ 7♠ board. He had [Jx][Tx] but Talbot had flopped a flush with 8♣ 5♣ . –NW

4:25pm: Total numbers confirmed
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Late registration for this event has now closed, in total there were 162 entries, including 24 re-entries. That’s up 10 from last year’s figure of 152 total entries. We’ll bring you prize pool information when we receive it. –NW

4:15pm: Back to work for this lot
Level 9: Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Players are back from their lunch break and we’re underway in Level 9. We’ll be back shortly with confirmation of the entries and re-entries, as registration is now closed. –JS

3:02pm: Time for lunch

The players have now gone on a 75-minute lunch break, which also gives the dealers a chance to chip-race the 500 chips and introduce the 25,000 chips.

The biggest stacks at the break belong to:

Daniel Dvoress – 432,000
Dmitry Yurasov – 431,000
Gerard Piqué – 386,000
Francisco Benitez – 353,000
Sam Greenwood – 352,000
Charlie Carrel – 350,000
Alex Komaromi – 350,000
Mark Teltscher – 317,000

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2:55pm: Re-entries and a debut
Level 8: Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Conor Drinan, Bryn Kenney, Mike McDonald, Stephen Chidwick, Jean-Noel Thorel, and Ivan Luca are the latest players to have busted and re-entered.

The latest player to join the field for the first time is Jason Koon, who recently took down a big Stateside tournament for $1 million. –JS

2:45pm: Newey doubles through Kitai
Level 8: Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

All the money went in on the turn of the J♦ 6♦ 4♣ Q♣ board. Davidi Kitai had called the 65,000 all-in of Paul Newey with a big draw – the K♣ 10♣ , which was trailing Newey’s K♦ K♥ . The river would need to be a club, an Ace, or a nine to knock out Newey, but it came the 5♠ and he doubled up. Kitai, however, is in bad shape with just 13,000 left. –JS

2:34pm: Kornuth skips past Piqué and Kaverman
Level 8: Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Gerard Piqué opened to 11,000 under the gun and that piqued the interest (see what we did there?) of Byron Kaverman who called from mid-position. When it got round to Chance Kornuth in the big blind he leant forward over the table to get a glimpse of Piqué’s stack, which was obscured in his vision by the dealer. He then announced he was all-in for 81,500.

Well, Piqué wasn’t that interested. He gave it up, as did Kaverman. –JS

2:20pm: Peters pays off Petrangelo
Level 7: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (400 ante)

Nick Petrangelo was one of this tournaments first casualties, but his second bullet seems to be going much better.

On a 2♣ 4♠ J♠ Q♣ board he checked it to David Peters who made it 15,000 to see a river. There was around 30,000 in the pot at this point, and Petrangelo made the call.

The river came the 9♦ and Petrangelo switched from calling mode to betting mode. He counted a big pile of chips which turned out be 70,000 and moved them to the middle of the felt. Peters chucked a chip in indicating a call and Petrangelo turned over the 10♥ 8♣ for a rivered straight. That was good as Peters’ hand went straight into the muck.

Peters is down to 71,000 while Petrangelo is playing 210,000. –JS

2:10pm: Deeb’s plea to Holz
Level 7: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (400 ante)

“At least use two bullets when you win, Fedor,” said Shaun Deeb, leaning behind to talk to the recently re-entered Fedor Holz.

“I have!” the German replied.

“Oh, you did?” Deeb said. “Thank you, that’s all I ask.”

“It’s the least I could do,” said Holz.

2pm: The names keep comin’
Level 7: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (400 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier has just arrived to take his first shot at this tournament. Germany’s high roller specialist Tobias Reinkemeier has also joined the field.

Oh, and two players have re-entered. One is the legendary Eric Seidel. The other? Mr Fedor Holz. –JS

1:54pm: Kornuth misreads Alvarado
Level 7: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (400 ante)

On a 5♦ 9♠ K♠ K♥ board, Gerard Piqué checked it to JC Alvarado who put in a bet of 13,000. Chance Kornuth made the call, but Piqué got out the way.

The river came the 6♦ and that prompted Alvarado to bet 32,000. Kornuth counted out some calling chips and held the stack in his hands for a minute before placing it back on top of his other stacks. At that moment he stared at Alvarado and must have seen something that changed his mind as he picked the 32,000 back up and made the call. Alvarado turned over the A♦ 9♦ for Kings and nines, and that was good to take it down. –JS

1:45pm: Sammartino in, Finger out
Level 6: Blinds 1,500/3,000 (400 ante)

We may have lost a Martin Finger (who was eliminated in one of the first hands back from the break), but we’ve gained a Dario Sammartino. The Italian turned up at the beginning of Level 6 but has only recently sat down. –JS

Lost a Finger

1:38pm: Radoja felted by Deeb
Level 6: Blinds 1,500/3,00 (400 ante)

Shaun Deeb arrived a few levels into play today but he’s already got more than double the start stack. He added even more chips to his pile just now by eliminating Mark Radoja.

The board showed the 9♦ J♦ 4♥ and with a lot in the middle already Radoja checked, only to see Deeb put him all-in. Radoja called with the A♣ J♥ but his top pair was behind Deeb’s Q♣ Q♠ for an overpair. The turn came the 2♠ and river the 2♣ and that was that.

Radoja’s gone but could re-enter, while Deeb now has 220,000. –JS

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1:28pm: Aido going strong
Level 6: Blinds 1,500/3,00 (400 ante)

Sergio Aido opened to 7,500 and the action folded to Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree in the big blind. She defended her 3,000 and called to see the 2♥ 5♦ 9♠ flop, which she’d then check over to the Spaniard. He continued for 9,000, and Boeree came along once more.

The turn came the 8♥ and it checked to Aido once more. He counted a big bet – 26,000 – and put it over the line, and that was enough to get Boeree to throw it away.

After that hand Aido is up to…well, we’ll let him tell you (in Spanish):

230k de los 100k iniciales al inicio de 1.5k/3k/500. Mesa mala con Stevie, caecilius, ekziter, Liv Boeree, Kitai, Newey y Zvi Stern

— Sergio Aido (@petgaming) August 23, 2016

That’s Stephen Chidwick, Nick Petrangelo, Anton Astapov, Liv, Davidi Kitai, Paul Newey and Zvi Stern on his table. –JS

1:10pm: Break time

Players have gone on a 20-minute break. –JS

12:55pm: Troyanovskiy gets revenge
Level 5: Blinds 1,200/2,400 (400 ante)

Revenge is sweet – even in very small doses. After doubling up Fedor Holz earlier on, Troyanovskiy just got…well, only two chips back from him, but it still felt like a victory judging by the smile on the Russian’s face. Holz had opened to 5,500 and Troyanovskiy jammed for 36,000, getting Holz to fold. –JS

12:50pm: Sergio Garcia stops by for a chat
Level 5: Blinds 1,200/2,400 (400 ante)

Gerard Piqué isn’t the only sporting superstar in the room today. Golfer Sergio Garcia is playing on Day 1B on the Main Event, but nipped by on his break to have a chat.

That’s what friends are for

He caught Piqué at a bad time. He’d just lost a pot to Chance Kornuth in which he check-called a 12,000 bet on a 5♦ 6♠ J♦ 2♥ A♥ board. Kornuth showed the A♦ 9♠ for a rivered top pair, and Piqué threw his hand into muck with frustration. Kornuth is on 190,000, but it’s not critical for Piqué yet as he still has 62,000.

After the hand Garcia arrived to have a chat. Perhaps a pep talk will help Piqué run it up after the break. –JS

12:45pm: Carrel’s coasting
Level 5: Blinds 1,200/2,400 (400 ante)

Young Brit Charlie Carrel has got off to a fantastic start in this event, boosting his stack to 270,000. Carrel won the EPT12 Dublin equivalent of this event, and will be hoping to make it two this year. –JS

12:36pm: A football/soccer invitational
Level 4: Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

Byron Kaverman has just been trying to enlist Gerard Piqué in his regular football game, with the help of fellow high roller Timothy Adams. “I organise the game, and we played yesterday,” he told an interested Piqué. Will we see the latest merge between football and poker? –JS

12:30pm: More late arrivals
Level 4: Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

Mustapha Kanit, Adrian Mateos, Jonathon Karamalakis, Reiner Kempe, Sergey Lebedev, Christoph Vogelsang, Martin Finger, and Phil Gruissem are all now in the mix. –JS

12:25pm: The centre-back gets some chips back
Level 4: Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

Gerard Piqué had lost a few pots in his first couple of levels, but just managed to rake one back. By the end of the Q♣ K♠ 8♣ 5♥ 9♦ board, there was around 25,000 in the pot, and Sylvain Loosli and Anthony Zinno both checked it to FC Barcelona star. He put out a bet and got both to fold. –JS

12:18pm: Early chip leader
Level 4: Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

Andjelko Andrejevic is out in front right now with more than double the starting stack. He’s currently playing 232,000. –JS

12:14pm: Teltscher not talking
Level 4: Blinds 1,000/2,000 (300 ante)

The UK’s Mark Teltscher came runner up in this event last year, but something’s different about him. It’s not his appearance, nor his style of play. It’s the fact that today, he doesn’t seem to be talking.

Teltscher is known for his speech play, but right now he’s quiet as a mouse. –JS

12:10pm: Three newbies
Level 3: Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

Shaun Deeb, Sylvain Loosli, and Ali Reza Fatehi are waiting to get their seat draw. –JS

12:04pm: Petrangelo is gone
Level 3: Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

The latest player to fall is Nick Petrangelo, the man who took down the opening big-buy-in event of the stop (the €10K) last week. It’s just about the safest bet you could make that you’ll see him again. –JS

11:55am: Holz doubles through Troyanovskiy
Level 3: Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

“Fedor Holz loses a pot.” “Fedor Holz eliminated from tournament.”

These aren’t sentences you’ll have heard very often in the past year, and it ain’t about to start now. Holz, fresh from winning the €50K Super High Roller for €1.3 million yesterday, has just doubled up in the early levels of this one.

The young German superstar opened from the cutoff and was three-bet to 15,500 by Vladimir Troyanovskiy in the small blind. The flop came down 8♦ A♣ K♠ and the Russian continued for 15,000, which Holz called.

On to the turn and it came the 5♣ . Troyanovskiy didn’t slow down, chucking out six blue chips equaling 30,000. Holz, always careful and deliberate, took his time before softly placing the calling chips over the line.

The board was completed by the 10♠ and Troyanovskiy decided to check. Holz then moved all-in for 28,200 and with so much in there already that bet was called. Holz turned over the 8♣ 8♠ for a flopped set, and Troyanovskiy was beat. He paid off the bet before being told his hand had to be shown: the A♦ J♠ for top pair. He’s left with 13,500 now. –JS

11:44am: Piqué drops a few to Benitez
Level 3: Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

Gerard Piqué has dove straight into the action, getting tangled in a pot with Francisco Benitez. Picking up the action at the end of a 7♦ Q♦ 10♣ 8♦ Q♣ , Benitez bet 11,000 and Pique called. Benitez then flipped over the Q♥ J♠ for trips, and Piqué slightly flashed what looked like a Queen with a weaker kicker before mucking. –JS

Gerard Piqué

11:40am: They keep on coming
Level 3: Blinds 800/1,600 (200 ante)

The field is now up to 99 players, now including Fedor Holz, David Peters, Scott Margereson, Sam Chartier, Christian Christner, JC Alvarado, Niall Farrell, Byron Kaverman, Anthony Zinno, Steve O’Dwyer, Martin Jacobson, Alex Papazian, Eric Seidel, Sam Greenwood, Davidi Kitai, Vladimir Troyanovskiy, and Pratyush Buddiga. –JS

11:30am: Piqué takes his seat
Level 2: Blinds 600/1200 (200 ante)

FC Barcelona centre-back and all-round Spanish superstar Gerard Piqué has arrived and taken his seat.

Piqué has come straight from an interview he did with the PokerStars Blog this morning – stay tuned for more on that later in the week. –JS

11:15am: Early eliminations
Level 2: Blinds 600/1200 (200 ante)

Max Silver and Yang Wang are the first two bust outs of the day. However, both have used their re-entry option, so let’s see how they get on their second bullet. –JS

10:55am: Stacked field
Level 1: Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)

Take a deep breath, because here are some of the big names in the field one level in:

Team PokerStars Pros Liv Boeree and Leo Fernandez, Mark Radoja, Daniel Dvoress, Nick Yunis, Ye Zhang, Jani Sointula, Juha Helppi, Jean-Noel Thorel, Dominik Nitsche, Dietrich Fast, Alexandros Kolonias, Salman Behbehani, Igor Kurganov, Dmitry Yurasov, Jack Salter, Paul Newey, Max Silver, Ben Heath, Charlie Carrel, Chance Kornuth, Erik Seidel, and Francisco Benitez.

Sleepy Silver

10:37am: AND they’re off
Level 1: Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)

After a slight delay, the cards are now in the air. We’ll be back shortly to bring you a look at the field. –JS

9:45am: What starts today must end today

The EPT13 Barcelona Main Event is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes an entire week of raising, bluffing, calling, folding, hero-calling, hero-folding, checking, and more before you can reach the final table and begin to play for the gold. You might say it’s a Mo Farah event, rather than a Usain Bolt.

But sometimes, it’s just pretty darn cool to be like Usain Bolt. To sprint to a championship, producing the very best you can muster within a short time frame; being efficient with your energy; leaving a trail of your competitors in your wake.

On that note, welcome to the €25K Single Day Re-entry! The tournament that begins and ends (hopefully) within a single 24-hour span. Looking back towards the end of Season 12 of the EPT, Charlie Carrel beat Dominik Nitsche to win the €10K single day at EPT Dublin for €164,500, whereas in Monaco for the Grand Final this event was boosted to a €50K. Fabian Quoss beat Ole Schemion in that one for €848,059, but neither of those two have appeared at the Casino Barcelona so far this festival.

Here’s how it works: players start with 100,000 in chips, and blinds begin at 500/1,000 with a 100 ante. Levels are 30 minutes long, tables are eight-handed, and the tournament is capped at 160 entries. Players have the chance to re-enter once, and once it starts, we’ll be playing down to a winner with no overnight breaks.

Away from the usual faces you can expect in an event like this, FC Barcelona’s beloved centre-back Gerard Piqué will be making his second appearance at this festival today, after having played and busted from the €50K Super High Roller a couple of days ago. There’s also strong word that his teammate Neymar will be making an appearance here before the festival ends…will it be today?

Play begins at 10:30am, so make sure you stick with us for what’s sure to be a fantastic event. Keep hitting the refresh button for the latest updates! –JS

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Take a look at the official website of the EPT, with tournament schedule, news, results and accommodation details for EPT13 Barcelona and the rest of the season.

Also all the schedule information is on the EPT App, which is available on both Android or IOS.

PokerStars Blog reporting team on the EPT13 Barcelona Single Day High Roller: Nick Wright and Jack Stanton. Photography by René Velli, Neil Stoddart and Carlos Monti. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter @PokerStarsBlog.

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