Thursday, 28th March 2024 22:02
Home / Uncategorized / EPT13 Barcelona: €50K Super High Roller Day 2 coverage archive

THIS IS AN ARCHIVE OF A PREVIOUS DAY’S COVERAGE. CLICK FOR THE LATEST ACTION FROM THE TOURNAMENT FLOOR.

3pm: Play ends for the night
Level 20 – Blinds: 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

We expected today to end with drama, but it has instead ended with sleepy resignation. With deadlock at 9 players left the decision has been made to end play for the night rather than play on to the required final table of 8. There are 30 minutes left on the clock in Level 20. Tim Adams is the chip leader.

The players are now heading off for the best part of ten hours of rest and it seems wise to follow their example. Before that, here’s how they’ll line up when they return tomorrow.

Seat 1. Timothy Adams – 8,045,000
Seat 2. Alexandros Kolonias – 1,385,000
Seat 3. Erik Seidel – 850,000
Seat 4. Sam Greenwood – 1,050,000
Seat 5. Julian Stuer – 2,360,000
Seat 6. Daniel Dvoress – 1,050,000
Seat 7. Manuchehr Khangah – 3,670,000
Seat 8. Sylvain Loosli – 2,120,000
Seat 9. Fedor Holz – 4,970,000

This must count as one of the shorter round-ups of the day’s action, but all the details from the day can be found by scrolling down below. In the meantime our coverage will resume on Monday.

The final table (as we assume that means the nine players of the “last” table) begins at 1pm tomorrow but on a one hour delay to accommodate the cards up coverage on EPT Live. They begin broadcasting “as live” at 2pm local time (that’s 1pm in the UK, and 8am ET).

As the line-up suggests, it has a great line up and promises a great story before the winner is crowned.

Until then it’s good night, and good morning, from Barcelona. – SB

2:55am: Huge double for Khangah
Level 20 – Blinds: 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

Big hand, big pot!

From the cutoff Julian Stuer opened to 180,000 and Manuchehr Khangah went to call from the small blind before Daniel Dvoress had completed his action. The latter was on the button and tank folded, which allowed Khangah to call.

On the 848 flop Stuer c-bet 210,000 and Khangah stuck around. The 10 turn checked through and Khangah then moved all-in for 1,365,000 on the 2 river. Stuer asked for a count and when the dealer was three-quarters of the way through it he called. Khangah showed 88J while Greenwood showed KQ.

No messing around on the flop: KAK. That sealed the double up for Greenwood, the turn and river a harmless combination of 78.

Seidel slips now to 800,000. – SB

2:40am: Greenwood v Holz – the rematch
Level 20 – Blinds: 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

Fedor Holz just got some chips back from Sam Greenwood and it’s left the latter very short on chips.

The hand started with Holz raising to 180,000 from the hijack, a bet that Greenwood called from the big blind. On the 2A5 flop Holz bet 105,000, Greenwood check-raised to 275,000 and Holz called.

On the Q turn Greenwood slowed down and folded to Holz’s bet of 130,000. It means Greenwood drops to 495,000 and Holz is up to 4,100,000. –NW

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
20 40,000 80,000 10,000

2:25am: Greenwood gobbles up some chips
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Sam Greenwood has the shortest stack of the remaining nine but he just picked up some chips after shoving on Fedor Holz.

The German player opened to 140,000 from under-the-gun and Greenwood had a good look to his left before shoving for 680,000 total. It folded back to Holz and he ate one handful and then a second handful of peanuts before folding.

“You raise under-the-gun with nothing?” joked Greenwood as he took the pot. –NW

2:10am: The re-draw
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (5,000 ante)

Seat 1. Timothy Adams – 7.9 million
Seat 2. Alexandros Kolonias – 1.3 million
Seat 3. Erik Seidel – 2 million
Seat 4. Sam Greenwood – 925,000
Seat 5. Julian Stuer – 3.9 million
Seat 6. Daniel Dvoress – 1.1 million
Seat 7. Manuchehr Khangah — 2 million
Seat 8. Sylvain Loosli – 2.5 million
Seat 9. Fedor Holz – 4 million

2:05am: Choi out in 10th, unofficial final table reached
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Stanley Choi had been fighting a gallant battle with his short stack this level, but he’s just fallen in tenth place and it was Sylvain Loosli who got his chips. Choi shoved for 450,000 from under-the-gun and Loosli, who was to his direct left, called. Everyone else folded and it was time for showdown:

Choi: 33
Loosli: QQ

The 872K4 board kept Loosli in front and sent Choi to the rail in 10th. There’ll now be a short break whilst the tournament staff perform a redraw of the final nine. –NW

2am: No help for Juanda
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Last year’s Main Event champion John Juanda goes out in 11th place. He shoved with A8 for nearly 1.5 million and was called by Tim Adams with pocket Queens. The flop brought a third queen to seal Juanda’s fate. Adams up to more than 8 million. — SB

1:55am: Loosli lives! The repeat is still on
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Sylvain Loosli won this event here last season and the repeat is still on as he just doubled through Timothy Adams. Pre-flop the Canadian opened to 140,000 from under-the-gun and Loosli defended from the big blind.

It was on the 1089 flop where it all went off, or in rather, as Adams bet 220,000 Loosli check-raised all-in for 915,000 total and Adams called. The big stack was ahead with A10 but needed to fade Loosli’s draw and pair outs as the Frenchman had J2. The 7 filled Loosli’s straight and the 4 further improved him to a flush. He’s up to 2,190,000 while Adams drops to 5,900,000. That’s still good for the chip lead though. –NW

sylvain_loosli_reload.jpg

Deal Loosli in on the next hand!

1:45am: Still time for big pots
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

While there’s a sense of waiting for the short stacks to clear the way for the others there are still big pots being played.

Sylvain Loosli opened one for 160,000 which was raised by Tim Adams to 400,000. Loosli called for a flop of KA9.
Loosli checked to Adams, and then called the bet of 275,0000. On the 7 turn card it was the same pattern again, only this time Adams bet 350,000.

Now the river card 10. Loosli checked once more. Adams now shoved, spilling a tower of black chips into the middle. Loosli took several minutes to decide, but ultimately opted to pass, leaving himself roughly 1.2 million.
As that hand was playing out there was another all in on the other table.

On a flop of 6106 Erik Seidel had bet 160,000 which Daniel Dvoress had raised all-in for 740,000 total. Like Loosli, Seidel took his time making up his mind. Also like Loosli, he decided to fold.

Still 11 players remaining. – SB

1:35am: Down to 11 as Mateos exits
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Down to just 855,000 Adrian Mateos moved in from the cutoff with 98 and Timothy Adams looked him up from the big blind with A8.

The board wasn’t sweat free, but the dominating hand held up on a 7376K run out and Adams stretches his chip lead. — NW

1:25am: Back from the break
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Immediately back from the break an elimination, and it’s Conor Drinan who leaves in 13th place.

Drinan shoved for roughly 550,000 with A9 and was called by Manuchehr Khangah who turned over AK.

The board ran 4QK7Q to send Drinan to the rail, and the chips to Khangah, who insists on stacking his green chips (each worth 25,000) in one big tower. It’s going to topple over any minute now. – SB

1:20am: Chip counts
Level 19 – Blinds: 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Timothy Adams leads with a stack of just over 5,000,000 whilst at the other end of the scale Connor Drinan and Stanley Choi have fewer than 10 big blinds. –NW

Name Country Chips
Timothy Adams Canada 5,080,000
Julian Stuer Germany 4,485,000
Fedor Holz Germany 3,540,000
Erik Seidel USA 2,470,000
Sylvain Loosli France 2,370,000
Manuchehr Khangah Azerbaijan 1,950,000
John Juanda Indonesia 1,380,000
Alexandros Kolonias Greece 1,290,000
Sam Greenwood Canada 975,000
Adrian Mateos Spain 765,000
Daniel Dvoress Canada 730,000
Connor Drinan USA 555,000
Stanley Choi China 460,000

stanley_choi_reload.jpg

Choi – short stacked, but still smiling

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
19 30,000 60,000 10,000

01:10am: Manuchehr Khangah doubles through Connor Drinan
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

In the final hand of the level Manuchehr Khangah got a full double up. He called a raise from Connor Drinan and then check called a bet of 135,000 on the 3A4 flop. The 4 turn checked through and the 9 filled out the board.

Khangah was first to act and he open shoved for 450,000, Drinan gave it a good think before calling and Khangah said: “Nuts,” as he turned over K9 for the nut flush, it wasn’t the actual nuts but it was good enough to win the hand. He’s up to 1,450,000 while Drinan is down to 565,000.


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1am: Two all-ins called
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Two all-ins nearly took us down to 11 players, but for the fact they became double ups.
They took place simultaneously. The first involved Alexandro Kolonias who shoved on the button with pocket fives, against Daniel Dvoress’s K7 from the big blind.

The board ran out 9363A to keep the Kolonias show on the road.

On the next table Sam Greenwood was taking on Fedor Holz.

Greenwood’s A4 caught a four on the flop, which was enough to get past Holz’s QJ. We play on. – SB

12:55am: Seidel doubles through Stuer
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

On the first hand of in the money play there was an all-in and call. Julain Stuer was in the cutoff and after he looked to his left he announced all-in. It was for an effective 22 big blinds as the three players behind him were all short on chips.

Erik Seidel had the most of the triumvirate and it was he who decided to commit his chips – all 1,105,000 of them – and the other two players folded. Seidel showed AQ and was in a race against Stuer’s pocket twos.

The 81010 flop gave him some counterfeit outs but he hit a regular one on the Q turn and the 8 completed the board. Seidel’s up to 2,300,000 while Stuer drops to 5,000,000. –NW

12:45am: Philipp Gruissem bubbles the super high roller
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

With the amount of short stacks on table two it was always likely that the bubble boy would come from that table and so it proved.

Manuchehr Khangah limped in and Philipp Gruissem then announced all-in. His stack was not as short as it once was as he’d just doubled up. His shove was for around 1,150,000 but that didn’t put Julian Stuer off as his moved all-in over the top. Everyone else folded and when the hand on table one had finished it was time for showdown.

Gruissem opened pocket jacks but was behind to Stuer showed pocket aces, the hand that just minutes ago Gruissem had doubled up with himself. The 7Q983 board didn’t improve Gruissem’s hand and he’s out on the bubble.

After that hand Stuer is up to 6,100,000. –NW

12:45am: The bubble has burst
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Details to follow…

12:35am: Nothing too gruesome for Gruissem
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

It’s reasonable to expect even Super High Rollers to be a bit on edge on the bubble of a tournament this big, but Philipp Gruissem shows no sign of anxiety, even as one of the short stacks. Quite the opposite – even as a short stack all-in.
After Erik Seidel opened for 110,000 and Manuchehr Khangah called, Gruissem moved all in for 495,000.

“I’m all in,” he announced to the other table like a man without a care in the world. Then, as Seidel called: “All in and a call!”

Gruissem waited patiently for the hand on the other table to finish, as per the rule. He joked with Juanda, shook Seidel’s hand and got ready to show his two black aces. When he did Seidel turned up ace-king.

723

“Yes!” deadpanned Gruissem.

9 8

Another “yes,” from Gruissem, who took to his seat again.

“Well done mechanic,” beamed Khangah opposite.

“yeah…” said Gruissem. “I calculated everything properly.” – SB

12:30am: Bubble time! Kitai out in 15th
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Davidi Kitai had slipped to around 250,000 by the time he took his final stand. Julian Stuer opened to 125,000, Kitai shoved and Stuer called off the extra.

Stuer: K9
Kitai: A10

The 658 flop meant Stuer had a straight draw to go with his pair outs and it completed on the 7 turn to leave Kitai drawing to just three outs. The 4 wasn’t the magic number that Kitai was looking for and he exits in 15th place.

We’re now on the bubble and playing hand for hand. — NW

EPT13_barcelona_super_high_roller_day2_davidi_kitai.jpg

Kitai has fallen just short of the money

12:20am: Welcome to Monday morning
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Not to worry anyone who, I don’t know, needs to get up for work tomorrow, but we still need to lose seven more players before play ends tonight. We’re on 15 and we need 8. The top 13 players get paid. — SB


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12:15am: Chip counts
Level 18 – Blinds: 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

As level 18 got underway this is how the players stacked up:

Table 1
1. Timothy Adams – 4,725,000
2. John Juanda – 1,600,000
3. –Empty–
4. Sam Greenwood – 830,000
5. Adrian Mateos – 1,005,000
6. Stanley Choi – 1,350,000
7. Fedor Holz – 3,575,000
8. Sylvain Loosli – 1,500,000

Table 2
1. Philipp Gruissem – 550,000
2. Connor Drinan – 950,000
3. Julian Stuer – 3,750,000
4. Erik Seidel – 1,950,000
5. Davidi Kitai – 360,000
6. Alexandros Kolonias – 480,000
7. Manuchehr Khangah – 1,050,000
8. Daniel Dvoress – 1,250,000

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
18 25,000 50,000 5,000

11:55pm: For you bro
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Philipp Gruissem is one of the short stacks and he’s therefore paying a decent amount of attention to actions at both tables.

With his cards in the muck at his own table he watched on at the other table as John Juanda was faced with a decision. He’d raised to 90,000 and Stanley Choi had shoved for 810,000. Juanda was giving it serious thought but eventually folded.

“That was my chance,” joked Gruissem to Juanda, who had himself got up and wandered over to Gruissem’s table. “If I can bust them, then for you bro, I bust myself,” said Juanda with a grin.

Gruissem’s still hanging tough with 15 left. –NW

11:45pm: Big pot: Adams vs Mateos
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

A big pot between Timothy Adams and Adrian Mateos left one of them wondering what just happened.

Adrian Mateos opened for 80,000 which was called by Adams and John Juanda in the blinds for a flop of 2107. Play was checked to Mateos who bet 160,000 which Adams called for an A on the turn.

The pattern continued, this time 550,000 from Mateos. Adams finally called getting the 4 on the river in return. Adams checked on last time Mateos shoved, covering Adams who didn’t immediately react. When he did it was to call.

Mateos: AQ
Adams: 1010

A flopped set for Adams which from the look on his face was not what Mateos had expected to see. He’s down to 1.1 million while Adams is up to 5,825,000. – SB

EPT13_barcelona_super_high_roller_day2_timothy_adams.jpg

Perfect tens for Adams

11:35pm: Et Tu Kolonias?
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

As if admitting that he could no longer delay the inevitable Alexandros Kolonias moved all-in pre-flop for 210,000. Next to him was Daniel Dvoress who, after considering the plans of those yet to act, called. He would be Kolonias’s only caller.

Kolonias: A2
Dvoress: KK

It was looking like the Greek was on his way to the rail as the board was dealt QJ65 but there was that river card, an ace to keep Kolonias in the game. – SB

11:30pm: Kurganov out in 16th
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

We’re now on the soft bubble as Igor Kurganov has just gone out in 16th place. He three-bet shoved for 270,000 with 88 and Sylvain Loosli, who’d already put 90,000 in the pot, called the extra with A8.

An ace on the flop left Kurganov drawing thin and indeed by the end of a A72K8 board Loosli had made the nuts and he’s up to 1,500,000. –NW

11:20pm: Stuer sticks it to Khangah
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

We’ve seen Manuchehr Khangah get frisky on a few flops today but he just got some of his own medicine from Julian Steur.

The hand started with Khangah limping in, Steur bumped it up to 125,000 and Khangah stuck around. On the 3610 flop Steur bet 125,000, Khangah check-raised to 250,000 and Steur then came back over the top, making it 380,000 to go.

It was small raise but one that was god enough to get the job done as Khangah folded. –NW

11:15pm: Tense for the short stacks
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

With 16 players remaining and the top 13 finishing in the money the short stacks are trying to hold on.
There are three players whose stacks are looking precarious.

Igor Kurganov: 350,000
Alexandro Kolonias: 250,000
Davidi Kitai: 500,000

These counts are approximate, but are some way behind the others. – SB

EPT13_barcelona_super_high_roller_day2_alexandros_kolonias.jpg

Kolonias is among those who’re in trouble

11:10pm: Two table redraw
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Here’s how the final two tables shape up:

Table 1
1. Timothy Adams
2. John Juanda
3. Igor Kurganov
4. Sam Greenwood
5. Adrian Mateos
6. Stanley Choi
7. Fedor Holz
8. Sylvain Loosli

Table 2
1. Philipp Gruissem
2. Connor Drinan
3. Julian Stuer
4. Erik Seidel 
5. Davidi Kitai
6. Alexandros Kolonias 
7. Manuchehr Khangah
8. Daniel Dvoress


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11:01pm: Before the redraw
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Diego Ventura busts in 16th place to take us to a redraw, but not before Philipp Gruissem shoved for 610,000 from the big blind. Daniel Dvoress had already raised to 120,000.

“I’ll take a fold,” said Gruissem. “Or a double up.”

Dvoress thought, his lips moving as he counted something, or maybe prayed? No, most likely counted. He didn’t like what it all added up to. Gruissem his fold. – SB

11pm: Chips from the break
Level 17 – Blinds: 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Below are the counts of the 17 remaining players. Adrian Mateos has built a sizeable lead, while Igor Kurganov is one of the stacks at risk of bursting out before the money kicks in. 13 players will get paid.

Name Country Chips
Adrian Mateos Spain 4,360,000
Timothy Adams Canada 3,025,000
Julian Stuer Germany 3,000,000
Erik Seidel USA 2,100,000
John Juanda Indonesia 2,000,000
Fedor Holz Germany 1,840,000
Manuchehr Khangah Azerbaijan 1,700,000
Sylvain Loosli France 1,500,000
Daniel Dvoress Canada 1,220,000
Connor Drinan USA 935,000
Sam Greenwood Canada 710,000
Stanley Choi China 650,000
Davidi Kitai Belgium 650,000
Philipp Gruissem Germany 625,000
Diego Ventura Peru 435,000
Igor Kurganov Russia 385,000
Alexandros Kolonias Greece 380,000

8G2A7865_EPT13BAR_Philipp_Gruissem_Igor_Kurganov_Neil Stoddart.jpg

Kurganov and Gruissem have work to do

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
17 20,000 40,000 5,000

10:40pm: The joys of being unemployed
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

The level ends on Table 3 with talk of work. Mainly the fact that Manuchehr Khangah is the only one who does any.

Our understanding is he works in mechanical engineering, something that got Philipp Gruissem thinking.

“I was going to be a mechanical engineer, until this,” he said, gesturing to his chips as if they were the injury that ended a promising athletics career. “I could have worked in your factory!”

Juanda joined the discussion.

“Would you hire this guy?” he asked, breaking into a grin. “Probably not.”

While they laughed at that Gruissem asked Juanda about his background, starting with what he studied.

“Nuclear physics!” he replied, which is probably the best thing you can say if you think you can get away with it. “I wanted to be an Astronaut.”

The reality was a bit more down to earth. Juanda studied business, but then began making money at poker.

“Did you ever work?” asked Gruissem.

“No,” replied Juanda. But I’m only 45. Maybe one day!”

So far the “non-work” career is working well for both of them. They head into the break five off the money in the Super High Roller event. – SB

10:35pm: Kitai on the clock
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (4,000 ante)

I joined the action to see a bet of 75,000 in front of Davidi Kitai and an all-in bet of 620,000 in front of Sam Greenwood. Kitai was deep in the tank and it looked like Greenwood had Kitai just covered. The Belgian spent so long thinking over his decision that the clock was called. After less than half of the allotted minute had elapsed Kitai mucked his cards. –NW

10:30pm: Sylvain Loosli getting a tighter grip on things
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Sylvain Loosli just moved in on a board that read 210A9. Sam Greenwood had the decision to make and took more than five minutes to make it, finally opting to fold. It would have been all in to call, but he was forced to pass up what was a sizeable pot. – SB

10:20pm: Khangah’s costly mistake
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Fair play to Manuchehr Khangah who held his hands up and apologized for a mistake he just made, even more so as it was a mistake that potentially cost him a lot of chips.

In the hand in question Timothy Adams raised to 70,000 and picked up calls from Khangah and Igor Kurgnaov. On the 79Q flop Adams bet 105,000, Khangah called and Kurganov folded.

The 8 fell on the turn, Adams slowed down and checked the action to Khangah who bet 280,000. Adams pointed at the bet and got a count and then tanked before calling. This is where it got weird. Khangah exposed his hand before the river card was dealt – perhaps thinking this was the end of the hand – and what’s more he had the nuts J10.

The floor was called and his hand was deemed live but had to stay face up. The river was a blank and unsurprisingly Adams checked, Khangah checked too, “I know I have you beat,” he said smiling. He took the pot to climb to 1,350,000 while Adams slips to 2,400,000. –NW

10:10pm: To the river with Mateos and Choi
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Diego Ventura opened to 65,000 from the hijack. Stanley Choi called from the cut-off as did Adrian Mateos from the big blind.

The flop came 7410 which Mateos checked. Ventura did also before Choi made it 85,000 to play. Only Mateos called.
The 3 on the turn was checked, so too the 8 on the river. Mateos had hardly turned over his 7Q before Choi mucked. Mateos on more than 3,000,000. – SB

EPT13_barcelona_super_high_roller_day2_adrian_mateos.jpg

Adrian Mateos is the current chip leader

10pm: Win some, lose some for Khangah
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Two hands, two big pots and both involved Manuchehr Khangah. In the first Leo Chang limped from early position, Sylvain Loosli called from the button and James McCrink then shoved all-in for around 400,000 from the small blind. Manuchehr Khangah was in the big blind and he didn’t miss a beat, shoving all-in from the big blind which forced Chang and Loosli to fold.

McCrink: AQ
Khangah: AK

The 2210K5 board eliminated McCrink and boosted Khangah to over 1,000,000. The Azerbaijani was still stacking chips by the time the action got to him on the next hand. Timothy Adams had opened to 65,000 and Khangah seemed keen to stick around as he called. Sam Greenwood had about 12 big blinds and elected to wager them all. That forced out Adams but Khangah looked at Greenwood’s stack and then called.

Greenwood: AJ
Khangah: A7

This time Khangah was up against a dominating ace and again the best hand held as the board ran K29A5. Greenwood was all-in for 340,000 so climbs to around 780,000 while Khangah slips to 700,000. –NW

EPT13_barcelona_super_high_roller_day2_manuchehr_khangah.jpg

Manchehr Khangah

9:50pm: It’s not all about the Super High Rollers

If you ever thought that EPT festivals were exclusively for the high rollers, or even those able to play thousands to play any of the events on the schedule, we’re getting a fantastic reminder right now that this is not the case.

The PokerStars Cup is currently in progress, down to 219 players. That might seem like a lot, but this event, spread out over several opening days, had a field of 3,095 players. Enormous. What’s more, it cost just €440 to play – hardly the stuff of High Rollers.


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And what does that mean in terms of prize money? The winner will walk away with €174,000 (a little less than eighth place in the Super High Roller). Frankly, that’s ridiculous for that kind of buy in, a ROI more likely to be found on PokerStars online. But it’s right here in Barcelona. – SB

9:40pm: Sammartino takes on Stuer
Level 16 – Blinds: 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

Julian Stuer opened for 70,000 in the cut off. Dario Sammartino was in the big blind and opted to defend, calling to see the A74 flop.

Sammartino checked to Stuer, and then called the German’s bet of 55,000. The turn came the 2. Again Sammartino checked leaving Stuer to move all in, easily covering Sammartino who looked back at Stuer as if he’d done something crazy.

After a few moments Sammartino lumped in some green chips, signalling a call.

For Stuer AJ
For Sammartino A3

The river card came A. Not a card to help Sammartino who busts the Super High Roller. Down to 21. – SB

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
16 15,000 30,000 5,000

9:30pm: Chouity cracks aces, doubles through McDonald
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Nicolas Chouity has already pulled off a couple of comebacks today and he may well have started another one as he’s just doubled through Mike McDonald, what’s more he did it by cracking aces.

In the hand in question McDonald opened to 55,000, Chouity shoved for 321,000 and McDonald snap called, showing AA as he did so. “Aces?” asked Chouity, who was sat at the opposite end of the table and opened A2.

He had an 11.45% chance to win the hand (8.79% if Connor Drinan really did fold 85) but the 79K flop kicked that up to 30%. “Ooh,” said Chouity when he saw the flop. The J turn was a blank but the 6 river filled his flush and kept him alive.

He’s up to 690,000 while McDonald drops to 900,000. –NW

9:20pm: Troyanovskiy on the brink
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Alexandros Kolonias just moved all in. He was called by Vladimir Troyanovksy, who had him covered by 27,000. Kolonias had pocket queens to Troyanovskiy’s ace-king. Both players watched as the board bought nothing except another queen on the river. Kolonias doubles, but Troyanovskiy now close to elimination.

edit: Troyanovskiy is now out. – SB

EPT13_barcelona_super_high_roller_day2_vladimir_troyanovsky.jpg

No way back for Troyanovskiy

9:15pm: River saves Khangah
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

I picked up the action on a 654 flop to see a bet of 75,000 in front of Davidi Kitai and Manuchehr Khangah in the process of calling that bet. The Q fell on the turn and Khangah – who was first to act – open shoved for 185,000.

Kitai got a count and then called with pocket sevens, which were well ahead of the A2 of Khangah. But the river was the A saving Khangah from elimination, doubling him to 530,000 and dropping a frustrated Kitai down to 900,000 as his roller-coaster of a level continues. –NW

9pm: Three tables remain
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

The field is down to 24 after Steve O’Dwyer was sent to the rail by Sylvain Loosli, his pocket eights bettering the O’Dwyer’s pocket sixes.

That means a redraw. Here’s how the final three tables line up:

Table 1
1. Diego Ventura
2. Stanley Choi
3. Nicolas Chouity
4. Daniel Dvoress
5. Erik Seidel
6. Adrian Mateos
7. Mike McDonald
8. Conor Drinan

Table 2
1. Igor Kurganov
2. Tim Adams
3. Davidi Kitai
4. Sylvain Loosli
5. James McCrink
6. Manuchehr Khangah
7. Sam Greenwood
8. Leo Chang

Table 3
1. Fedor Holz
2. Dario Sammartino
3. Alexandros Kolonias
4. Philipp Gruissem
5. Claas Segebrecht
6. Julian Stuer
7. Vladimir Troyanovsky
8. John Juanda

8:50pm: Kitai doubles again, Farrell eliminated
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

I don’t know where Davidi Kitai had for dinner but he might just make a return visit as it’s two hands and two doubles in the opening ten minutes of this level for the Belgian.

He opened to 55,000, Niall Farrell moved all-in for less (35,000) only for Steve O’Dwyer to three-bet to 125,000 from the button. Back on Kitai he counted out the 70,000 from his stack and set it to one side, pondered, and then moved all-in.

O’Dwyer wanted a count, it was 596,000 total and after weighing it up he called. Kitai had the goods, AA to be precise, O’Dwyer also had a premium pair in the shape of JJ, while Farrell held K8. The 62A flop was ‘good game’ for Farrell and he knew as much as he stood up. The 3 and 10 completed the board and Kitai is up to around 1,250,000 while O’Dwyer is down to 210,000. –NW

8:45pm: Kitai doubles through Farrell
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Down to just 270,000 Davidi Kitai moved all-in from the hijack and Niall Farrell re-shoved from the cutoff to isolate. Everyone else left them to it and it was time for showdown:

Kitai: AQ
Farrell: AJ

A 264K5 board kept Kitai in front and he doubled up to 600,000 while Farrell dropped to just 39,000. -NW

8:40pm: McDonald and Mateos clash
Level 15 – Blinds: 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

A huge hand between Mike McDonald and Adrian Mateos provides an enormous boost to the Spaniard.
Mateos opened for 52,000 which Daniel Dvoress called from the cut off. McDonald was on the big blind and called to see the flop J8K.

Mateos now bet 175,000. Dvoress looked at Mateos, looking at him from low down as if the solution to the hand was written under Mateos’s chin. It wasn’t, so he folded.

McDonald though was going nowhere. He gave Mateos the eagle eyes stare, his lips pursed slightly. I suppose some might have called the look vaguely ridiculous, but only until told that it usually works and that McDonald has more than $13 million in live tournament winnings.

McDonald moved all-in.

Mateos was quick to call, and turned over 54 for the flush. McDonald showed Q10. He was on a straight and a flush draw, but no such help appeared on the 7 turn or the 8 river.

Mateos now has more than 1.6 million, while McDonald drops down to around 1.2 million. – SB

8.35pm: Play restarts after the dinner break

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
15 12,000 24,000 4,000

7:20pm: Dinner break

Go grab a sandwich. The remaining players are on a 75-minute dinner break.

7:20pm: Connor Drinan gets to a million the hard way
Level 14 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Connor Drinan had around 580,000 left in his stack when Adrian Mateos came in for a raise to 42,000. Stanley Choi made the call between them, and Drinan decided it was time. He shoved for all of it. Mateos wasted little time isolating and moving all-in himself. Choi stepped aside, and the cards went on their backs. Drinan quickly discovered he was worse than a 2-1 dog, showing his K9 to Mateos’ 1010.

That all changed when the flop came out 762. Drinan was still behind, but now barely so. Fast forward half a second and watch the turn come down…A…giving Drinan the nuts and Mateos no re-draw.–BW

EPT13_barcelona_super_high_roller_day2_connor_drinan.jpg

Connor Drinan

7:05pm: Helppi chopped by Choi
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

They are down to 27 in the Super High Roller with Juha Helppi hitting the rail. He’ll get a 15-minute head start on the dinner rush.

It was pretty straightforward really. Stanley Choi open shoved a stack of about 350,000 from the cutoff and Helppi under-shoved from the button, with about 220,000.

Helppi: 1010
Choi: AQ

Over-cards have been good this week in most of the races I’ve seen, and so it proved again. The flop came J54 and the 4 on the turn filled Choi’s flush. Helppi couldn’t hit a 10 on the river to fill up, so he headed out of the door. — HS


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7pm: O’Dwyer from the button
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Steve O’Dwyer opened for 50,000 from the button and was called by Eric Seidel in the big blind. The flop came 82J which both players checked. They checked the 4 turn card too. On the K river card Seidel checked to O’Dwyer who bet 43,000. Seidel paused, then called.

O’Dwyer showed K10 to win the hand. Seidel mucked, but not before appearing to re-run the hand in his head, double checking that his hand wasn’t better than it actually was. Nope. – SB

6:55pm: That sneaky Daniel Dvoress
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Here’s a cute one.

Adrian Mateos opened under the gun to 42,000. He got a call from Daniel Dvoress and the big blind, Connor Drinan. All three players checked the 8A4 flop and went to the K turn. Drinan and Mateos both checked again, but this time Dvoress made it 46,000. Drinan gave up, but Mateos came along. The river filled in the flush with the 7, and Mateos came at it with kid gloves. He bet a mere 30,000 into a pot worth more than 250,000. It was a bet he could get away from, and he had the chance when Dvoress raised to 217,000.

Mateos did not get away. Instead, he put in calling chips to see Dvoress’ flopped (and, remember, once checked…) set of eights. –BW

NEIL6002_EPT13BAR_ Daniel_Dvoress_Neil Stoddart.jpg

Nice set up for Dvoress

6:50pm: O’Dwyer and Farrell all-in
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

What’s good for one player is usually pretty bad for another in poker. In this case the players at either end of that equation were Steve O’Dwyer and Niall Farrell.

Farrell opened for 45,000 in early position which O’Dwyer called from the button. Eric Seidel also called from the big blind.

The flop came 548

The action was checked to O’Dwyer who bet 110,000. That was enough to force Seidel out but Farrell wanted to think about things. He did, and announced he was all in.

There was an audible and perhaps involuntary noise from O’Dwyer, a melodic groan that transformed into a smile. “I haven’t played much poker in the past few months,” he said. “Let me make sure I…”

At which point he called, turning over 87 after Farrell showed him 10Q.

Amid the excitement a turn card 6 to give O’Dwyer the straight. The river the 10, which did nothing to help Farrell.

A key double up for O’Dwyer who now has more than 1.2 million chips. Farrell on the other hand now has jut 200,000 and is in peril with 15 minutes to play before the dinner break. – SB

6:40pm: Adams outmuscles Stuer
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Timothy Adams raised to 50,000 from under the gun and it folded to his immediate neighbour, Julian Stuer, who called from the big blind.

They didn’t seem to like the flop of 277 very much and checked. And they weren’t too enamoured by the turn of K either. They checked that too.

Then the 3 came on the river and Stuer suddenly seemed interested. He bet 70,000. But Adams seemed captivated too and raised to 280,000, which was now too rich for Stuer. He folded. — HS

6:30pm: The Chouity and Khangah show
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

The first half of level 14 has been reasonably quiet, with not much in the way of action to report. What action there has been at table four has been driven by Nicolas Chouity and Manuchehr Khangah.

The EPT6 Grand Final champion was as low as 10 big blinds at one point but he’s back up to about 40 now although he lost some to Khangah in back to back hands. In the first Chouity opened to 44,000 but folded to Khangah when the Azerbaijani shoved for 325,000.

On the next hand Khangah limped from early position, Dario Sammartino completed from the small blind only for Chouity to raise to 70,000 from the big blind. Khangah was the only caller.

On the K105 flop Chouity bet 60,000 but folded when Khangah moved all-in. Chouity laughed as he did, showing the A to Khangah, who responded by showing A6 for a pure bluff. You suspect Chouity had him outkicked. –NW

6:25pm: Cheng takes a few from Juanda
Level 14 – Blinds: 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

John Juanda has dipped below the 2 million mark, losing a pot to Leo Yan Ho Cheng. We’ve all done it.

Tim Adams actually got it started with a raise to 50,000 from the hijack and Cheng’s call from the button set up a perfect squeeze chance for Juanda in the small blind. He made it 180,000 to play.

Adams thought better of it, but Cheng wasn’t buying it. He called to see the Q4Q on the flop. Check, check. The 7 came on the turn and they both checked again. That brought the 9 on the river.

Juanda checked for a third time, but that wasn’t for Cheng. He bet 250,000 and Juanda folded.

Juanda now has about 1.7 million. Cheng has about 900,000. — HS

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
14 10,000 20,000 3,000

6:21pm: Chop it up fellas
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

In the last hand in level 13 Claas Segebrecht raised it up to 36,000 from under-the-gun and called after Steve O’Dwyer three-bet to 100,000. Action was checked all the way to the river of a 3A85J board at which point Segebrecht bet just over half pot and O’Dwyer called. One by one they turned they cards over with Seegbrecht showing AQ and O’Dwyer AQ.

Chop it up. –NW

6:20pm: Negreanu Q&A

If you’re a newer player looking for a few lessons on how to take on the bigger tournaments, you could do worse than having a chat with Daniel Negreanu about it. Tomorrow (Monday) at 10:45am, Negreanu has agreed to offer a Q&A before the start of the Main Event here at Casino Barcelona. Have some questions about what it takes to compete in one of the bigger events? He’ll be here to answer them.–BW

6:15pm: Adams gets another one, takes out Kempe
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

With only 194,000 left in his stack, Rainer Kempe open-shoved from the cut-off. It got through the button, but Tim Adams was happy to come along out of the small blind with pocket nines. Kempe’s A2 needed help. He flopped a deuce but improved no further, and out he went. –BW

8G2A7842_EPT13BAR_Timothy_Adams_Neil Stoddart.jpg

6:11pm: Table 1: Entry fee 1 million
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (1,000 ante)

The chips have all gravitated over to table one where four players have more than a million.

They are:

John Juanda — 2 million
Timothy Adams – 1.9 million
Julian Stuer – 1.6 million
Philipp Gruissem – 1.1 million

Gruissem and Adams just played a small pot in which Gruissem raised to 37,000 from under the gun and Adams called in the big blind. They both checked the 927 flop and then Adams check-called Gruissem’s 40,000 bet on the 7 turn. They both then checked the 10 river and Gruissem winced as though he had been rivered when Adams opened his A10. — HS

6:02pm: Adams ascent continues
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Timothy Adams is having a better than average level 13 and has now scored two eliminations. First he took out Praytush Buddiga and a few moments ago he added the scalp of Mikhail Rudoy to his ledger.

The Russian player opened to 35,000 from the hijack and Adams defended from the big blind. On the Q76 flop Adams check-called a bet of 40,000 and the Q hit the turn. On this street the Canadian elected to lead, firing out 50,000. Call from Rudoy. On the J river Adams set Rudoy in for around a pot sized bet and Rudoy called, showing Q10 for trip queens but Adams had him beat with Q7 for the turned full house.

He’s up to 1,700,000 now. –NW

6pm: Not good for Badziakouski
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Adrian Mateos opened for 32,000 with an eye on Mikita Badziakouski next to him, down to his last 74,000. Badziakouski though was not going out without a fight. He bet 50,000 of what he had left and watched the action reach Stanley Choi in the big blind. Choi four-bet to 100,000 and waited to see what Mateos did.

Mateos called and Badziakouski made the inevitable shove. Now he waited.

The flop came 7J7

Choi checked to Mateos who bet 125,000. That forced Choi to fold and took things to a show down.

Mateos showed J9 but Badziakouski was ahead with A7 for a set. That advantage would change though. The turn came 10 to give Mateos outs. Sure enough the 8 river card made him the straight. – SB

5:55pm: Dvoress triples, Zinno busts, Badziakouski on life support
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (1,000 ante)

As the blinds start getting up there, this is the kind of thing that is going to happen. Anthony Zinno was sitting on around 165,000 and open shoved with a A6. It ran directly into Mikita Badziakouski’s AQ, and he shoved, too. Problem was, both of them ran into Daniel Dvoress’ JJ. Both Zinno and Dvoress were at risk, but the board ran out well for Dvoress and he tripled up to around 700,000.–BW

NEIL6682_EPT13BAR_Anthony_Zinno_Neil Stoddart.jpg

Anthony Zinno

5:50pm: Captain Holz
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (1,000 ante)

Nicolas Chouity shoved from late position on two consecutive hands, winning both uncontested. The first was an open-shove from the button for about 300,000, which picked up blinds and antes. The second was a three-bet shove over Conor Drinan’s 35,000 open, which picked up blinds, antes and Drinan’s bet.

The table captain, however, is Fedor Holz. Suprise, surprise. Holz just picked up some more chips from Manuchehr Khangah in the following hand. Khangah limped from the cutoff and Holz, on the button, raised to 67,000. Khangah’s call took them to a flop of 63A. Khangah checked and Holz bet 40,000. Khangah called.

The turn brought the 2, another check from Khangah and a bet of 110,000 from Holz. Muck. — HS

5:40pm: Peters sent to the rail
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

David Peters was getting up out of his chair and Nick Petrangelo was stacking up his chips. His pocket sevens had undone Peter’s ace-queen with nothing to help either player on the board. Word was it was “jam, re-jam”, with Petrangelo all in for around 250,000. — SB

5:35pm: Peters enters the danger zone
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Everything about the following hand between David Peters and Sam Greenwood was calm, considered and silent. Two masters of their crafts spending another day at the office, albeit an office where you could walk away with a seven-figure pay cheque at the end of the week.

The action started with Peters raising to 36,000 and Greenwood, who was in position smooth calling. A 9A6 flop hit the felt, Peters calmly considered his options with no flicker of emotion and checked, as did Greenwood.

On the 2 turn Peters check-called a bet of 53,000 and the Q fell on the river. Action was on Peters, who only had around 200,000 back, and he again checked. In keeping with the hand Greenwood considered his options carefully before making his move. His move was to slide out enough of the green/yellow 25K chips to set Peters all-in, Peters fold to this bet was the swiftest action of the hand and leaves him deep in trouble, Greenwood is now up to 1,070,000. –NW


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5:25pm: Mercier loses race, busts to Kurganov
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

The Team Pro representation in this Super High Roller event is now precisely zero as Jason Mercier follows Daniel Negreanu to the rail. Mercier and Igor Kurganov got it all-in pre-flop. Kurganov had made it 35,000 and Mercier shoved for 235,000. Mercier had 1010. Kurganov had AK. The window card was the A and the rest of the board — 2J29 — didn’t help Mercier. Kurganov stacked up around 830,000 when the hand was done. — HS

5:20pm: Full chip counts from break
Level 13 – Blinds: 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Here’s how the full chip count looked at the break: EPT €50K SHR chip counts.

5:06pm: Kitai doubles
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (1,000 ante)

Davidi Kitai is sticking around: he just doubled through Andreas Goeller with AJ to Goeller’s 33 through a 69KAA board. They were all in pre-flop, for Kitai’s last 200,000. He now has about 420,000 while Goeller is down to 180,000. — HS

5:05pm: McDonald crushes Thorel for chip lead
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

If there was ever a time to use that phrase, “That escalated quickly” this is it. In the last hand before the break, Mike McDonald won a monster pot that is likely good for the chip lead or close to it.

McDonald told us how the action played out (and we think we got it all correct, but our apologies if we missed something…because…well, there was a lot going on).

To the best we can figure it, Stanley Choi opened the betting for 26,000 and Mike McDonald called, as did Jean-Noel Thorel. Play moved over to Adrian Mateos who squeezed to 90,000. Choi got out of the way, but McDonald (who had recently benefited from a double-up) wasn’t ready to fold. He made the call. That’s when Thorel decided to shove for nearly 900,000. Mateos was forced to fold, but McDonald didn’t buy it. After some consideration, he made the call with 99. It was the right call. Thorel only held A8. The board ran clean, Thorel was eliminated, and McDonald ended up with around 1.9 million in chips. We’ll have a full chip count soon, but holy moly, what a hand.–BW

5pm: Cold War cousins
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (1,000 ante)

Erik Seidel and Vladimir Troyanovskiy share much in common. They both fall into the “veteran” category (relatively speaking); they both have a pretty good list of results in High Roller events; neither says very much at the table but both have a devilish sense of humour.

They are also, at least at time of writing, sitting at the same table with almost exactly matched stacks in the final 36 of the €50,000 Super High Roller. And they also just played a pot against one another.

Seidel opened this one, raising to 30,000 from early position. Troyanovskiy raised to 80,000 from the hijack and Seidel called. It was just the two of them.

The flop brought the 249 and Seidel checked. Troyanovskiy bet 75,000 but when it came back round to Seidel, he raised to 210,000. Troyanovskiy didn’t like this. You could tell by the absence of his menacing grin. After a little while in the tank, during which time Seidel remained monkishly silent, Troyanovskiy folded. — HS

4:55pm: Two eliminations in the run up to the break
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Just before the break there were two eliminations. Rocco Palumbo was sent to the rail by Adrian Mateos, while Tim Adams sent Ye Zhang to the rail to help his cause. – SB

4:54pm: Summer of Fedor continues
Level 12: Blinds 6,000/12,000, Ante 2,000

As Fedor Holz’s fine summer continues, winter is coming for Francisco Benitez. After Benitez came in for a raise to 25,000, Holz put in a small three-bet which Benitez called. On the K45 flop, Benitez check-shoved on Holz for 125,000. Holz stayed with him, showing K9 to Benitez’s KJ. It all looked fine for Benitez until Holz spiked the 9 on the river to eliminate Benitez.

In other news, Aidyn Auyezkanov has also been eliminated. –BW

4:45pm: Kurganov chops down Chouity
Level 12: Blinds 6,000/12,000, Ante 2,000

Nicolas Chouity and Igor Kurganov just played a very interesting hand that went to showdown. Kurganov started the hand with 395,000 and he opened the betting from the cutoff, making it 30,000 to play. Chouity was in the small blind and bumped the price of poker up to 71,000, a bet Kurganov matched.

So it was heads-up to a 28A flop, neither player made any aggressive action and the 7 rolled off on the turn. The pot picked up pace again here with Chouity betting 42,000 from a stack of 370,000, Kurganov raising to 116,000 and Chouity making the call.

So the pot was now a meaty 400,000 with one card to come, which was the 4. The action was checked to Kurganov and he considered his options carefully before betting 138,000 of his 208,000 stack. This sizing seemed to throw Chouity for a loop as he shot back in his chair and his face wore a look of exasperation. “Do you ever bluff?” he asked Kurganov. You sensed about this specific situation rather than in his entire poker career, this isn’t Kurganov’s first super high roller after all. “If you do (bluff) then it’s insane,” added Chouity.

The Lebanese player cut out the calling chips from his stack and It looked as if he’d have about 120,000 back if he called and lost. After thinking it over for a minute or so Chouity did indeed call. His opponent showed A9 for top pair. Chouity couldn’t beat it and looked back at his cards with such ferocity that he bent the edges of one of his hole cards to an extent that a new deck was called for.

He drops to 120,000 while Kurganov climbs to 746,000. –NW

4:45pm: Mercier gets his shove through
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Facing a raise of 30,000 from Fedor Holz, Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier shipped his stack of 250,000 across the line from the small blind. Once Nicolas Chouity got out the way from the big blind the action was back on Holz and he didn’t take too long to surrender his hand. Mercier survives for now. –NW

4:37pm: Justice for all! By that we mean Gruissem
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

The board was already dealt JQ106 and the chips were in the middle.

At one end of the table were those belonging to Aidyn Auyezkanov. They represented his call of those chips at the other end belonging to Philipp Gruissem, whose moustache makes him poker’s Douglas Fairbanks. This alone bestows on him enough élan that were to arrive for work swinging on the end of a rope like Zorro, with a knife between his teeth, no one would bat an eyelid.

Well I wouldn’t. I’ve had a hard time selling this analogy.

There was still one card to come and Fairbanks Gruissem looked pretty good. He’d flopped a straight, holding nine-eight while Auyezkanov held ace-ten. When the river came it was another ten, which looked good for Auyezkanov but was actually harmless to Gruissem, who enjoyed his triumph and stacked up 700,000. – SB

4:35pm: Recent eliminations
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (1,000 ante)

Among the most recent eliminations: Jack Salter, Sergey Lebedev, Julian Thomas, Stephen Chidwick, Christoph Vogelsnag, Christian Cristner, Moritz Dietrich, Daniel Negreanu, Byron Kaverman, Anton Astapau, Patrik Antonius, Steffen Sontheimer, Dominik Nitsche, Martin Kozlov.

4:25pm: Juanda on the right side of ultimate cooler
Level 12 – Blinds: 6,000/12,000 (1,000 ante)

“Ice cold,” Julian Thomas said as he headed out the door, hot on the heels of Stephen Chidwick whose tournament ended at the exact same time. They both fell foul of a huge cooler.

It started with a raise to 12,000 from Chidwick in early position. From my obscured vantage point, it seemed as though the next action was from Thomas, in the big blind, who pause-shoved for what Chidwick established, via the dealer, was 246,000.

Chidwick then said that he was all-in too, at which point I noticed that John Juanda was also in this hand, on the button. I’m not sure if Juanda had three-bet or not, but he was certainly quick to call the double shove with a covering stack.

Juanda turned over AA. Chidwick turned over KK. And then almost in chorus Juanda and Chidwick guessed that Thomas had the exact hand he quickly exposed: AK.

julian_thomas_ept13_barcelona_day2.jpg

Julian Thomas, left, left ice cold

The flop was very bad news for Chidwick and Thomas. It fell A25. The Q on the turn ended it for all of them and the 6 on the river was a blank.

With that, Juanda took both of his opponents’ stacks and built his own to more than 700,000.

Ice cold indeed.–HS

4:12pm: Double for Chouity
Level 12: Blinds 6,000/12,000, Ante 2,000

We missed exactly how the chips went in but Nicolas Chouity (button) got his final 275,000 in the middle against Francisco Benitez, who was the small blind. The EPT6 Grand Final winner turned over 1010 and had Benitez dominated both in rank and suit as the Uruguayan opened 66.

A KQ3A10 run out doubled Chouity to around 580,000 while Benitez drops to 420,000. –NW

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
12 6,000 12,000 1,000

3:55pm: Something must have happened somewhere
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

A twenty minute spell on the tournament floor sometimes comes up short, like this one for example.

Niall Farrell knocked David Peters out of a hand. After a flop of K92 Peters called Farrell’s bet of 27,000 but not Farrell’s 50,000 on the 7 turn.

Stephen Chidwick opened a pot for 22,000 before Pratyush Buddiga moved all in from the seat next to him, 180,000 in total. That kind of ruined things for Chidwick who was forced to fold.

Back with Farrell, he three bet to 88,000 from the small blind after Sam Greenwood opened for 25,000 in the cut off. Farrell looked strong until Claas Segebrecht four bet from the big blind, making it 168,000 to play. An easy fold for Greenwood. A difficult fold for Farrell. – SB


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3:30pm: Negreanu busts to Farrell
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Back to our friends at the Department of Hands That Play Themselves for this one: Daniel Negreanu is now out.

Niall Farrell opened to 22,000 from early position and Negreanu moved all in from the button, with about 230,000 in his stack. Farrell called and this one was a straight race:

Negreanu: AK
Farrell: JJ

The race became quite uneven on the flop, which fell 5J5. It was officially all over by the 8 turn. The 4 was an irrelevance. “I said if I was going to lose, I wanted to lose early,” Negreanu said. “Back to bed.” — HS

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Niall_Farrell

3:21pm: Full chip counts from break
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Here’s how the full chip count looked at the break: EPT €50K SHR chip counts.

3:10pm: Kaverman busts to O’Dwyer
Level 11 – Blinds: 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

From the Department of Hands That Play Themselves comes this one: Byron Kaverman, with a stack of 83,000, moved all-in from the hijack and Steve O’Dwyer, one seat to his right, three-bet to 150,000 to isolate. Everyone else folded and O’Dwyer was ahead with JJ to Kaverman’s AJ.

No one delayed unnecessarily as a board ran 375K9 and Kaverman headed home. O’Dwyer now has about 600,000. — HS

2:30pm: Vogelsang & Gruissem sparring…with no cards
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Earlier we wrote a bit about Christoph Vogelsang and Philipp Gruissem going at each other with cards in their hand. Now the battle has escalated, and it’s getting snippy.

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Christoph Vogelsang

At issue: the amount of time Vogelsang takes to make his decisions. Already rather infamous for his deliberate nature, Vogelsang has finally gotten under Gruissem’s skin by taking more time than his fellow German thinks is reasonable.

“It’s every time!” Gruissem complained. “Hurry up!”

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Philipp_Gruissem

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Igor Kurganov looks in on the scrap

Vogelsang tried to explain himself, saying a couple of limps in front of him made his pre-flop decision on the previous hand more difficult to analyze.

“Just be nice to each other, please,” tournament staffer Kate Badurek implored them.

“It can happen every once in a while, but it’s every decision!” Gruissem said.

He wasn’t alone in his frustration. Others tried to calm the battle, but Gruissem was clearly too frustrated to back down.

“Let’s just move on,” Badurek begged.

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Kate_Badurek keeping the peace

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Kate Badurek’s watch

Hearing the commotion from the next table over, John Juanda stood and looked amused.

“What happened? Are the two Germans not getting along?” he said.

For now, everyone is going on a scheduled break which may allow for some time to cool off…and maybe think about speeding up. –BW

2:15pm: Adios Gerard
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Gerard Pique is out. It didn’t last long today for the Barcelona footballer and he is now free to go back to training. Pique’s name is the most familiar on the list of the departed, which now also features the following:

Ali Reza Fatehi, Rafael Moraes, Chance Kornuth, Koray Aldemir, Christopher Kruk, Max Silver, Tobias Reinkemeier, Bryn Kenney, Ivan Luca, Murad Akhundov, Paul Newey and Guanfei Zhu. — HS

2:05pm: A gift from Fedor
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Action folded to Sergey Lebedev in the small blind and he completed. Fedor Holz, in the big blind, checked. This had all the makings of a nothing hand and–spoiler alert–so it proved.

They both checked the KJ5 flop. They both checked the A turn. Then Lebedev bet 12,000 at the 9 river and Holz picked up two blue chips and two yellows and actually placed them on top of Lebedev’s bet, in front of his opponent, indicating that he knew his call was practically a gift.

Lebedev turned over J8 to confirm receipt. Holz mucked. –HS

2:02pm: No gold for Silver
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

The games in brazil are over, and so is the Super High Roller for Max Silver. His two entries in this event weren’t good enough. So it’s back to work for him. –BW

1:40pm: Rodin’s Astapau
Level 10 – Blinds: 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

There was at least 300,000 in a pot played out between Anton Astapau and Julien Stuer, which was heads-up by the river. The five cards in the middle, beside that swollen pot, were: QQ4Q2.

Astapau, with about 210,000 behind, checked. But then Stuer, with about six times that amount, shoved a tower worth 500,000 over the line. Astapau now need to make a decision for his tournament life.

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Anton_Astapau

He didn’t fold instantly. He didn’t even fold relatively quickly. He was clearly thinking about both options and went deep into the tank, even at one point holding the fingers of his left hand to his temple as though Belarus’s equivalent of Rodin had cast him in bronze.

This was a very big decision and everyone around the table knew it. But then someone eventually called the clock–it might have been one of Philipp Gruissem or Tim Adams at the other end of the table–and Astapau explained that he wasn’t tanking for no reason. Everyone seemed to accept that, but also intimated that he really had been taking a long time, and Astapau seemed to accept that too.

As the clock ticked down, Astapau mucked. He is now animated again and hoping to build that stack back up. — HS

1:45pm: Payout information

The tournament staff just announced the prize pool and payout information. With $4,897,530 in the prize pool, the Super High Roller will pay 13 places with 13th place taking €98,000 and the winner getting €1,300,300.

You can find the full list of payouts on the EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller winners page. –BW

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
10 4,000 8,000 1,000

1:40pm: Kornuth and Nitsche can’t clash enough
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Chance Kornuth and Dominik Nitsche seem intent on playing a big pot against one another, but the cards are conspiring against it. On a recent hand, Patrik Antonius opened to 15,000 from the hijack and Kornuth three-bet the cutoff, making it 36,000.

Nitsche was in the small blind and he cold four-bet to 75,000. Antonius didn’t like all this action and sighed as he folded. But Kornuth loved it and five-bet all in, for about 165,000. Nitsche called immediately.

“Ace king,” Nitsche said. He proved it by tabling AK. Kornuth turned over his cards: AK.

There was no vicious four-flushing board and so they chopped it. “Would you have had us, Patrik?” Kornuth asked his neighbour. Antonius gave no response.

On the next deal, Kornuth started it all again, raising to 14,000 from the hijack. This time Nitsche was on the button and he called, which took them to a flop of 946. Kornuth checked and Nitsche bet 16,000. Kornuth raised to 37,000 and Nitsche folded, preserving a stack of about 400,000. — HS


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1:30pm: The endless summer of Christoph Vogelsang
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

When you settle in to watch Christoph Vogelsang play a couple of hands, bring a toothbrush and change of clothes. It might take a while. He is, to put it kindly, as deliberate as almost any player in the game. With that understood, you also might be in for a wild ride. Take the five hands he just played.

It began when he saw a Vogelsang-raised flop of 573 with the freshly re-entered Manuchehr Khangah. Vogelsang lefd for 27 and got the call. They saw the 4 on the turn. This time Vogelsang led for 37,000 and Khangah called for the 2 river. Both players checked and Khangah revealed A7 for the flopped top pair and rivered wheel. Vogelsang flashed tens, and found himself with less than 70,000 in his stack.

So, he simply shoved under the gun on the next hand. It picked him up the blinds and antes.

Now in the big blind, Vogelsang called a raise to 15,000 from Philipp Gruissem. Both of them checked the QK3 flop. On the 10 turn, Vogelsang checl-raised all-in and got Gruissem to fold. Remember that moment.

Vogelsang folded to a raise in the small blind, but once he had the button, it was time for fireworks. With play folded around to him, Vogelsang raised to 13,000 and Gruissem (hello, again!) called out of the big blind. On a flop of 365, Gruissem checked, and Vogelsang bet out for 16,000. Gruissem didn’t wait for long before announcing he was all in. Vogelsang, in the quickest move he will make all day, snap-called to reveal AA. Bad news for Gruissem who held J5.

The board paired the three on the turn. The river J gave Gruissem a worthless two pair, and Vogelsang doubled to 251,000. Gruissem was left with around 120,000. –BW

NEIL6548_EPT13BAR_Philipp_Gruissem_Neil Stoddart.jpg

Philipp_Gruissem

1:15pm: Easy does it
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Now this is a proper freezeout, play is a little more circumspect. I’m sure you’ll agree, you’d play differently when you know you can’t just dip into your pocket and pluck out a spare €50K if a bluff goes wrong.

Anyhow, here’s a smattering of small pots to report:

Christian Christner opened to 14,000 from mid-position and his immediate neighbour, a fellow by the name of Daniel Negreanu, raised to 36,000. Negreanu has a pristine new 250,000 stack to play with today.

Everyone else left these two to it and Christner paid to see a flop. It came 35A. Christner checked and Negreanu bet 35,000. Christner folded and Negreanu is up and running.

One table along, Jean-Noel Thorel scooped in a pot and then posted a small blind for the next hand. Action folded to Thorel, who completed the big blind of Conor Drinan. Drinan checked.

This got me thinking: what’s Jean-Noel Thorel’s small-blind completion range? Thorel will call three- and four-bets with pretty much any two cards, so a completion from the small blind might mean unsuited five-gappers, at a guess.

Anyway, Drinan tapped the table to see a flop of J106. That’s all over Thorel’s range. Thorel checked, Drinan checked, and they saw the 9 on the turn. Thorel bet 10,000 and won.

Mike McDonald was over the other side of the room and on a pretty tough table, also featuring Adrian Mateos, Ivan Luca and Juha Helppi, among others. McDonald raised to 14,000 from mid-position and Helppi called in the big blind.

Those two saw the J6A fall on the flop and Helppi check-called McDonald’s 12,000 continuation bet.

The Q turned and both players checked. Then the 6 came on the river and both players checked again. That turned out to be a shrewd play by McDonald as Helppi had turned the nuts. He flipped his K10 but didn’t get paid from the trap he had set.

On the next table along, Rafael Moraes raised to 12,000 from under the gun and Stephen Chidwick, in the hijack, began a calling epidemic. He was joined by Pratyush Buddiga (cutoff), Steffen Sondtheimer (SB) and Mikhail Rudoy (BB) in calling.

The famous five saw the flop of 10710 and the first three to act, including the pre-flop raiser, checked to Chidwick. Chidwick bet 30,000. Only Moraes called and that took them to the 4 on the turn.

Moraes checked again and Chidwick bet 95,000 this time. That got rid of his final opponent.

So, as I say, easy does it in these early stages. — HS

12:45pm: Latest numbers
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Although the full number of entries is yet to be confirmed, it seems that this tournament attracted 102 entries (78 unique players and 24 re-entries). We’ll make that official at some point today, and will have prize pool information too. — HS

12:40pm: Superstars arrive as registration closes
Level 9 – Blinds: 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Daniel Negreanu is not the only household name to arrive and play this tournament today. Poker fans will welcome Patrik Antonius, but the world of sport will greet the Barcelona and Spain centre-back Gerard Pique, who has come to join the fray. Pique is a huge poker fan and, having played for Barcelona in their 6-2 drubbing of Real Betis last night, is chancing his arm among the Super High Rollers today.

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Gerrard Pique

Here’s the full list of players buying in today (“new” indicates first buy-in):

Patrik Antonius (new)
Daniel Negreanu (new)
Rocco Palumbo (new)
Pratyush Buddiga
Mustapha Kanit
John Juanda
Ye Zhang (new)
Bryn Kenney
Manchehr Khangar
Gerard Pique (new)
Nicolas Chouity
Jason Mercier
Steffen Sondtheimer

They each get a stack of 250,000. –HS

NEIL6451_EPT13BAR_Patrik_Antonius_Neil Stoddart.jpg

Patrik Antonius

LEVEL SMALL BLIND BIG BLIND ANTE
9 3,000 6,000 1,000

12:32pm: Negreanu’s money-saving sick day

As predicted, Daniel Negreanu has joined the field today after spending yesterday in his hotel room sick.

“I woke up. I had a fever. Had the shakes. Whole deal,” he said.

As Negreanu spoke to Jason Koon, he revealed the whole “Missing Day 1” thing might have saved him a lot of money. After all, if he had been here yesterday, he could’ve been one of the many rebuys.

“Every time there is an unlimited re-entry tournament, I’ll just get sick Day 1. That’s the new plan,” he said.–BW

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12pm: Settling down for Day 2

The final preparations are under way for the start of Day 2 of the €50,000 Super High Roller event. Yesterday, the 73 players provided 91 total entries (18 of them re-entered after busting) and today there will be a few more coming through the door to play.

Rumour has it–and a distinctive laugh heard in the corridor earlier confirmed it–that the man on the right will be taking his seat to play:

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Daniel Negreanu to join the Super High Rollers

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 €50K Super High Roller: Nick Wright, Brad Willis, Howard Swains, and Stephen Bartley. Photography by Neil Stoddart. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter:@PokerStarsBlog

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