The second and last Day 1 flight of EPT10 Barcelona has come to a close, and after another busy and exciting day of poker it appears Florian-Dimitrie Duta’s stack of 187,000 will be the closest challenger to Dragan Kostic’s Day 1A tally of 215,000 to start play tomorrow.
Expectations were high for this kickoff event of European Poker Tour Season 10. But like players on the first day of a six-day tournament, we tried not to be overly eager.
Would EPT10 Barcelona break a record with a Main Event field bigger than any other to take place in this picturesque Spanish coastal city? And would it… could it… be the biggest EPT Main Event field ever outside of a PCA?
The answer to the first question appears an unequivocal yes. With more than 700 players coming out for Day 1B added to yesterday’s 518, a 1,200-plus player turnout most certainly tops last year’s Barcelona best of 1,082.
As far as breaking the all-time high for non-PCA European Poker Tour events of 1,240 set in Sanremo during Season 6 is concerned, that remains to be seen once registration officially closes at the start of tomorrow’s Day 2. Amazing, in any case, to consider the growth in Barcelona since Alex Stevic topped 229 to win the first ever EPT Main Event here in Season 1.
We began today with a quick look back to the events of yesterday, EPT President Edgar Stuchly kicked off the second and last Day 1 flight, then a new crowd of players began the process of playing their way through eight 75-minute levels.
As the stacks started to grow, we recalled the famous and still under construction Sagrada FamĂlia, the church and tourist attraction located not far inland from the Casino Barcelona. Turning the other direction, a speed boat trip outward around the Mediterranean Sea provided more inspiration for following the day of play.
Of the hundreds taking seats for Day 1B, a few stood out for us during the afternoon and evening. Jason Lavallee and Liv Boeree provided an interesting tableau at one point as he folded a hand and she reacted.
We talked to last night’s Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event champion Paul Vas Nunes before he busted today. We watched Daniel Negreanu and Sofia Lovgren exchange table talk and tunes. Negreanu wouldn’t make it through today, but Lovgren would with 46,700. And Dag Palovic excitedly told us about his new detective novel coming out in October shortly before his post-dinner ouster.
We looked in on some LAPT stars who had joined this EPT field. We ran into the last EPT Main Event champion, Steve O’Dwyer, shortly after his bustout today. And Fatima Moreira de Melo told us how she used poker tactics to best the field in a Survivor-like reality show. She’d survive Day 1B, too, albeit with a short stack of 16,700.
As the night wore on, the bigger stacks started claiming our attention, as did thoughts of the difference between winning and losing, with winning the only sure way to earn one’s way into “notable” status. Finally came the semi-chaotic end-of-day hands, and play concluded for the night.
We’ll see you back here at noon tomorrow to see about that last record possibly falling. For now, good evening from Barcelona!
Click through to live coverage of the EPT Barcelona Main Event. Check out all the festival results here or take a look at what happened in the EPT Barcelona Super High Roller. Follow the @PokerStarsBlog Twitter account to keep up-to-date with all the EPT action and check out the EPTLive webcast.
Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.
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