2012 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 5: Ilari Sahamies Leads Final Table

Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager
3 min read
Ilari Sahamies

The 2012 PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event continued on Friday with the final 24 players looking to reach the final table. After six levels of play, just eight players remained, including chip leader Ilari Sahamies, who bagged up 7,885,000. John Juanda is the other big name at the final table; he'll begin play seventh in chips.

The day began quickly as Luis Rufas and Alain Roy exited early on, followed by Season 7 EPT Prague winner Roberto Romanello in 22nd place. Not long after, Juanda opened a pot over on the feature table only to have Lucille Cailly three-bet. After Ole Schemion called from the cutoff, Javier Piazuelo made it 299,000 to go from the button. Juanda quickly got out of the way, Cailly moved all in, Schemion moved all in over the top, and Piazuela folded.

Showdown
Cailly: QQ
Schemion: AK

Cailly got her stack of around 1 million in good, but she was in a race situation. Cailly was looking to have as much success as she did when she finished as runner-up of the 2012 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final, but the A99 flop had other plans as it gave Schemion the lead by pairing his ace. Cailly remained stoic as the 5 was put out on the turn followed by the 9 on the river, putting an end to her tournament in 21st place for €29,400.

After Ibon Merino Borbolla (20th), Saveikis Algirdas (19th), Mauro Canavese (18th) and Piazuelo (17th) were eliminated for €29,400 apiece, the remaining 16 players were combined to the final two tables.

Not long after, Fatima Moreira de Melo moved all in under-the-gun for around 600,000 and was called by Anaras Alekberovas from the big blind.

Showdown
Alekberovas: QQ
Moreira De Melo: AJ

The board ran out 78J87 and while Moreira de Melo caught a jack, it was not enough to save the Team PokerStars SportStar and she exited in 16th place for €34,650. Elias Gutierrez Hernandez, who earned the same amount for his 15th-place finish, followed her out the door a short time later.

In Level 25, Day 1a chip leader Aku Joentausta raised to 65,000 from under the gun and was called by Schemion in the cut-off and Sahamies in the small blind. Joentausta continued for 100,000 on the JKQ flop and was called by both players.

Schemion was the only player who called Joentausta's 300,000 bet on the 6 turn, and the river came the 2. Joentausta "emptied the clip" by betting all his remaining 1,190,000 chips. Schemion looked like he wanted to call but it took him five minutes to seemingly pluck up the courage to slide the calling chips forward with his KQ for top two-pair. It turned out to be good as Joentausta only had A4 and was subsequently eliminated in 14th place for €40,400.

After a bit more play and the eliminations of [Removed:273] (13th-€40,400), Mikolaj Zawadzki (12th-€46,700), Jonathan Karamalikis (11th-€46,700), and Morten Mortensen (10th-€55,100), the TV bubble was in full effect.

It took approximately three hours for the bubble to burst, but it finally happened when Sahamies raised preflop to 130,000 and Schemion — on Sahamies' immediate left — went all-in for around 1,220,000. Action folded back to Sahamies and he made the call.

Showdown
Sahamies: 8 8
Schemion: A K

Everyone in the tournament room watched intently as the dealer opened 3Q3 on the flop, giving Sahamies two pair and leaving his German opponent in need of some help. The J turn wasn't what he was looking for, and neither was 7 on the river. Sahamies' eights held and Schemion was eliminated from the tournament in ninth place for €55,100.

Season 9 EPT Barcelona Final Table

SeatPlayerCount
1Anaras Alekberovas4,430,000
2Ilari Sahamies7,885,000
3Antonin Duda3,445,000
4Samuel Rodriguez6,450,000
5John Juanda1,890,000
6Joni Jouhkimainen1,510,000
7Mikalai Pobal4,410,000
8Sinel Anton2,355,000

The sixth and final day of the 2012 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona Main Event will begin at 13:00 CET (07:00 EST) Saturday as the final table of eight will play down to a winner. It will be broadcast on PokerStars.tv on a one-hour delay, which means our live updates won't start until 14:00 CET. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to bring you all the latest from the Casino Barcelona as the final eight battle it out for the €1,007,550 first-place prize.

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Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager

PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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