PokerStars EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 3: Andrei Konopelko Leads Going Into Day 4
Day 3 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event started with 292 players still in contention for that illustrious 100th EPT title and €1,261,000 first-place prize. With payouts reserved for just 239 players, 53 players would not only fall short of the accolades, but also of any cash at all.
Leading the charge is Andrei Konopelko from Belarus, who gathered 1,451,000 million in chips throughout the first 18 levels of the tournament. Piotr Sowinski from Poland is right on his heels with 1,315,000 in chips, and be sure not to forget about German Team PokerStars Pro Jan Heitmann with a respectable 953,000 in chips.
| Rank | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrei Konopelko | 1,451,000 |
| 2 | Piotr Sowinski | 1,315,000 |
| 3 | Davidi Kitai | 1,200,000 |
| 4 | Diogo Miranda | 1,161,000 |
| 5 | Pawel Brzeski | 1,080,000 |
| 6 | Martin Finger | 1,038,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Dvoress | 1,010,000 |
| 8 | Pedro Marques | 973,000 |
| 9 | Jan Heitmann | 953,000 |
| 10 | Maximilian Senft | 884,000 |
Mizrachi Busts Straight Away
Day 1a chip leader Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi was the first to get all the big hopes out of his head. In the first hand of the day, he saw his hopes for an even more impressive curriculum vitae squashed when his aces got cracked by nines. The nine on the river hurt, and Mizrachi was the first sent to the rail on the third day of play.
Many more would follow before bubble time was there. Canadian EPT regular Yann Dion ran his ace-queen into ace-king, Dutch sit-n-go expert Martijn Ardon saw a big bluff fail against Timo Pfutzenreuter, and Angel Guillen and Olof Haglund didn't make any dough, either.
It didn't take all that long before the clock was paused and the hand-for-hand process started. The bubble boy was set to not go home empty handed, though, as the organization had a Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event ticket worth $5,300 and custom-made electric guitar ready for the unfortunate soul to bust last before any loot was paid out.
Bubble Pandemonium
What followed can only be described as a pandemonium. In a remarkable turn of events, the tournament saw six all-in situations at once, which led to some serious complications for the bubble and the tournament.
On the first table, Francois-Charles Scapula and Daniel Studer were all in and at risk against former World Series of Poker November Niner Sylvain Loosli, who called covering both players.
Scapula had the Q♠J♣, Studer the Q♦Q♥, and Loosli the A♦K♣. The board came J♥3♦8♦A♠7♣, allowing for Loosli to win the pot and eliminate both short stacks, but this is where things got interesting. There was some confusion as to who was the shortest of the two stacks, but it was eventually confirmed that Scapula had just 1,000 more than Studer.
On the next table to run out an all-in hand, Farid Chati was all in on an A♥2♥3♥2♠J♠ board against former EPT winner Martin Finger. Chati turned over the K♥J♥ for a king-high flush, but Finger flipped over the 5♥4♥ for a straight flush to the astonishment from all surrounding the table. That meant after two of the six showdowns, three players had been eliminated.
The third table saw Randal Flowers all in with the A♦Q♠. His mood had been brightened by the fact that several players had already been knocked out, guaranteeing the American some sort of prize. Philippe D'Auteuil was the one who had made the call with his J♠J♣. The flop came K♥5♥9♥, and Flowers said, "I'll take two hearts," but the turn was the 2♠ and the river was the 3♠. That meant a fourth elimination was confirmed, with more all-in situations to play out.
The next two all-in hands — both on different tables — saw double ups for the short stacks, leaving just one more to go. Pawel Brzeski had put Richard Dubini at risk and Dubini called it off, but he had an agonizing wait while all of the other hands played out. Eventually, he was able to turn his cards over and see what he was up against, and when that time came he saw his Q♥Q♠ against the K♠K♣ for Brzeski. The final board was A♦8♣K♥3♦4♣ and Dubini joined the other players eliminated on the bubble.
Five players were eliminated on the bubble, but with two of them coming from the same table, it's a very unique situation as to who would get what. The bubble was to receive a guitar and $5,300 seat in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $10,000,000 guaranteed event in Florida this week, so the tournament staff was left to sort out the mess.
It was decided that the five players would take the money from the first four in-the-money spots (€8,050 times four for €32,200) and divide it evenly amongst them, taking €6,440 each. Then the five would play a sit & go for the guitar and the $5,300 seat. This ruling raised some questions because it was ignoring the "bigger chip stack" rule that applies to situations in which two players bust from the table on the bubble or in the money.
In the end Scapula from France beat Flowers heads up to grab the guitar and the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open ticket on top of his €6,440 prize — effectively making him more than many of the players that busted after him. The Frenchman was undecided if he was to travel to Florida to play in the event, or that he would try to sell it.
Remko Rinkema talked to Live Events specialist Neil Johnson about the unique situation:
Off to the Payout Desk
As usual, many players quickly busted after the bubble had burst. Niall "firaldo" Farrell, who won the FTOPS Main Event for $236,000 back in April, was one of the first to hit the payout desk. He was getting in line behind the likes of Thomas Brader, Pfutzenreuter, and David Peters, though, but all got the €8,050 min-cash for their efforts.
Ole Schemion, Martin Jacobson, Paul Vas Nunes, former EPT Barcelona winner Kent Lundmark, and Maxim Lykov did just slightly better, getting €8,500 for making it a tiny bit deeper.
Characters like Kitty Kuo (ace-queen into kings), Dan Shak (top pair and flush draw missed against a turned flush), and a furious Sergey Frizyak (the dealer open mucked someones hand, but it was correctly ruled live anyway) also left the stage before the fifth 90-minute level of the day was in the books.
Surging
Where people fell, others surged — as is usual in a tournament poker, and the biggest EPT on European soil event was no different. EPT Prague winner Martin Finger was one of them, gaining lots of chips on the bubble. EPT Berlin winner Davidi Kitai also had a day full of prosperity, and finished on 1,200,000 million.
Finger and Kitai aren't the only former EPT champs still in, though the quest to become a two-time winner has lost its glamour after Vicky Coren Mitchell became the first one to do it at last season's EPT Sanremo event. EPT London winner Robin Ylitalo (338,000), EPT Barcelona winner Mikalai Pobal (163,000), EPT Dortmund champ Mike McDonald (495,000), and EPT Tallinn winner Kevin Stani (421,000) are also through to Day 4.
You can find the Day 4 table draw in the live reporting section of PokerNews.com by clicking here.
Main Event and €10,300 High Roller On Monday
The tournament continues at noon local time Monday, August 25, with the goal for the day being to lose as many players as possible. Last year it was Tom Middleton who lead the final 24 (and eventually won) after Day 4, so the organization will most likely try to get down to as close as possible to that number this year as well.
PokerNews will again be on site to supply you with all the updates, but more than just the Main Event will be on the docket with the start of the €10,300 High Roller also on Monday.
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