888poker LIVE Barcelona Breaks Entries Record in Opening Event
The 2018 888poker LIVE Barcelona got off to a healthy start with its €220 buy-in Opening Event drawing a record 829 entries to smash the posted €100K guarantee, surpassing the 720 runners in the 2017 edition.
The two-week series running from May 24 - June 4 has over $1,000,000 (~€800,000) in guarantees on offer, and right around the corner is the biggest event on the schedule. The €500K GTD Main Event features an €1,100 buy-in and kicks off today.
"The money on offer to those who make the final table will be substantial for what is a relatively low buy-in."
“I think the main event will have a similar amount of runners as the opening event but will obviously be way bigger because of the higher buy-in of €1,100," said 888poker ambassador Chris Moorman. "The money on offer to those who make the final table will be substantial for what is a relatively low buy-in."
Opening Event
Moorman was one of the 90 players who got a piece of the €159,168 prize pool in the Opening Event, even though he had to settle for a min-cash. With a healthy €30,000 slated for the winner, the final table only took a few hours to play down to heads-up between Luka Cencelj and Anton Malinovskii.
Opening Event Official Final Table Payouts
| Position | Name | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luka Cencelj | €24,650* |
| 2 | Anton Malinovskii | €23,300* |
| 3 | Serkan Terek | € 12,678 |
| 4 | Eduard M | € 9,500 |
| 5 | Santeri Rantasalo | € 7,300 |
| 6 | Javier Garcia | € 5,900 |
| 7 | Gregor Prizmic | € 4,750 |
| 8 | Colum Higgins | € 3,500 |
| 9 | Pedro Arribas | € 2,500 |
Malinovskii was one of sixty 888poker qualifiers to enter the event at a discounted price, and he battled for two hours before a nearly even deal was struck between the final two, according to 888poker. Cencelj took the victory for a €24,650 payday, while Malinovskii cashed for €23,300.
"it's been a great experience that's all I can say."
"The tournament was amazing," Cencelj said of the event after the win. "Really long, we played today for 12 hours and, I don't know, it's been a great experience that's all I can say."
The High Roller is currently ongoing with registration just closed. 55 players survived Day 1 with 113 having signed up in total. Sofia Lövgren was the only 888poker ambassador to make it through with 314,500. Ana Marquez made it through with 183,000 and Maria Lampropulos with 177,000.
Players now look to the 888poker LIVE Main Event, which will play out from May 31 - June 4 with three starting flights. With the half-million guarantee, 30,000 starting chips and 45-minute blind levels, it is sure to be a monstrous event, just like the first one of the series. PokerNews will bring you Live Reporting and videos from Barcelona starting tomorrow.
