Haoxiang Wang Leads the EPT Barcelona Main Event Final Six
The final six of the 2018 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona €5,300 Main Event is set after Day 5 saw seven players eliminated from the proceedings.
Haoxiang Wang (16,200,000) will return as the chip leader after he saw his stack rise early in the day and continued his momentum into the final table. Piotr Nurzynski is close behind on 15,425,000 with Ognyan Dimov in third place on 10,125,000. Matthias Tikerpe will return with 7,100,000, and the line-up is completed by the Portuguese duo of Pedro Marques (6,925,000) and Rodrigo Carmo (2,000,000).
Dimov is still in with a shot of becoming only the second-ever player in EPT history to win two Main Events after Vicky Coren-Mitchell.
Seat Assignments for the Final Day
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthias Tikerpe | Estonia | 7,100,000 | 35 |
| 2 | Piotr Nurzynski | Poland | 15,425,000 | 77 |
| 3 | Rodrigo Carmo | Portugal | 2,000,000 | 10 |
| 4 | Haoxiang Wang | China | 16,200,000 | 81 |
| 5 | Pedro Marques | Portugal | 6,950,000 | 35 |
| 6 | Ognyan Dimov | Bulgaria | 10,125,000 | 50 |
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (in EUR) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,611,500 | $1,870,178 |
| 2 | €859,050 | $996,945 |
| 3 | €590,000 | $684,707 |
| 4 | €424,250 | $492,353 |
| 5 | €354,200 | $411,056 |
| 6 | €287,050 | $333,127 |
Results of Day 5 at a Glance
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in EUR) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Mark Buckley | Ireland | €220,000 | $255,314 |
| 8 | Patrick Clarke | Ireland | €155,000 | $179,881 |
| 9 | John Juanda | Indonesia | €118,265 | $137,249 |
| 10 | Georges Hanna | Lebanon | €98,900 | $114,775 |
| 11 | Fabiano Kovalski | Brazil | €98,900 | $114,775 |
| 12 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | €88,250 | $102,416 |
| 13 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | €88,250 | $102,416 |
Action of the Day
Danny Tang was the first player to exit on Day 5 when Pedro Marques hit a full house against him. Tang held ace-nine on the three-three-deuce-ten-nine board, but Marques had ten-three. Tang was put to the ultimate test on the river when Marques put him all in. Tang threw all of his time bank cards into the middle, ultimately made the call and saw the bad news before he departed in 13th place for €88,250.
Ben Heath (12th place - €88,250), Fabiano Kovalski (11th - €98,900) and Georges Hanna (10th - €98,900) also missed out on a spot at the unofficial final table.
In a pivotal hand that set the tone for the day, Kovalski lost a 10m chip pot against Haoxiang Wang, when he called an all in with pocket jacks only to see Wang reveal pocket kings. Wang held to take the chip lead at the time with Kovalski left short and the latter departed shortly afterward.
When the final nine sat down to battle, there was not one, but two former EPT champions remaining in the form of Dimov and John Juanda. Both were looking to become only the second person to win two EPT Main Events, but Juanda's dream was not alive for long, and it was Dimov that ended it.
In a classic coinflip situation, Juanda needed to hold with pocket tens against Dimov's ace-queen. The queen-three-three flop saw Dimov take the lead and by the river he had hit two pair to eliminate Juanda in 9th place for €118,265.
At this point, Dimov and Wang had full control of the table, and the other players were all just trying to outlast each other to attain a vital pay jump.
In the line-up for final eight was the Irish duo of Patrick Clarke and Mark Buckley, but by the end of the day, both had exited.
Clarke was first to depart when he made a move from the small blind with pocket nines. Piotr Nurzynski had raised from under the gun and saw both Haoxiang Wang and Pedro Marques call. With the action on Clarke, he moved all in for close to 30 big blinds. Nurzynski asked for a count before he reshoved, which got Wang and Marques, who held pocket tens, to fold.
Nurzynski had Clarke crushed with pocket aces, and the board confirmed Clarke's elimination in 8th place for €155,000.
After seeing his compatriot depart the table, Buckley was looking for better luck, but he ultimately had the same fate as Clarke, with Nurzynski scoring another knockout.
Buckley had called a raise from Nurzynski in the big blind with jack-ten, and the jack-deuce-deuce flop gave him two pair. Buckley opted to check-shove on Nurzynski and was called. Nurzynski held ace-king suited for the nut flush draw and hit on the queen of clubs turn to take the lead. Buckley needed to hit a full house on the river but it was not to be, and he walked away in 7th place for €220,000.
With the field down to six, they played out the remaining 25 minutes of the level before they bagged their chips and will return on Sunday, September, 2 at noon local time.
PokerNews will be back with all the coverage of the final day as the PokerStars European Tour Barcelona Main Event champion is crowned.
