EPT National Breaks Attendance Record; Jakovljevic Claims Overall Day 1 Lead

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Aug 23, 2019 4 min read Last updated Dec 19, 2019

On Day 1c and 1d of the 2019 €1,100 EPT National at EPT Barcelona, Casino Barcelona once again attracted bumper fields to the vibrant, sunny city on the Spanish coast. The biggest field showed up for Day 1c, bringing out a turnout of 1,872 players. The turbo Day 1d starting day brought another 964 in the mix.

In total, 4,682 entries were made across the four starting days, setting a new attendance record for what's one of the biggest yearly mid-stakes events in all of Europe. 702 made it through Day 2, which will kick off at noon on Friday, August 23. Dejan Jakovljevic (lead picture) will return as the overall Day 1 chip leader with 915,000 in chips.

€1,100 EPT National Barcelona by the Numbers

€1,100 EPT National Barcelona Day 2 Seat Draw

€1,100 EPT National Barcelona Day 2 Seat Draw - Tables 1-44
€1,100 EPT National Barcelona Day 2 Seat Draw - Tables 45-88

€1,100 EPT National Barcelona Day 1c

When the cards went in the air at noon local time at Casino Barcelona for the third of four starting days, more than 1,200 players were already registered and it was a sign of things to come as a new attendance record was set after the registration for Day 1c and Day 1d had closed.

As expected, the penultimate starting day would end up as the biggest, as Day 1c gathered a staggering 1,872 entries to more than double the field size of the previous two days combined.

Frenchman Jonathan Therme vaulted into the Day 1c chip lead in the last levels of the night and claimed 757,000 to his name. Sorin Flutur follows in second place with 672,000 and Navot Golan advanced with 660,000. Other big stacks and notables among the Day 1c survivors include Ajay Gnanasambanthan (582,000), Ivan Gabrieli (556,000), Alexandre Mantovani (540,000), Vojtech Ruzicka (531,000), and Vadzim Lipauka (525,000).

PokerStars ambassador Kalidou Sow also had a strong showing in the third starting day and ended the night with a very respectable stack of 400,000, narrowly ahead of fellow countryman and two-time WSOP Main Event finalist Antoine Saout (396,000) and Fernando Pons (329,000). Nicolas Dumont (253,000), Adrian Mateos (190,000), Harry Lodge (179,000), Michael Soyza (162,000), and Kitty Kuo (145,000) are just some of many notables that all made it through as well.

Plenty of other big names fell in the 18 levels of play and among the earliest casualties was Johan Guilbert, who ran with tens into queens at the end of the first level. He was joined on the rail by Martin Jacobson, the PokerStars ambassadors Maria Konnikova and Steve Enriquez, 2017 WSOPE Main Event champion Marti Roca de Torres, Walter Treccarichi, Russell Thomas, Michael Tureniec, Ari Engel, Sebastian Malec, Pavel Plesuv and Guillaume Diaz to name just a few.

€1,100 EPT National Barcelona Day 1d

The final starting flight out of four finalized all the numbers. Day 1d attracted a record number of 964 players to bring the total number of entries up to 4,682 which surpassed all the records. Out of those 964 players, 195 were allowed to bag and tag their chips for Day 2 as they were done playing and could celebrate the fact that they were all in the money.

Two years ago, the previous record for the EPT National was set right here in Barcelona when Pedro Cairat topped a field of 4,557 entries to claim the trophy and a payday of €432,178. Cairat may still add a second title in Barcelona to his resume after bagging up on Day 1a, but will be below the average when the cards for Day 2 go back in the air at noon local time on Friday, August 23rd, 2019.

Claiming the Day 1d chip lead here in Casino Barcelona is Romain Vial from France who bagged 700,000 in chips after bursting the bubble by eliminating Tobias Leknes. It wasn’t an easy bubble to burst though as both Arthur Conan and Jaroslaw Lipien both doubled up first before Leknes was sent to the rail by the river card which gave Vial a set for the upper-hand.

Vial is followed in the chip counts by Hafthor Hlynsson (667,000), Luis Hernandez (624,000), Daniel Nilsson (616,000), and Andrei Popugaev with 553,000. Other notable players to make it through to Day 2 include Dragos Trofimov, Ran Ilani, Hussein Hassan, Casey Kastle, Aladin Reskallah, Ad Schaap, Chin Wei Lim, and Katie Lindsay.

Tony Miles also found a bag to put 115,000 in chips in after a day of some ups and downs. PokerStars Ambassador Muskan Sethi ended the day with 90,000 in chips which is less than what she had earlier in the day but she still has some room to battle with when she returns to the felt. This was unfortunately not the case for her colleagues like Fatima Moreira De Melo, Andre Akkari, and Maria Konnikova.

When the 702 remaining players return at noon local time on Friday, August 23, they will all be in the money. How much a min-cash is worth exactly is unknown at this point but will be announced at the start of the day. Play will recommence with Level 17 with features a small blind of 3,000, big blind of 6,000, and a big blind ante of 6,000. Level duration will be increased to 60 minutes with a break after every two levels. The rest of the schedule like the dinner break or how many levels will be played in total are to be confirmed.

The Estrellas and EPT National in Barcelona at a Glance

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