Jesus Cortes Wins €2,200 High Roller; Vivian Saliba Third
At the same time as Day 1a of the 2019 888poker LIVE Barcelona Festival €1,100 Main Event, the €2,200 High Roller played down to a champion on the second tournament day. Registration remained open until the cards went back in the air and a field of 87 entries emerged with the top nine spots taking home a share of the €167,040 prize pool.
Only the top nine spots were paid and plenty of big names fell before that including the 888poker ambassadors Chris Moorman, Martin Jacobson and Ana Marquez to name just a few. The bubble burst in cruel fashion when Francois Evard got his last few chips in with pocket nines and Jesus Cortes, who boosted his chip lead on the bubble significantly, hit two pair with six-five.
A few hours later, it would indeed be Cortes, a former EPT Main Event finalist and recent Super High Roller participant, that lifted the trophy for the winner shots.
Final Result €2,200 High Roller
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in EUR) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesus Cortes | Spain | €45,320* | $50,651 |
| 2 | Sonny Franco | France | €33,680* | $37,642 |
| 3 | Vivian Saliba | Brazil | €23,000 | $23,000 |
| 4 | Isabel Baltazar | France | €15,500 | $15,500 |
| 5 | Adrian Costin Constantin | Romania | €12,000 | $13,412 |
| 6 | Thierry Gogniat | France | €10,500 | $10,500 |
| 7 | Gisle Olsen | Denmark | €9,500 | $10,618 |
| 8 | Maor Glam | Israel | €9,000 | $10,059 |
| 9 | Jon Gurrutxaga | Spain | €8,540 | $9,545 |
*deal of the last two players
Jon Gurrutxaga was the first to cash and he recorded another result at Casino Barcelona after his deep run in the WPT Main Event not long ago. Maor Glam, Gisle Olsen and Thierry Gogniat became the next casualties and especially Olsen was quite happy with his result as he had dropped to just over one big blind at some point.
Defending €1,100 Main Event champion Adrian Costin Constantin had to settle for fifth place. The Romanian first lost ace-king against jack-ten suited and failed to get there for the rest of it with ace-nine suited versus pocket sixes. Isabel Baltazar then fell victim to the surge of Cortes, who got there with king-eight suited versus ace-queen suited thanks to an eight on the flop.
Down to the last three, Sonny Franco and Cortes were the big stacks and 888poker ambassador Vivian Saliba below ten big blinds. She eventually pushed with six-trey suited and Franco called with ace-seven to reduce the field to the final two. Quite late in the night - or early in the morning - Cortes and Franco struck a deal in heads-up and head to play for the trophy and €7,890 with a shortened level duration. Ultimately, it was a simple flip that sealed the victory for Cortes, who held up with pocket fours against queen jack to claim the trophy.
Many of the notables that entered the €2,200 High Roller are expected to join the action on the remaining two flights of the €1,100 Main Event.
