Fernando Santa Maria Bursts the Bubble and Takes Chip Lead on Day 1a of the EAPT Barcelona Main Event
It took nearly 13 hours of play, but the bubble finally burst on Day 1a of the EAPT Barcelona €560 Main Event.
Fernando Santa Maria did his part to send the remaining 19 players home, rivering a flush on the final hand to burst the bubble and ensure everyone who survived out of a starting field of 124 entries is in the money when Day 2 begins on Oct. 7.
Santa Maria bagged up 731,000 and the chip lead thanks to that pot. Harcharan Dogra, no stranger to success here at Casino Barcelona, is in second place after winning what proved to be the hand of the day. He and former big stack Julian Diaz Ubeda tangled in a massive pot that saw Dogra’s pocket queens survive a flip against Diaz Ubeda’s ace-king as climbed over 500,000, finishing with 567,000.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Santa Maria | Dominican Republic | 731,000 |
| 2 | Harcharan Dogra | Spain | 567,000 |
| 3 | Jordi Mataix | Spain | 470,000 |
| 4 | Andre Carvalho | Brazil | 394,000 |
| 5 | Diogo Ferreira | Brazil | 377,000 |
| 6 | Antonio Perez | Spain | 325,000 |
| 7 | Jose Rodriguez | Honduras | 303,000 |
| 8 | Vladyslav Ostapenko | 254,000 | |
| 9 | Adria Gabarro | Spain | 234,000 |
| 10 | David Carballas | Spain | 196,000 |
Jordi Mataix doubled up earlier in the day after believing he had been eliminated and rode that momentum to finish with 470,000. Andre Carvalho (394,000), Diogo Ferreira (377,000), Antonio Perez (325,000), and Jose Rodriguez (303,000) are also big stacks heading to Day 2.
The second of four starting flights begins tomorrow at noon local time and will again play down to the final 15 percent of the field. There is also a Day 1c flight tomorrow at 6 p.m. with 30-minute levels and a turbo Day 1d on Saturday morning with 20-minute levels. The surviving players from each starting flight will then combine for Day 2 at 6 p.m.
It was a long, grueling day here in the heart of Catalonia, but the tournament is just getting started. Stay tuned as PokerNews follows all the action the rest of the way until a champion is crowned.