€560 Main Event Day 1a | 2024 EAPT Madrid

02-15-2024 12:54 UTC+1

EAPT Madrid €560 Main Event Kicks Off at 6:00 p.m.

Ryan Lashmar

The Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) continues today with its second stop of 2024 at the Casino Gran Via here in Madrid. This event marks the first time the EAPT has visited Madrid and second time the EAPT has come to Spain after the EAPT Barcelona stop in 2023.

Today the first of five starting flights will take place for the festival's €560 Main Event, which features a guaranteed prize pool of €180,000. A further €20,000 in value will be added to the prize pool as the top four finishers of the Main Event will receive a €5,000 package to Cyprus which includes a $2,000 entry to the EAPT Grand Final. That event will take place during the Mediterranean Poker Party in May 2024.

EAPT Madrid Main Event Schedule

Flight	Date	Local Time
Day 1a	Thursday, February 15	6:00 p.m.
Day 1b	Friday, February 16	1:00 p.m.
Day 1c Turbo	Friday, February 16	8:00 p.m.
Day 1d	Saturday, February 17	1:00 p.m.
Day 1e Turbo	Saturday, February 17	8:00 p.m.
Day 2	Sunday, February 18	2:00 p.m.
Day 3	Monday, February 19	2:00 p.m.

The EAPT crowned its most recent Main Event champion just over two weeks ago in the EAPT Bratislava €560 Main Event.. That event was won by Hungary's Miklos Zsuffa, who topped a field of 389 entrants to take home the top prize of €32,630 and a €5,000 package to Cyprus where he will complete in the $2,200 EAPT Grand Finale.

Today's Day 1a will begin at 6:00 p.m. local time. One reentry will be permitted for each starting flight and both late registration and reentries will be available until the end of Level 9. Players will start with 40,000 chips and play 40-minute levels, with the first level consisting of blinds at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante. All starting flights will play down until 15% of the field remains at which point the remaining players will bag for Day 2 and be in the money.

As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for all your live coverage needs for this event from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on the final day, February 19.

Tags: Miklos Zsuffa

02-15-2024 19:10 UTC+1

Neofitov Takes Down Four-Bet Pot

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 2 : Blinds 200/300, 300 ante

A player from under the gun opened to 700 only for the player in the next seat over to three-bet to 2,200. Dario Bagattini called on the button before Alexey Neofitov put in a four-bet to 7,200. The original raiser got out of the way while the early position player and Bagattini both made the call.

The flop came 8♥3♠8♣ and Neofitov fired a 5,500 continuation bet. The early position player got out of the way while Bagattini made the call.

Neofitov bet again on the 2♣ turn for 14,000 and this time it was enough to force a fold from Bagattini.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alexey Neofitov	68,500 68,500	68,500
Dario Bagattini	19,800 -24,200	-24,200

Tags: Alexey Neofitov Dario Bagattini

02-15-2024 19:46 UTC+1

Bagattini Nearly Triples Up

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 4 : Blinds 300/500, 500 ante

With four players seeing a board of 10♥3♣3♠ and roughly 9,800 in the middle, Dario Bagattini checked in early position and another player checked from middle position before the hijack bet 2,700. All three opponents made the call.

On the 5♣ turn Bagattini moved all in for 11,200. The middle position player made the call with a covering stack while the other two players got out of the way.

Dario Bagattini: A♥5♦
Opponent: J♣8♣

Bagattini was ahead with two pair but needed to fade any eight, jack or club from his opponent to avoid elimination. The 9♠ river was clean and Bagattini and he scored just under a full triple up at his opponent's expense.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dario Bagattini	43,000 23,200	23,200

Tags: Dario Bagattini

02-15-2024 20:16 UTC+1

Diaz Makes a Big Call

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 5 : Blinds 300/600, 600 ante

Matthew Gray opened to 1,200 from under the gun and received calls from a player in the hijack, Mauricio Diaz in the cutoff, a player on the button and a player in the small blind.

The flop came 4♦2♣2♦ and action folded around to Diaz who bet 2,000. Gray and the small blind got out of the way while the players in the hijack and cutoff made the call.

Diaz bet again when checked to on the 9♠ turn, this time for 5,000. The button made the call while the hijack folded.

On the 7♣ river Diaz slowed down with a check and the button bet 15,000, enough to put Diaz all in. Diaz thought for about a minute before making the call to put himself at risk.

The player on the button showed K♦6♦ for just king-high after missing the flush draw. Diaz turned over A♦5♦ for just ace-high (while also having flopped both flush and straight draws that missed) to score a full double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mauricio Diaz	53,500 53,500	53,500
Matthew Gray	33,000 -7,500	-7,500

Tags: Matthew Gray Mauricio Diaz

02-15-2024 22:59 UTC+1

Zahn Knocks Out Diaz

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 8 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

A player in the hijack limped in and Mauricio Diaz limped behind in the cutoff. Jimmy Zahn then raised to 9,000 on the button, forcing the hijack out of the pot. Diaz moved all in for roughly 40,000 and Zhan snap-called with a covering stack to put Diaz at risk.

Mauricio Diaz: A♣9♣
Jimmy Zahn: J♦J♥

Zahn flopped the second-nuts with top set on the J♣9♥7♣ flop but still had to fade Diaz' nut-flush draw. Diaz failed to connect with the 8♥ turn or 4♦ river and was sent to the rail while Zahn scooped a massive pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jimmy Zhan	122,000 122,000	122,000
Mauricio Diaz	Busted

Tags: Jimmy Zhan Mauricio Diaz

02-16-2024 01:21 UTC+1

Sanchez Turns Broadway to Eliminate Mata

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 12 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

With two players seeing a board of K♥10♣9♦J♠ and just under 40,000 already in the middle, Manuel Sanchez checked from middle position and Luis Mata bet 10,000 from the hijack. Sanchez then moved all in, covering Mata who had roughly 80,000 behind. Mata made the call and was at risk.

Luis Mata: A♥K♣
Manuel Sanchez: A♦Q♦

Mata had flopped top pair only for Sanchez to turn a Broadway straight, leaving Mata with only three outs to chop the pot. He could not find a queen on the 9♠ river and was sent to the rail late in Day 1a while Sanchez collected the last of his chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Manuel Sanchez (ES)	185,000 105,000	105,000
Luis Mata	Busted

Tags: Luis Mata Manuel Sanchez

02-16-2024 01:36 UTC+1

Deuce on the River Helps Fernandez Take Chip Lead

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 12 : Blinds 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante

Francisco Fernandez opened to 8,500 from the button and a player in the big blind raised to 25,000. Fernandez counted out his stack, thought for a minute and then moved all in for approximately 150,000. The big blind made the call to put Fernandez at risk with a massive pot at stake.

Francisco Fernandez: A♣2♣
Big Blind: A♠Q♣

Fernandez had been caught trying to make a move and was in rough shape against the bigger ace. He found no help on the A♥J♦5♥ flop or 3♣ turn but the 2♦ river gave him two pair to scoop the biggest pot of the tournament so far while leaving his opponent with just a few big blinds.

Player	Chips	Progress
Francisco Fernandez	312,000 200,500	200,500

Tags: Francisco Fernandez

02-16-2024 02:39 UTC+1

Pay Day for Gray

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 14 : Blinds 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante

Matthew Gray opened to 10,000 from the button and received a call from Francisco Fernandez in the big blind.

Both players checked the 7♥3♦2♦ flop leading to the 5♠ turn. Fernandez bet 12,000 and was called by Gray.

Fernandez sized up with a nearly pot-sized bet of 50,000 on the 9♦ river. Gray raised to 140,000 and Fernandez snap-called. Fernandez turned over Q♦7♦ for a queen-high flush but Gray showed down K♦4♦ for a king-high flush to take down a massive pot and catapult himself into the chip lead.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matthew Gray	350,000 138,000	138,000
Francisco Fernandez	186,000 -146,000	-146,000

Tags: Francisco Fernandez Matthew Gray

02-16-2024 03:08 UTC+1

Neofitov Holds with Jacks to Knock Out Zahn

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 15 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

Francisco Fernandez opened to 13,000 from middle position and Jimmy Zahn moved all in for 46,000 from the hijack. Alexey Neofitov reshoved for 69,000 and Fernandez made the call to put both opponents at risk.

Jimmy Zahn: A♥J♠
Alexey Neofitov: J♦J♣
Francisco Fernandez: K♣7♣

"I'm getting nuked here" Neofitov joked with his opponents after the cards were on their backs. Neofitov's pocket-jacks did hold up on the 6♣6♠7♠6♦4♣ runout and he scored nearly a full triple up while Zahn was sent to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Francisco Fernandez	263,000 -72,000	-72,000
Alexey Neofitov	194,000 96,000	96,000
Jimmy Zhan	Busted

Tags: Alexey Neofitov Francisco Fernandez Jimmy Zahn

02-16-2024 03:30 UTC+1

Gray Bags Big in Day 1a of EAPT Madrid Main Event

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 15 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

After nearly 15 30-minute levels of play the action has come to a close for Day 1a of the EAPT Main Event at the Casino Gran Via here in Madrid. The inaugural starting flight attracted 36 entrants, of which only five players managed to find a bag at the end of the night, advance to Day 2 and make the money.

Anonymous player Luigi bagged the chip lead, finishing the night with 413,000 chips after scoring the final knockout of the night. Luigi is most closely followed by the United Kingdom's Matthew Gray, who held the chip lead for nearly the entirety of the last two levels and finished the night with 394,000. Gray enjoyed a stellar poker year in 2023 after taking down the WSOPC UK Main Event in March for £100,000 and his first circuit ring. Spain's Francisco Fernandez rounds out the top three with 253,000.

EAPT Madrid Main Event Day 1a Chip Counts

Rank	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Luigi	Spain	413,000
2	Matthew Gray	United Kingdom	394,000
3	Francisco Fernandez	Spain	253,000
4	Alexey Neofitov	Russian Federation	221,000
5	Angel Potrero	Spain	109,000

Alexey Neofitov got off to a good start today after taking down a four-bet pot in the second level of the day. Neofitov would ride that momentum all the way to the end of the night, eliminating several players along the way including Jimmy Zahn, who fell two spots shy of making the money after Neofitov held with pocket-jacks in a massive three-way all in.

Francisco Fernandez emerged as one of the bigger stacks midway through the day and was active from that point on, employing an aggressive style of play that consistently put his opponent's to the test. Despite the common saying that a deuce on the river never helped anybody, Fernandez proved to be the exception to that rule when a two on the river gave him aces up to score the biggest pot of the tournament at that point.

Gray flew under the radar with an average stack for most of the day but by the time the field had been whittled down to nine players he found himself with one of the biggest stacks in the room. He took a dominant chip lead after being on the right side of a flush over flush cooler against Fernandez and held onto that chip lead until the final hand of the night.

Romania's Madalin Ciulpan would become the unfortunate soul to burst the money bubble. Ciulpan got his last chips in good with ace-queen only for Luigi to spike a three-outer to take the final pot of the night.

Two more starting flights are set to take place tomorrow, February 16. Day 1b begins at 1:00 p.m. local time and features 40-minute levels while there is also a turbo Day 1c flight beginning at 8:00 p.m. featuring 20-minute levels. The final two starting flights will take place on February 17 and the field will combine for Day 2 on February 18, at which point all players will be in the money.

As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action throughout this tournament until a winner is crowned on February 19.

Tags: Alexey Neofitov Angel Potrero Francisco Fernandez Jimmy Zahn Madalin Ciulpan Matthew Gray