Sahamies Leads EPT Barcelona Final Table; Juanda in Contention
The 2012 PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event continued on Friday as the final 24 players of a 1,082 field looked to make the final table. After six levels of play, just eight players remain including chip leader Ilari Sahamies, who bagged up 7,885,000. He is joined by John Juanda, though he will begin the final table seventh in chips.
The day began quickly as Luis Rufas and Alain Roy became the first two eliminations, followed by Season 7 EPT Prague winner Roberto Romanello in 22nd place. Not long after, John Juanda opened a pot over on the feature table only to have Lucille Cailly three-bet. Ole Schemion then got involved from the cutoff, Javier Piazuelo made it 299,000 to go from the button. Juanda quickly got out of the way, Cailly moved all in, Schemion moved all in over the top, and Piazuela folded.
Showdown
Cailly: 
Schemion: 
Cailly got her stack of around 1 million in good, but she was in a quintessential race. Cailly was looking to have as much success as she did when she finished as runner-up of the 2012 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final, but the 
flop had other plans as it gave Schemion the lead by pairing his ace. Cailly remained stoic as the 
was put out on the turn followed by the 
on the river, putting an end to her tournament in 21st place for €29,400.
After Ibon Merino Borbolla (20th), Algirdas Saveikis (19th), Mauro Canavese (18th) and Piazuelo (17th) were eliminated for €29,400 apiece, the remaining 16 players were combined to the final two tables.
Not long after, Fatima Moreira de Melo, the last woman standing and Team PokerStars SportStar, exited in 16th place for €34,650. Elias Gutierrez Hernandez, who earned the same amount for his 15th-place finish, followed her out the door a short time later.
In Level 25, Day 1a chip leader Aku Joentausta raised to 65,000 from under the gun and was called by Ole Schemion in the cut-off and Ilari Sahamies in the small blind. Joentausta continued for 100,000 on the 
flop and was called by both players.
Schemion was the only player who called Joentausta's 300,000 bet on the 
turn, and the river came the 
. Joentausta "emptied the clip" by betting all his remaining 1,190,000 chips. Schemion looked like he wanted to call but it took him five minutes to seemingly pluck up the courage to slide the calling chips forward with his for top two-pair. It was good too as Joentausta only had 
and was subsequently eliminated in 14th place for €40,400.
After a bit more play and the eliminations of [Removed:273] (13th-€40,400), Mikolaj Zawadzki (12th-€46,700), Jonathan Karamalikis (11th-€46,700), Morten Mortensen (10th-€55,100) and Ole Schemion (9th-€55,100), the final table was set.
Season 9 EPT Barcelona Final Table
| Seat | Player | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anaras Alekberovas | 4,430,000 |
| 2 | Ilari Sahamies | 7,885,000 |
| 3 | Antonin Duda | 3,445,000 |
| 4 | Samuel Rodriguez | 6,450,000 |
| 5 | John Juanda | 1,890,000 |
| 6 | Joni Jouhkimainen | 1,510,000 |
| 7 | Mikalai Pobal | 4,410,000 |
| 8 | Sinel Anton | 2,355,000 |
The sixth and final day of the 2012 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona Main Event will begin at 13:00 CET (07:00 EST) on Saturday as the final table of eight will play down to a winner. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to bring you all the latest and greatest from the Casino Barcelona as the final eight battle it out for the €1,007,550 first-place prize.