2019 PokerStars.es EPT Barcelona

€25,000 Single-Day High Roller II
Day: 1
Event Info

2019 PokerStars.es EPT Barcelona

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
kj
Prize
€712,810
Event Info
Buy-in
€25,000
Prize Pool
€2,833,180
Entries
118
Level Info
Level
24
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000

€25,000 Single-Day High Roller II

Day 1 Completed

Laszlo Bujtas Claims the Title and €712,810 in €25,000 Single-Day High Roller II

Level 24 : 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Winner Laszlo Bujtas
Winner Laszlo Bujtas

In what turned out to be a 15 hour day of poker, Laszlo Bujtas has reigned victorious in the €25,000 Single-Day High Roller II. Bujtas overcame a rather large field of 118 entries and defeated Charlie Carrel heads-up in order to claim the first-place prize of €712,810 at the 2019 PokerStars EPT Barcelona.

Bujtas, who is more famously known as "omaha4rollz" as his online screen name, mostly spends his poker time at the cash game tables. However, he likes to dab in some of the higher buy-in tournaments and this is his first recorded tournament victory since 2015.

A rather long day turned it into a quick heads-up match with Bujtas starting as a 4.5 to 1 chipleader. After a couple of Bujtas' shoves got through, Carrel finally took a stand with king-six but ran into the king-jack of Bujtas. Carrel flopped top pair but it wasn't good enough to overcome Bujtas' two pair and Carrel was forced to settle for second place.

Final three players
Final three players

After the match, Bujtas asked how it felt to win one of these tournaments and he admitted that it felt pretty good. "I'm usually playing cash games, so yeah, this one feels good." The Hungarian's largest recorded tournament score came in the 2018 WSOP Europe Main Event where he finished in second place for just under €700,000. With his Hungarian rail on the outside of the tournament room looking in, he was finally able to celebrate and embrace them with hugs afterward.

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize (EUR)Prize (USD)
1stLaszlo BujtasHungary€712,810$787,947
2ndCharlie CarrelUnited Kingdom€481,640$532,410
3rdPedro MarquesPortugal€313,070$346,071
4thJuan PardoSpain€259,240$286,566
5thSteven van ZadelhoffNetherlands€209,090$231,130
6thSergio AidoSpain€164,690$182,050
7thJames ChenTaiwan€126,080$139,370
8thJorryt van HoofNetherlands€94,910$104,914
9thAlex KomaromiUruguay€70,830$78,296

There was a flurry of action in the opening few levels with over 70 entries already tallied by the first break. Many familiar faces took their seats but there were also plenty of new ones making their first appearance in the high-roller tournaments this week. With an unlimited number of re-entries available, the total number of entries kept ticking.

Sam Grafton, Steve O'Dwyer, and Ali Imsirovic were on the list of players to buy in for a total of €100,000 (four total entries). Unfortunately for them, none of them were able to make a deep run into the money. When late registration finally closed after eight levels, there were a total of 118 entries, well surpassing the total from last year.

Once late registration closed, the short stacks wasted little time getting their chips in the middle, trying to double up or get out. For many, it was unsuccessful and within a couple of levels the field was down to just 22 players. That number remained the same for quite some time with the tournament staff monintoring the pace of play on each table as the money bubble approached. Unfortunately for Benjamin Pollak, he was the last player eliminated without receiving any money for his efforts.

Benjamin Pollak bubbles the €25k High Roller
Benjamin Pollak bubbles the €25k High Roller

That left just 17 players in the field but the final table of nine players was quickly assembled. Starting with just five big blinds, Alex Komaromi was in need of some help but couldn't pick up the cards to do anything. Eventually down to just over one big blind, Komaromi found himself in a dominated position against Sergio Aido and was unable to find any help. Just a couple of hands later, Jorryt van Hoof followed him out the door when his stack of four big blinds couldn't survive against Bujtas who held the chip lead.

James Chen entered the final table as one of the chip leaders but with the stacks as shallow as they were, it only took a couple of poor hands to turn the tides. Chen called off his ten big blind stack with ace-high but couldn't fade Bujtas spiking a pair to avoid elimination. Next on the chopping block was Aido who found some success throughout the middle of the day but faultered late when his pocket sixes ran into Carrel's pocket sevens.

With just five players left, the rail got rather exuberant in the tournament room and was eventually asked to leave. At the same moment, Steven van Zadelhoff found himself all in and at risk with ace-queen against the ace-king of Pedro Marques. A king on the flop all but sealed van Zadelhoff's fate as he exited in fifth place. Four-handed play continued for a bit with each player taking turns shoving all in.

After a few double ups in a row, it was Juan Pardo who found himself on the verge of elimination against Carrel's pocket sixes. It was the talk of the tournament when Pardo went on a heater after late registration closed, as he was looking for his third straight high-roller win. However, this time he was forced to settle for fourth place but will still take home another six-figure score.

Another deep run from Juan Pardo
Another deep run from Juan Pardo

Once the action got down to three-handed, Bujtas started to take control by applying pressure to his shorter stacks. He opened a large chip lead and after getting the chip in the middle against Marques as a slight favorite, he found a pair on the flop to put Marques in jeopardy. Bujtas managed to hold to eliminate Marques and set up the heads-up battle with Carrel.

That wraps up another day of coverage at Casino Barcelona, but the PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow with plenty of more live updates.

Tags: Alex KomaromiAli ImsirovicBenjamin PollakCharlie CarrelJames ChenJorryt van HoofJuan PardoLaszlo BujtasPedro MarquesSam GraftonSergio AidoSteve O'DwyerSteven van Zadelhoff

Charlie Carrel Eliminated in 2nd Place (€481,640)

Level 24 : 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Charlie Carrel
Charlie Carrel

After just a few hands of heads-up play, Laszlo Bujtas shoved all in on the button. Charlie Carrel was down to just 1,360,000 chips and called off his stack.

Laszlo Bujtas: {k-Spades}{j-Spades}
Charlie Carrel: {k-Clubs}{6-Diamonds}

Bujtas was already in a dominating position and the flop of {k-Hearts}{j-Hearts}{4-Spades} all but spelled an end to the match. The {7-Diamonds} on the turn left Carrel drawing dead to the {4-Hearts} on the river and Bujtas claimed the victory.

A full recap of the tournament will be posted shortly.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Laszlo Bujtas hu
Laszlo Bujtas
11,800,000
2,200,000
2,200,000
Profile photo of Charlie Carrel gb
Charlie Carrel
Busted

Tags: Laszlo BujtasCharlie Carrel

Level: 24

Blinds: 100,000/200,000

Ante: 200,000

Pedro Marques Eliminated in 3rd Place (€313,070)

Level 23 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Pedro Marques
Pedro Marques

Laszlo Bujtas shoved all in from the small blind and Pedro Marques quickly called off his last 1,900,000 chips from the big blind.

Laszlo Bujtas: {a-Diamonds}{5-Spades}
Pedro Marques: {a-Clubs}{3-Clubs}

In most cases, the two players were going to chop the pot but after the {q-Spades}{5-Clubs}{2-Spades} flop, that was looking most unlikely. Bujtas took the lead with a pair of fives but Marques held a straight draw. The turn was the {j-Spades} and the river was the {q-Hearts} as Marques bricked off to finish in third place.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Laszlo Bujtas hu
Laszlo Bujtas
9,600,000
2,050,000
2,050,000
Profile photo of Charlie Carrel gb
Charlie Carrel
2,200,000
-340,000
-340,000
Profile photo of Pedro Marques pt
Pedro Marques
Busted

Tags: Pedro MarquesLaszlo Bujtas

Juan Padro Eliminated in 4th Place (€259,240)

Level 23 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Juan Pardo
Juan Pardo

Juan Pardo shipped all in for around 1,300,000 from under the gun and Charlie Carrel called from the big blind to put Padro at risk.

Charlie Carrel: {6-Spades}{6-Diamonds}
Juan Pardo: {a-Hearts}{4-Diamonds}

Pardo was looking for that coveted ace in order to survive but the flop of {j-Clubs}{10-Diamonds}{7-Spades} didn't provide much hope. The {10-Hearts} paired the board on the turn which gave Pardo some counterfeit outs but the {3-Hearts} on the river brought his run to an end.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Charlie Carrel gb
Charlie Carrel
3,590,000
2,080,000
2,080,000
Profile photo of Juan Pardo es
Juan Pardo
Busted

Tags: Charlie CarrelJuan Pardo

Level: 23

Blinds: 80,000/160,000

Ante: 160,000

Carrel Gives It All Back

Level 22 : 60,000/12,000, 120,000 ante

Charlie Carrel ripped all in again on the button in the very next hand. Laszlo Bujtas woke up with a hand worth calling in the big blind and Carrel was in trouble again.

Laszlo Bujtas: {10-Spades}{10-Clubs}
Charlie Carrel: {a-Diamonds}{2-Clubs}

The flop fell {a-Clubs}{10-Hearts}{4-Hearts} and Bujtas spiked a set of tens to take charge. The {q-Clubs} and {7-Spades} runout ensured Bujtas of a massive double up and Carrel lost all of the chips that he just won.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Laszlo Bujtas hu
Laszlo Bujtas
5,850,000
2,800,000
2,800,000
Profile photo of Charlie Carrel gb
Charlie Carrel
1,510,000
-2,870,000
-2,870,000

Tags: Laszlo BujtasCharlie Carrel

Carrel Finds a Lucky Double

Level 22 : 60,000/12,000, 120,000 ante

Charlie Carrel shipped all in for 2,130,000 in the small blind and Juan Pardo asked for a count before making the call from the big blind.

"Ahh shit," Carrel said. "I thought I shoved for less."

Charlie Carrel: {7-Clubs}{6-Diamonds}
Juan Pardo: {k-Hearts}{q-Diamonds}

The flop of {6-Spades}{6-Hearts}{3-Diamonds} put Carrel well out front with trip sixes. The {j-Diamonds} on the turn left Pardo drawing dead to the {j-Hearts} on the river, giving Carrel the chip lead.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Charlie Carrel gb
Charlie Carrel
4,380,000
1,480,000
1,480,000
Profile photo of Juan Pardo es
Juan Pardo
1,260,000
-2,300,000
-2,300,000

Tags: Juan PardoCharlie Carrel

Three In a Row for Pardo

Level 22 : 60,000/12,000, 120,000 ante

Charlie Carrel limped in from the small blind and Juan Pardo made it 310,000 from the big blind. Carrel quickly folded and Pardo scooped the pot.

In the next hand, Pardo limped in from the small blind and Laszlo Bujtas made it 380,000 in the big blind. Pardo shipped all in and Bujtas instantly slid his cards to the muck.

Following that, Pardo moved all in on the button and both of the blinds folded.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Juan Pardo es
Juan Pardo
3,560,000
640,000
640,000
Profile photo of Laszlo Bujtas hu
Laszlo Bujtas
3,050,000
-470,000
-470,000

Tags: Laszlo BujtasJuan PardoCharlie Carrel