€1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event Day 1a | 2023 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

08-21-2023 13:03 UTC+1

Huge Field Expected for Event #1: €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event

Ryan Lashmar

The Pokerstars Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) returns to Casino Barcelona today for the second consecutive year, with the first starting flight for Event #1: €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event beginning today at 3 p.m. local time.

Rick Van Bruggen was crowned the winner of this event last year, topping a field of 6,313 players (the largest live poker tournament in EPT history) and defeating Jack Sinclair heads up to take home a career-best score of €600,000.

2022 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Rick van Bruggen	Netherlands	€600,000
2	Jack Sinclair	United Kingdom	€377,120
3	Simon Bouaksa	Luxembourg	€268,100
4	Hendrik Soering	Netherlands	€206,190
5	Kyle Ho	Canada	€158,600
6	Bjorn Bruns	Germany	€121,970
7	Ahmad Rehaime	Canada	€93,800
8	Yoan Asparuhov	Bulgaria	€72,170
9	Renat Bohdanov	Ukraine	€55,500

This year, another colossal turnout is expected as Day 1a is the first of eight starting flights (an increase from last year’s record-breaking event, which had six starting flights). Players will start with 30,000 chips and play 40-minute levels.

The day will end when 15% of the players remain and all players advancing to Day 2 will be in the money. Players are permitted to reenter once per flight and Day 2 will begin from the earliest final level of all Day 1 flights.

Stay tuned to PokerNews for the coverage for this event from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on August 27.

Tags: Jack Sinclair Rick Van Bruggen

08-21-2023 14:34 UTC+1

Festal Claims an Early Knockout

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 1 : Blinds 100/100, 100 ante

With the board reading J♠7♦3♠ and about 2,100 in the pot, Lucas Orsatelli bet 3,300 from early position and received calls from Yann Festal in the hijack and Juan Reyes Santana in the button.

On the 10♥ turn Orsatelli fired a second barrel for 8,500 and Festal responded by moving all in, sending Santana into the tank.

After about two minutes Santana made the call to put himself at risk and Orsatelli opted to fold.

Juan Reyes Santana: A♠8♠
Yann Festal: 3♥3♣

Festal was well ahead with a set of threes but Santana still had outs in the form of the nut flush draw. The 6♦ river was a blank and Santana was eliminated early while Festal scooped in a sizable pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yann Festal	76,000 76,000	76,000
Lucas Orsatelli	18,600 18,600	18,600
Juan Reyes Santana	Busted

Tags: Juan Reyes Santana Lucas Orsatelli Yann Festal

08-21-2023 15:16 UTC+1

¡Vamos, Vegas! Sergio Perez Races Down the Strip in Red Bull F1 Promo

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Kaelaine Minton

Level 2 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante

The Oracle Red Bull Formula One racing team released a promotional video ahead of November’s Las Vegas Grand Prix and it's an action-packed preview of what F1 has to offer when it invades the Strip this fall.

Readers might remember hearing about the race car tearing through the Wynn Las Vegas last November. It appears that was part of the production for Red Bull's epic race through Las Vegas.

Check out the video here!

08-21-2023 15:19 UTC+1

Parpillon Applies Max Pressure

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Josh Noy

Level 2 : Blinds 100/200, 200 ante

Remi Parpillon opened to 800 on the button and called when Max Avela three-bet to 3,100 in the big blind.

Avela led out for 1,500 on the 8♦2♣A♠ flop before both players checked the K♥ turn.

Avela slid out a minimum bet of 200 on the 7♦ river, but was quickly facing a decision after Parpillon raised to 6,700. Avela took a few minutes before making the fold, with Parpillon raking in the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Remi Parpillon	42,000 42,000	42,000
Max Avela	21,000 21,000	21,000

Tags: Max Avela Remi Parpillon

08-21-2023 15:44 UTC+1

Bertoli Puts Zazri to the Test

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 3 : Blinds 100/300, 300 ante

With players heads up, the board reading Q♠K♣5♠3♦, and about 6,000 in the pot, Mohamed Zazri bet 3,300 from the small blind and was called by Tullio Bertoli on the button.

Zazri bet again on the 6♠ river, this time for 4,500. Bertoli moved all in for approximately 17,000, sending Zazri deep into the tank.

After about three minutes, Zazri made the fold. Bertoli showed the 10♣ in his hand, indicating that he had one pair, at best. Zazri shook his head in frustration as Bertoli dragged in the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tullio Bertoli	34,000 34,000	34,000
Mohamed Zazri	22,500 22,500	22,500

Tags: Mohamed Zazri Tullio Bertoli

08-21-2023 19:08 UTC+1

Hasenburger Wins Without a Showdown

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Ollie Garland

Level 7 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante

With the player in the big blind absent, Philipp Hasenburger had his eye on the dead money in the middle. Hasenburger raised to 1,600, finding Mykola Serhiienko in the small blind, who called.

Serhiienko check-called a bet of 1,500 from Hasenburger on a flop of 3♣A♣Q♦.

The 9♦ turn checked through to the K♠ on the river. Serhiienko checked once more and Hasenburger flicked in one green chip for a bet of 5,000. Serhiienko folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
Philipp Hasenburger	72,000 72,000	72,000
Mykola Serhiienko	46,000 15,000	15,000

Tags: Mykola Serhiienko Philipp Hasenburger

08-21-2023 19:21 UTC+1

Extra Cheese For Hasenburger

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Connor Richards

Level 7 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante

Xavier Sala was all in and at risk against Philipp Hasenburger, who had him covered.

Xavier Sala: 10♦9♦
Philipp Hasenburger: K♦K♥

Sala couldn't crack kings as the board ran out 3♥5♠4♠10♥2♥ to mark his elimination as another pot went in Hasenburger's direction.

Player	Chips	Progress
Philipp Hasenburger	90,000 18,000	18,000
Xavier Sala	Busted

Tags: Philipp Hasenburger Xavier Sala

08-21-2023 19:22 UTC+1

Heimiller Pumps Up the Aggression

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 7 : Blinds 400/800, 800 ante

Dan Heimiller opened to 1,600 from early position. He received a call from a player in middle position before Yann Festal put in a three-bet to 5,300 in late position. Patrick Buchmann responded by moving all in for approximately 9,000. Action folded back around to Heimiller, who five-bet to 21,800. The middle position player got out of the way and Festal made the call.

The flop came J♥6♣6♠. Heimiller bet 5,000 and was called by Festal.

Heimiller bet again on the 6♦ turn, this time for 7,000 which was enough to force a fold from Festal, leaving Buchmann all in and at risk against Heimiller.

Patrick Buchmann: Q♠Q♥
Dan Heimiller: 7♦7♠

Buchmann was well ahead with a bigger full house and remained so on the 2♠ river to receive a full triple up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Dan Heimiller	87,000 87,000	87,000
Yann Festal	66,000 -10,000	-10,000
Patrick Buchmann	29,500 29,500	29,500

Tags: Dan Heimiller Patrick Buchmann Yann Festal

08-21-2023 21:47 UTC+1

High Tide Sweeps Away Heimiller

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Connor Richards

Level 9 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

In one of the biggest pots of the day so far, Dan Heimiller opened to 3,000 in early position and Rodrigo Noceda called on the button before Ryan Dansie three-bet jammed a stack of around 22,000 from the small blind. Heimiller called and Noceda re-shoved for around 75,000.

Heimiller went deep in the tank and counted his remaining stack of around 50,000 and ultimately found a call. "I apologize in advance," Heimiller said as he put himself at risk.

Ryan Dansie: A♠5♠
Dan Heimiller: K♠7♠
Rodrigo Noceda: 10♥10♦

"I have a king," Heimiller said as he evaluated his live outs. The board then ran out 9♣Q♥6♦J♥7♦ to keep Noceda's tens ahead for a double elimination.

Player	Chips	Progress
Rodrigo Noceda	165,000 165,000	165,000
Dan Heimiller	Busted
Ryan Dansie	Busted

Tags: Dan Heimiller Rodrigo Noceda Ryan Dansie

08-22-2023 04:47 UTC+1

53 Players Advance in Day 1a of Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event

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Connor Richards

Level 17 : Blinds 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante

The PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) kicked off at Casino Barcelona with Day 1a, a flight that drew 353 players across more than 14 hours of play. At the end of the night, there were 53 who found bags and will return for Day 2 after the completion of the other three starting fights.

Leading the Day 1a survivors is Spain native Alex Baena, who bagged 559,000 to be in front of fellow big stacks Mathias Siljander (544,000) and Dennis Holmstrom of Finland (491,000). Other players who found bags include Cedric Kharif (485,000), Danilo Colomba (436,000), Anthony Stumbo (368,000) and Duong Van Man (291,000).

Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts

Place	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Alex Baena	Spain	559,000
2	Mathias Siljander	Finland	544,000
3	Dennis Holmstrom	Finland	491,000
4	Cedric Kharif	France	485,000
5	Danilo Colomba	Italy	436,000
6	Anthony Stumbo	Belgium	368,000
7	Mihai Trofim	Moldova	367,000
8	Miguel Fernandez Monton	Spain	361,000
9	Gustavo Dias	Brazil	357,000
10	Bernat Montes	Spain	344,000

Plenty Of Action On Day 1a

There was no shortage of action in the first event to kick off EPT Barcelona here on the Spanish coast. One of the bigger names in the field, Dan Heimiller, lost a big one when he called off with king-seven against the pocket tens of Rodrigo Noceda and suited ace of Ryan Dansie to surrender his stack of around 60 big blinds.

Heimiller, who had a fantastic 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) that included a runner-up finish in Event #80: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. High Roller for $439,622, hopped into Day 1b but failed to build up a stack in the turbo flight.

Another notable name to fall on Day 1a was Jon Kyte, a Norwegian grinder who earlier in the day chopped a decent pot with Karim Lehoussine as the both held ace-king.

Other players who were eliminated during Day 1a include Peter Jaksland, Max Avela, Eduardo Santi, Michal Schuh, Charles La Boissonniere, Antonio Dascenzo and Tullio Bertoli.

Play slowed significantly as the money bubble approached before Ricardo Manquant found himself at risk with a flopped top pair. Unfortunately, his opponent, Gustavo Dias, had flopped a set and improved to quads mark the Frenchman's elimination on the stone bubble.

The 53 players who bagged will all be in the money when the return on Day 2, which will kick off on Aug. 25. Before that, flights 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1h will all take place and follow similar structures to Days 1a and 1b.

The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to bring you more coverage of the Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event here at EPT Barcelona, so stay tuned.

Tags: Dan Heimiller Jon Kyte Karim Lehoussine Rodrigo Noceda Ryan Dansie