€5,300 EPT Main Event Day 5 | 2023 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

09-01-2023 09:53 UTC+1

Welcome to Day 5 of the EPT Barcelona Main Event

Matt Hansen

Welcome to Day 5 of the €5,300 Main Event at the 2023 European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona. Cards go in the air at 12 p.m. at Casino Barcelona for the fifth of this seven day event.

The final 32 players will return to compete for a total prize pool of €10,282,000, from which €1,488,000 will go to the winner.

France’s Simon Wiciak is at the top of the leaderboard for Day 5 and he has a chance to add to his $101,000 in career earnings. He’s followed in second by Daniyar Aubakirov of Kazakhstan in second and Brazil’s Joao Sydenstricker in third. Carl Shaw of the United Kingdom and Uruguay’s Mathias Duarte round out the top five.

Day 4 Top Ten Chip Counts

Rank	Name	Country	Chips	Day 5 Big Blinds
1	Simon Wiciak	France	4,515,000	113
2	Daniyar Aubakirov	Kazakhstan	3,855,000	96
3	Joao Sydenstricker	Brazil	3,745,000	94
4	Carl Shaw	United Kingdom	3,595,000	90
5	Mathias Duarte	Uruguay	3,525,000	88
6	Pedro Lopes	Brazil	3,405,000	85
7	Mohamad El Rais	Switzerland	3,200,000	80
8	Santiago Plante	Canada	2,940,000	74
9	Curtis Knight	Canada	2,865,000	72
10	Jose Rodriguez Zurita	Mexico	2,820,000	71

Also returning for Day 5 is PokerStars Team Pro Andre Akkari, well as Day 3 chip leader Santiago Plante and 2013 EPT London Main Event winner Robin Ylitalo.

All returning players are guaranteed at least €31,250 and a pay jump to €36,100 will come after the first elimination of the day.

Remaining Payouts

Place	Prize	Place	Prize
1	€1,488,000	10-11	€105,900
2	€931,250	12-13	€88,200
3	€664,750	14-15	€73,500
4	€511,300	16-17	€63,250
5	€393,300	18-20	€55,000
6	€302,500	21-23	€47,800
7	€232,700	24-27	€41,550
8	€179,000	28-31	€36,100
9	€137,700	32	€31,250

Action will continue at 12 p.m. on Friday in Level 25 with blinds at 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante. The tournament will also be streamed via YouTube and Twitch on the PokerStars channel. The stream will kick off at 12:30 p.m. with a 30-minute security delay.

Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates from the floor of the €5,300 Main Event at EPT Barcelona.

Tags: Andre Akkari Carl Shaw Curtis Knight Daniyar Aubakirov Joao Sydenstricker Jose Rodriguez Zurita Mathias Duarte Mohamad El Rais Pedro Lopes Robin Ylitalo Santiago Plante Simon Wiciak

09-01-2023 11:38 UTC+1

Aubakirov Hits Quads On Scafini

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

With about 500,000 in the middle and the board reading J♥9♥10♦, Lucas Scafini checked from the cutoff and Daniyar Aubakirov moved all in from the button, covering Scafini's remaining stack of about 400,000. Scafini quickly made the call to put himself at risk.

Lucas Scafini: A♠A♣
Daniyar Aubakirov: 10♥10♣

Scafini had been outflopped and remained so on the 2♥ turn. Aubakirov improved to quads on the 10♠ river to eliminate Scafini early on Day 5 and collect a decent pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniyar Aubakirov	4,425,000 570,000	570,000
Lucas Scafini	Busted

Tags: Daniyar Aubakirov Lucas Scafini

09-01-2023 11:49 UTC+1

Early Knight For Lau

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David Salituro

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

On the first hand of Day 5, Curtis Knight raised to 80,000 from early position before Ka Kwan Lau three-bet to 770,000 on the button, leaving around 100,000 behind.

Knight then moved all in and Lau looked around at the other tables for a minute before tossing in his last chips.

Ka Kwan Lau: K♠Q♠
Curtis Knight: 9♦9♣

Lau was racing for his tournament life, but no help arrived on the 3♣5♣5♥2♠7♣ board as Knight's pocket nines stayed in front to send Lau to an early exit.

Player	Chips	Progress
Curtis Knight	3,550,000 685,000	685,000
Ka Kwan Lau	Busted

Tags: Curtis Knight Ka Kwan Lau

09-01-2023 11:55 UTC+1

Knight, Beltz Race For the Chip Lead

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David Salituro

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Curtis Knight raised to 80,000 on the button and was called by Felipe Morelli in the small blind. Wouter Beltz, in the big blind, then three-bet to 465,000.

Knight came back with an all-in shove and Morelli quickly got out of the way. Beltz asked for a count before committing his last 2,200,000.

Wouter Beltz: Q♠Q♣
Curtis Knight: A♦K♥

"One of us is going to be chip leader," Beltz said awaiting the flop in the more than 4,000,000 chip classic flip. The K♠K♣2♦ flop was a disaster for Beltz, as Knight made trips.

The A♣ on the turn improved Knight to a full house and left Beltz drawing dead. "Please no queen," Beltz said standing up from his seat preparing to make his exit by the time the 10♦ fell on the river.

Beltz was sent to the rail, while Knight rocketed up past 6,000,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Curtis Knight	6,300,000 2,750,000	2,750,000
Felipe Morelli	1,400,000 -700,000	-700,000
Wouter Beltz	Busted

Tags: Curtis Knight Felipe Morelli Wouter Beltz

09-01-2023 12:40 UTC+1

Barsegyan Spikes the River to Bust Hajiyev

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David Salituro

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Eduard Barsegyan and Ramin Hajiyev went heads-up to a flop of 10♦8♣5♥ where Barsegyan, in the big blind, led out with an all-in shove. Hajiyev then called off his last 450,000.

Ramin Hajiyev: 10♣9♣
Eduard Barsegyan: J♠9♠

Hajiyev had top pair and needed to dodge Barsegyan's straight draw to stay alive. The K♦ turn was safe, but the river brought the 7♦ as Barsegyan completed his straight to send Hajiyev to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Eduard Barsegyan	1,250,000 680,000	680,000

Ramin Hajiyev	Busted

Tags: Eduard Barsegyan Ramin Hajiyev

09-01-2023 13:04 UTC+1

Wahl Quadruples Up, then Busts

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 25 : Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante

Alexander Wahl moved all in from under the gun for his last 50,000 with and was called by Markku Koplimaa in the small blind. João Sydenstricker three-bet to 225,000, folding out Koplimaa to leave Wahl at risk.

Alexander Wahl: 4♦3♦
João Sydenstricker: A♣K♦

https://twitter.com/PokerNews/status/1697582921467802005?s=20

Wahl was behind preflop but spiked trips on the 3♣J♥3♥ flop. He improved to quads on the 3♠ turn, making the 9♠ river irrelevant as Wahl received just under a full quadruple up.

The next hand, Gaetan Balleur opened to 200,000 the hijack and Wahl called off from the big blind for his remaining stack to put himself at risk.

Alexander Wahl: A♥2♦
Gaetan Balleur: 6♠6♥

The board ran out 4♦10♠J♣5♦J♠, ending Wahl's run while Balleur collected the last of his chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
João Sydenstricker	3,100,000 -550,000	-550,000
Markku Koplimaa	1,880,000 130,000	130,000
Gaetan Balleur	720,000 30,000	30,000
Alexander Wahl	Busted

Tags: Alexander Wahl Gaetan Balleur João Sydenstricker Markku Koplimaa

09-01-2023 13:38 UTC+1

Candygram for Melogno

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Matt Hansen

Level 26 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Pablo Melogno raised to 105,000 from middle position before Robin Ylitalo made it 280,000 from the next seat over. The rest of the table ducked out of the way and Melogno shoved with just a little bit less than Ylitalo. Ylitalo called and the cards were turned up.

Pablo Melogno: A♣Q♥
Robin Ylitalo: 10♥10♠

The board ran out K♣6♥3♣3♥10♣ and Ylitalo held on with pocket tens to send Melogno to the rail in 27th place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Robin Ylitalo	3,790,000 1,840,000	1,840,000

Pablo Melogno	Busted

Tags: Pablo Melogno Robin Ylitalo

09-01-2023 13:42 UTC+1

Balleur Falls to Nebezhev

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Ryan Lashmar

Level 26 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Khazret Nebezhev opened to 110,000 from the button and Gaetan Balleur moved all in from the small blind for 620,000. Nebezhev made the call with a covering stack to put Balleur at risk.

Gaetan Balleur: J♣10♣
Khazret Nebezhev: A♥10♥

The board ran out 6♥2♥6♦4♦J♥. Balleur's rivered jack was no good against Nebezhev's rivered ace-high flush, resulting in his elimination while Nebezhev took down another decent pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Khazret Nebezhev	2,240,000 545,000	545,000
Gaetan Balleur	Busted

Tags: Gaetan Balleur Khazret Nebezhev

09-01-2023 13:48 UTC+1

Waigel Flips Boivin to the Exit

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David Salituro

Level 26 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Ezequiel Waigel raised to 110,000 on the button, then called when big blind Thomas Boivin moved all in for around 1,000,000 more.

Thomas Boivin: K♣Q♠
Ezequiel Waigel: 10♣10♠

The A♣3♠5♠4♣6♠ board provided no help to Boivin and he was sent to the rail in 25th place.

The remaining 24 players are now drawing for seats at the final three tables.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ezequiel Waigel	2,800,000 1,750,000	1,750,000
Thomas Boivin	Busted

Tags: Ezequiel Waigel Thomas Boivin

09-01-2023 13:48 UTC+1

Fournier Calls a River Bluff

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Connor Richards

Level 26 : Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante

Daniyar Aubakirov opened to 100,000 on the button and Samuel Fournier called in the small blind.

Fournier checked on the flop of Q♥K♦Q♣ and Aubakirov checked back. Fournier then bet 80,000 on the 5♥ turn and Aubakirov called.

The 6♦ river completed the board and Fournier bet a hefty 420,000. Aubakirov responded with a small raise to 830,000 to send Fournier into the tank.

"I have aces, my friend," Fournier said as he thought through a decision.

Fournier eventually called as Aubakirov showed a jack-high bluff with J♣10♥. Fournier did indeed have aces as he showed A♥A♦ to win the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Daniyar Aubakirov	4,100,000 600,000	600,000
Samuel Fournier	300,000 -950,000	-950,000

Tags: Daniyar Aubakirov Samuel Fournier