Michel Molenaar Bags a Top Three Stack in Day 1b of Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona kicked off today with two of the eight opening flights in the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) Main Event playing out at the Casino Barcelona. Day 1b drew 199 entries and came to its conclusion at the last second of Level 18 with 30 players advancing to Day 2 and into the money.
France's Sebastien Compte bagged up the biggest stack after he amassed 474,000 chips at the end of play, and was also responsible for bursting the bubble after his pocket kings were too good for the ace-ten of Gerard Rubiralta.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastien Compte | France | 474,000 |
| 2 | Domenico Zappia | Italy | 420,000 |
| 3 | Michel Molenaar | Netherlands | 333,000 |
| 4 | Mathias Bayer | Austria | 331,000 |
| 5 | Jose Criado | Spain | 323,000 |
| 6 | Lluis Jo Balague | Spain | 312,000 |
| 7 | Fabrizio Ortolomo | Italy | 292,000 |
| 8 | Piero Alioto | Italy | 291,000 |
| 9 | Jean-Claude Thomas | France | 275,000 |
| 10 | Laurence Stein | United States | 258,000 |
Michel Molenaar managed to bag the third-biggest stack of the flight with 333,000, which puts the Dutchman in a great position once Day 2 gets underway. Molenaar has over $1,200,000 in live tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob which includes cashes in three European Poker Tour (EPT) final tables.
Spain's Jose Criado was active throughout the day and raked in a healthy pot when his ace-king was too good against the ace-jack of Italy's Mario Laterza. As the day's play ended, Criado bagged up 323,000 chips which was good for sixth on the leaderboard.
Japan's Shiina Okamoto also managed to make it through to Day 2 and finished just outside the top ten with a stack of 249,000, which puts her eleventh in the counts. Okamoto's best finish in an EPT event came two years ago right here in Barcelona where she final table bubbled a €2,100 event.
There are six more starting flights in the Main Event with two taking place on each of the 27th, 28th, and 29th of August. The survivors from all eight flights will combine for the first time on Friday, August 30 to play out Day 2.
Keep it with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action as the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event is just getting started.