Alejandro Lococo Leads the Pack into Day 3 of the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
After eight levels and eight hours of play, Day 2 of the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) Main Event is in the books here at Casino Barcelona. All of the 1,066 returning players were in the money, but just 136 found a bag for Day 3 and will return Saturday.
Leading the way is Alejandro Lococo, who bagged an impressive 5,190,000. In second place is Sweden's Magnus Persson (3,730,000) and rounding out the podium in third is Rafael Coutada (3,700,000).
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 5,190,000 |
| 2 | Magnus Persson | Sweden | 3,730,000 |
| 3 | Rafael Coutada | Brazil | 3,700,000 |
| 4 | Kacper Pyzara | Poland | 3,700,000 |
| 5 | Ren Lin | United States | 3,650,000 |
| 6 | Julien Brecard | France | 3,495,000 |
| 7 | Martin Zamani | United States | 3,400,000 |
| 8 | Yurii Zabrodotskyi | Ukraine | 3,370,000 |
| 9 | Mustapha Amaouche | France | 3,285,000 |
| 10 | Parker Talbot | Canada | 3,250,000 |
The payout information was announced shortly after the start of play today. The event attracted a total of 7,138 runners which created a prize pool of €6,852,480. All players were guaranteed a minimum cash of €1,800. However, all eyes will be on the first place prize of €625,000 that the eventual champion will receive.
The Day's Action
Some 1,066 players returned for Day 2 and the bust-outs came fast with many players entering the day on short stacks. Almost half of the field was gone by the first break of the day as the field thinned out.
As the day progressed, some chip leaders emerged from the pack. Alejandro Lococo used his large stack to bully the table as his aggressive style paid dividends.
However, it was restraint rather than aggression that Lococo will remember from the day. He was involved in a massive hand pre-flop in which he correctly folded queens against the aces of Kacper Pyzara.
Raoul Kanme showed off a sick bluff in which he five-bet shoved nine-seven suited against Santiago Nadal and got him to lay it down despite having very little fold equity.
Several notable players have navigated their way through the massive field to find a bag for Day 3. Among them are PokerStars Team Pros Julien Brecard and Parker Talbot, popular American players Ren Lin and Martin Zamani, EPT Champion Robin Ylitalo, and WSOP bracelet winner Alexandre Reard.
Day 3 kicks off at 11 a.m. local time on August 31. Play will resume in Level 26 with blinds at 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante. Levels will be 60 minutes long.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews as we provide continued coverage of the ESPT Main Event at Casino Barcelona and all other events at EPT Barcelona.