Jeremie Zouari Storms to a Commanding Chip Lead in Day 1b of EPT €5,300 Main Event
The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona is in full swing as the second sunny week saw players eagerly flock to the tables for Day 1b of the European Poker Tour (EPT) €5,300 Main Event, which played out at an electrifying Casino Barcelona.
A total 1,194 entries were recorded with 405 players making it through to Day 2, who will all be joined by the 223 that made it through Day 1a. It brings the cumulative total of players in the Main Event to 1,891 but that number is sure to grow as registration remains open until the start of Day 2, which kicks off at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3.
France's Jeremie Zouari climbed to the top of the leaderboard with 402,500 and is way clear of the rest of the field — which makes him the overall chip leader going into Day 2. The Frenchman is no stranger to the EPT circuit and has four tour final tables under his belt, which include a win in a Mystery Bounty Event at the 2023 edition of EPT Monte Carlo for a career-best score of €194,311.
Day 1b Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremie Zouari | France | 402,500 |
| 2 | Jorge Artiga-Pacheco | Canada | 306,500 |
| 3 | Georgios Zachmanidis | Greece | 304,500 |
| 4 | Yuan Li | Hong Kong | 286,500 |
| 5 | David Miscikowski | United States | 271,000 |
| 6 | Matteo Orchide | Italy | 263,000 |
| 7 | Kimmo Fagerholm | Finland | 254,500 |
| 8 | Tomasz Krzesinski | Poland | 253,500 |
| 9 | Yves Bianchetti | Brazil | 246,000 |
| 10 | Rania Nasreddine | United States | 239,000 |
Canada's Jorge Artiga-Pacheco claimed second spot with a stack of 306,500, and Georgios Zachmanidis rounded out the podium places in third with 304,500. David Miscikowski also managed to bag one of the top stacks with 271,000, as did Italy's Matteo Orchide with 263,000.
Rania Nasreddine, who has already had a deep run this series after she finished seventeenth in the Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) €2,200 High Roller, managed to bag up 239,000 which is good for eighth in the counts. Nasreddine finished third in the Main Event at EPT Monte Carlo earlier this year for a career-best score of €442,900 and will be looking to emulate that success in Barcelona.
David Coleman will bring a stack of 233,000 into Day 2 and accumulated most of those when he check-shoved the river with two pair and got paid off by Gerard Rubiralta. Coleman's best finish in an EPT event came during this series when he finished fourth in the PokerStars Cuatro Knockout tournament for €59,100.
After the year that Malcolm Franchi is having, it's no surprise to see that he is among the top stacks after he accumulated 226,000 over the course of ten 60-minute levels. The Frenchman did cash the Main Event in his home country earlier this year at EPT Paris and will be seeking to cement his name in the history books by taking down his first major title.
The EPT Barcelona reigning champion, Simon Wiciak, made it through the day with 212,000 chips as he looks to do the impossible and defend his Main Event title. Wiciak won in Barcelona last year for a huge score of €1,134,375 after he bested a field of 2,120 entries over seven grueling days of poker.
Other notables to make it through include Martin Stausholm (233,500), Stephen Song (230,500), Safwane Bahri (175,000), Ren Lin (167,000), Laurie Tournier (159,000), Ramon Colillas (133,000), Maria Konnikova (128,500), Rafael Moraes (88,000), and Andre Akkari (37,000).
Play will get underway at 12 p.m. local time on Tuesday, September 3, with blinds starting at Level 11 (1,000/1,500) with a 1,500 big blind ante. Players who opt to buy in before Day 2 starts will have a stack of 20 big blinds to do battle with but can afford to be a little patient as the blind level duration will be increased to 90 minutes, and will remain that way for the rest of the tournament.
Join us for Day 2 as PokerNews continue to provide live coverage of the EPT Main Event here at the Casino Barcelona.