Simon Wiciak and Derk van Luijk Going for Back-to-Back as Day 4 of EPT Barcleona Main Event Kicks Off
Out of the 1,975 entries that were made in the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona €5,300 Main Event, only 113 will return to Casino Barcelona today at noon local time. Among those returning for Day 4 of the Main Event are Simon Wiciak and Derk van Luijk, who are aiming to achieve a unique feat.
PokerStars Ambassador Wiciak was crowned the champion at EPT Barcelona last year and is having a deep run yet again. He bagged 840,000 chips on Day 3, seeing him return with an above-average stack of 84 big blinds today. Were he to defend his title, he would be the first-ever player to do so in an EPT Main Event.
Meanwhile, Van Luijk is the most recent EPT champion, having won the Main Event at EPT Monte Carlo last May. With his stack of 200,000, he is in a significantly worse position than Wiciak but will be looking to spin up his stack in an attempt to be the first person to win two EPT Main Events in a row.
For either player to capture their second title, they will have to navigate through a field full of accomplished poker players. Timothy Chung has racked up lifetime earnings of seven figures throughout his career and already had a deep run in the Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event earlier at EPT Barcelona, ultimately finishing in 20th. He will return with a stack of 1,571,000, leading the field.
Also among the top stacks are 2022 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song (1,382,000) and Van Luijk's fellow EPT Monte Carlo final tablist Rania Nasreddine (1,330,000).
Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timothy Chung | Hong Kong | 1,571,000 | 157 |
| 2 | Firoz Mangroe | Netherlands | 1,476,000 | 148 |
| 3 | Pablo Beltran | Spain | 1,470,000 | 147 |
| 4 | Stephen Song | USA | 1,382,000 | 138 |
| 5 | Rania Nasreddine | USA | 1,330,000 | 133 |
| 6 | Jack Kiriakus | Sweden | 1,293,000 | 129 |
| 7 | Darius Neagoe | Romania | 1,266,000 | 127 |
| 8 | Bo Jin | China | 1,249,000 | 125 |
| 9 | Sriharsha Doddapaneni | India | 1,192,000 | 119 |
| 10 | Jianwei Lin | China | 1,155,000 | 116 |
Also returning for Day 4 are the likes of EPT Champion Mark Teltscher (542,000), American regulars David Coleman (615,000), Asher Conniff (515,000) Nick Palma (298,000), and Michael Wang (217,000), as well as Wiciak's fellow PokerStars Team Pro Ramon Colillas (127,000).
The majority of the €9,578,750 prize pool has not been divided yet, although all returning players have locked up a share of at least €15,350. However, the top prize of €1,512,000 will be in the minds of all of them as they navigate through the fourth day of the seven-day event.
When Day 4 kicks off at noon local time, the blinds will be at 5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 big blind ante. All levels will be 90 minutes long and a break will be had after every level. Six levels are scheduled for the day with no dinner break, subject to change.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as the live reporting team will provides updates directly from the tournament floor from the start of Day 4 until the very last hand.