EPT Barcelona Set to Heat Up on Day 5 of Main Event
On Friday, the final 40 players in the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona return to the Casino Barcelona ballroom to begin playing for the meat of the €9,578,750 prize pool with someone taking home €1,512,000 on Sunday, along with the most prestigious trophy in European poker.
After a shortened Day 4, play will resume with 48:27 minutes left in Level 23 with blinds of 10,000/25,000, and Stephen Song leading the pack with 4,130,000 chips, good for 165 big blinds.
Not far behind him is fellow American David Coleman with 3,900,000, and lurking at the base of the top ten is EPT Monte Carlo third-place finisher Rania Nasreddine, who finished with 2,005,000 after battling back from being on the wrong end of a massive queens versus aces cooler early in the day.
Top 10 Start of Day 5 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen Song | United States | 4,130,000 | 165 |
| 2 | David Coleman | United States | 3,900,000 | 156 |
| 3 | Harry Lodge | United Kingdom | 3,450,000 | 138 |
| 4 | Jianwei Lin | China | 2,835,000 | 113 |
| 5 | Sriharsha Doddapaneni | India | 2,730,000 | 109 |
| 6 | Pablo Beltran | Spain | 2,640,000 | 106 |
| 7 | Yurii Zabrodotsky | Ukraine | 2,635,000 | 105 |
| 8 | Timothy Chung | Hong Kong | 2,525,000 | 101 |
| 9 | Jack Kiriakus | Sweden | 2,005,000 | 80 |
| 10 | Rania Nasreddine | United States | 2,005,000 | 80 |
Not to mention, defending EPT Barcelona champion Simon Wiciak is still in the hunt, returning with 1,300,000 chips and positioned in the top half of the leaderboard.
As noted earlier, the payouts will significantly increase on Friday, with all returning players guaranteed at least €23,350. There's also an immediate pay jump to €26,900 at 39th place.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,512,000 | 10-11 | €107,450 | 40 | €23,350 |
| 2 | €944,000 | 12-13 | €89,550 | ||
| 3 | €674,150 | 14-15 | €74,600 | ||
| 4 | €518,600 | 16-17 | €62,150 | ||
| 5 | €398,950 | 18-20 | €51,800 | ||
| 6 | €306,900 | 21-23 | €43,200 | ||
| 7 | €236,100 | 24-27 | €36,000 | ||
| 8 | €181,600 | 28-31 | €30,950 | ||
| 9 | €139,750 | 32-39 | €26,900 |
Play resumes at noon local time with streamed coverage on the PokerStars YouTube and Twitch channels available on a delay of 30 minutes. While a firm plan for the day has yet to be announced, the 2023 edition of the EPT Barcelona Main Event, which was the first to play seven days before crowning a champion, saw its Day 5 play down to 16 players.
Be sure to keep your browsers here on PokerNews for continuing coverage as our team of live reporters will bring you all the action from the tournament floor as the 20th anniversary season of the European Poker Tour continues from Casino Barcelona.