2017 PokerStars Championship Barcelona

€10,300 High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info

2017 PokerStars Championship Barcelona

Final Results
Winner
Ronny Kaiser
Winning Hand
aq
Prize
€735,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€10,300
Prize Pool
€5,402,900
Entries
557
Level Info
Level
36
Blinds
300,000 / 600,000
Ante
100,000

Sam Grafton Eliminated in 11th Place (€75,100)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Sam Grafton
Sam Grafton

Sam Grafton was the most entertaining player at the tables, as per usual, but his run eventually comes to an end in 11th place. Grafton was involved in a heads-up hand against Markus Durnegger and checked the {8-Spades}{4-Spades}{2-Hearts} flop. Durnegger bet 105,000 and Grafton check-raised all in.

"How much is it?" Durnegger asked and Grafton's jam was for 695,000 and Durnegger called.

"Do you have sixes?" Grafton immediately asked and Durnegger shook his head.

Sam Grafton: {Q-Diamonds}{4-Diamonds}
Markus Durnegger: {8-Hearts}{7-Hearts}

Neither the {K-Clubs} turn nor the {A-Hearts} river improved Grafton and he had to settle for a payday of €75,100.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Markus Durnegger at
Markus Durnegger
4,100,000
1,150,000
1,150,000
Profile photo of Sam Grafton gb
Sam Grafton
Busted

Tags: Markus DurneggerSam Grafton

Christopher Kruk Eliminated in 12th Place (€63,750)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Christopher Kruk
Christopher Kruk

"Anyone want to make a bet who finishes 12th?" Christopher Kruk said before the hand was dealt. As people smiled, the next hand got underway.

Kruk open-shoved for 230,000 from the hijack. Markus Durnegger on the button called and the blinds both folded.

Christopher Kruk: {K-Hearts}{Q-Spades}
Markus Durnegger: {A-Diamonds}{9-Hearts}

The {J-Diamonds}{Q-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds} flop and {K-Clubs} turn were good for Kruk but the {10-Spades} on the river gave Durnegger a straight and Kruk departed in 12th place. With just 11 players remaining, the players are now guaranteed €75,100.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Markus Durnegger at
Markus Durnegger
2,950,000
250,000
250,000
Profile photo of Christopher Kruk ca
Christopher Kruk
Busted

Tags: Christopher KrukMarkus Durnegger

Parker Talbot Eliminated in 13th Place (€63,750)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Parker Talbot
Parker Talbot

Parker Talbot announced all in for 505,000 from the hijack and Oliver Weis in the cutoff moved all in for slightly more, while all other opponents folded.

Parker Talbot: {K-Hearts}{J-Clubs}
Oliver Weis: {A-Spades}{J-Diamonds}

"I need help," Talbot said even before the cards were turned over and the Canadian Twitch poker star was right with his prediction. Unfortunately, Talbot found no help on the board of {J-Hearts}{6-Spades}{3-Diamonds}{6-Diamonds}{A-Hearts} and was eliminated in 13th place for €63,750.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Oliver Weis de
Oliver Weis
1,300,000
290,000
290,000
WSOP 1X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Parker Talbot ca
Parker Talbot
Busted

Tags: Oliver WeisParker Talbot

Marc-Olivier Perrault Eliminated in 14th Place (€55,640)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Marc-Oliver Perrault
Marc-Oliver Perrault

We mostly missed it, but later learned that it was an open by Marc-Olivier Perrault to 90,000, a 3-bet by Ronny Kaiser to 250,000, an all in by Perrault, and a call by Kaiser.

Marc-Olivier Perrault: {A-}{Q-}
Ronny Kaiser: {A-Spades}{A-Hearts}

The board came {4-Spades}{Q-Diamonds}{K-Clubs}{J-Clubs}{J-Hearts} and Perrault hit the rail.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Ronny Kaiser ch
Ronny Kaiser
4,850,000
1,050,000
1,050,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Marc-Olivier Perrault ca
Marc-Olivier Perrault
Busted

Tags: Marc-Olivier PerraultRonny Kaiser

Marius Gierse Eliminated in 15th Place (€55,640)

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante
Marius Gierse
Marius Gierse

Marius Gierse had previously forfeited his blinds and dropped to around 320,000. Markus Durnegger raised and Gierse moved all in from the button, which the Austrian quickly called.

Marius Gierse: {A-Diamonds}{9-Diamonds}
Markus Durnegger: {A-Hearts}{J-Spades}

"Do you have ace ten?" Durnegger asked and Sam Grafton pointed out it was ace-ten. "Off suit?" Durnegger continued and chuckled, as did Gierse. On the {A-Spades}{J-Hearts}{3-Hearts} flop, Gierse was drawing to runner runner outs only and he tapped the table in defeat, his elimination in 15th place was official as soon as the {4-Clubs} fell on the turn. A meaningless {K-Hearts} river completed the board and Gierse headed to the payout desk.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Markus Durnegger at
Markus Durnegger
2,700,000
720,000
720,000
Profile photo of Marius Gierse at
Marius Gierse
Busted

Tags: Marius GierseMarkus DurneggerSam Grafton

Pascal Hartmann Eliminated in 16th Place (€49,150)

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante
Pascal Hartmann
Pascal Hartmann

Pascal Hartmann opened the button and big blind Luis Rodriguez Cruz called. Rodriguez Cruz checked on {5-Clubs}{9-Diamonds}{10-Clubs} and Hartmann bet 120,000. Rodriguez Cruz check-raised to 450,000 soon enough and Hartmann called.

The {4-Spades} hit the turn and Rodriguez Cruz shoved for a massive 1,450,000. Hartmann ran his first clock down and automatically used a time bank card to think it over. With a couple of seconds to spare, he eventually called.

Luid Rodriguez Cruz: {9-Hearts}{10-Spades}
Pascal Hartmann: {Q-Clubs}{Q-Hearts}

Hartmann needed a queen, five or four to eliminate his opponent but instead the useless {J-Diamonds} came off and Hartmann was left with just 25,000.

After anteing 5,000, he committed his spare 20,000 after a raise by Oliver Weis. Jakub Michalak in the big blind called as well.

Michalak check-called 60,000 on {K-Hearts}{J-Diamonds}{4-Clubs} but check-folded to Weis' 110,000 bet on the {J-Diamonds} turn.

Oliver Weis: {J-Clubs}{Q-Diamonds}
Pascal Hartmann: {8-Diamonds}{6-Diamonds}

The river {2-Clubs} was of no importance anymore as Hartmann was already drawing dead on the turn.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Luis Rodriguez Cruz es
Luis Rodriguez Cruz
3,855,000
1,895,000
1,895,000
WPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Jakub Michalak pl
Jakub Michalak
2,670,000
-30,000
-30,000
Profile photo of Oliver Weis de
Oliver Weis
2,100,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
WSOP 1X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Pascal Hartmann de
Pascal Hartmann
Busted

Pollak Busts Cabrera and Kolev in Huge Three-Way Clash

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante
Benjamin Pollak
Benjamin Pollak

Sergio Cabrera started the hand with a raise to 65,000 and Benjamin Pollak three-bet to 175,000 after having asked for a count on Cabrera's stack on the other side of the table. Boris Kolev moved all in from the cutoff and now it was up to Cabrera who asked for a count. Kolev was at risk for 750,000 and Cabrera moved all in over the top.

"How much is it?" Pollak asked and inquired about an exact count. Cabera's all in was for 1,270,000 and Pollak slid forward a stack for the call, having both opponents covered.

Boris Kolev: {Q-Hearts}{Q-Diamonds}
Sergio Cabrera: {A-Hearts}{A-Clubs}
Benjamin Pollak: {K-Diamonds}{K-Clubs}

The {K-Spades}{J-Clubs}{3-Diamonds} flop improved Pollak to a set, and the {Q-Spades} turn gave Kolev the inferior set while Cabrera now had a straight draw. Instead, the {K-Hearts} river improved Pollak further and he sent two opponents to the rail with quads, taking a commanding lead with 18 players remaining.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Benjamin Pollak fr
Benjamin Pollak
4,625,000
2,025,000
2,025,000
Profile photo of Sergio Cabrera es
Sergio Cabrera
Busted
Profile photo of Boris Kolev bg
Boris Kolev
Busted
WSOP 2X Winner

Tags: Benjamin PollakBoris KolevSergio Cabrera

Studying Late-Stage Strategy With SamSquid

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante
Sam Grafton
Sam Grafton

The €10K High Roller is ticking along nicely. They're down to 22, and you'll find all the bust-outs and chip counts at the bottom of this post.

But first, how should one play in these late stages of big tournaments? One player who certainly knows is Sam 'TheSquid' Grafton, still fresh from his victory at the PokerStars Festival Bucharest only one month ago.

Read all about it on the PokerStars Blog.

Tags: Sam Grafton

Jake Cody Eliminated

Level 22 : 12,000/24,000, 4,000 ante
Jake Cody
Jake Cody

Hand 1

Pascal Hartman raised to 52,000 from the cutoff and Jake Cody moved all in from the small blind. Hartmann called for his last 616,000 and the cards were tabled.

Pascal Hartmann: {A-Hearts}{Q-Diamonds}
Jake Cody: {7-Clubs}{7-Diamonds}

The board came {A-Spades}{9-Diamonds}{4-Hearts}{2-Hearts}{10-Diamonds} and Cody was left with fewer than five big blinds.

Hand 2

Cody raised to 80,000 on the button, leaving himself with just one T-5,000 chip behind. Franz Ditz in the small blind three-bet to 190,000 and Alexandre Reard forfeited his big blind. Cody looked at the clock and the other tables, then called before his shot clock had run down to zero.

Jake Cody: {8-Hearts}{8-Spades}
Franz Ditz: {K-Spades}{K-Diamonds}

The board of {9-Hearts}{5-Spades}{2-Diamonds}{Q-Spades}{7-Hearts} provided no help and Cody was eliminated in 27th place for €32,950.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Franz Ditz de
Franz Ditz
1,450,000
400,000
400,000
Profile photo of Pascal Hartmann de
Pascal Hartmann
1,280,000
749,000
749,000
Profile photo of Jake Cody gb
Jake Cody
Busted

Schillhabel Earns Lucky Triple

Level 21 : 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Stefan Schillhabel (photo from an earlier event this week)
Stefan Schillhabel (photo from an earlier event this week)

From the hijack, Stefan Schillhabel opened to 185,000, leaving himself just 36,000 behind. His neighbor Markus Durnegger called from the button. Big blind Ihar Soika, who won this event back in 2014 earning €747,200 after beating Jason Mercier heads up, tanked for a bit, used one of his time banks, and moved in for 718,000. Schillhabel called, Durnegger folded after having received a count.

Stefan Schillhabel: {A-Clubs}{8-Hearts}
Ihar Soika: {K-Clubs}{K-Diamonds}

The flop of {J-Hearts}{8-Clubs}{9-Hearts} gave Schillhabel some hope and that only increased with the {Q-Hearts} on the turn. The {K-Hearts} on the river completed his flush and Soika's rivered set went face down into the muck.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Markus Durnegger at
Markus Durnegger
1,250,000
-8,000
-8,000
Profile photo of Stefan Schillhabel de
Stefan Schillhabel
661,000
431,000
431,000
WPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Ihar Soika by
Ihar Soika
497,000
-327,000
-327,000

Tags: Ihar SoikaMarkus DurneggerStefan Schillhabel