Pratyush Buddiga Wins the EPT Barcelona �25,500 Single-Day High Roller for �690,275, [Removed:17] 2nd for �704,755
Another event at the 2016 PokerStars.es EPT Season Barcelona, another record broken with Pratyush Buddiga and [Removed:17] finished first and second respectively to earn �690,275 and �704,755 after a deal was made.
Last year's tournament, which saw a field of 152 wasn't able to finish in the intended one day, so this year's version started at 10:30 a.m. local time and saw a flock of players hit the poker room for the �25,500 Single-Day High Roller.
Players started with 100,000 in chips and levels were 30 minutes long throughout. Despite the early starting time, the designated tables filled up quickly. There was a steady flow of new players and players re-entering right until registration closed after the extended lunch break. In total the event saw 165 total entries, consisting of 131 unique players and 34 of them using their single reentry option. That created a prize pool of well over �4 million with just shy of a million for first.
After a long day of high-stakes poker action, Buddiga from the United States eventually walked away a champion after a three-way deal saw the New Zealander, Yan take home the biggest payout:
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pratyush Buddiga | United States | �690,275 |
| 2 | [Removed:17] | New Zealand | �704,755 |
| 3 | Andrey Shatilov | Russia | �606,020 |
| 4 | Tobias Reinkemeier | Germany | �347,650 |
| 5 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | �278,900 |
| 6 | Alex Komaromi | Uruguay | �216,250 |
| 7 | Parker Talbot | Canada | �160,080 |
| 8 | Sergey Lebedev | Russia | �117,640 |
As was expected, players busted out left and right the entire day due to the fast-paced structure. With a �25,000 prize tag to enter, just about all of the players could be described as well-known. The best of the best came out for this event, and some wealthy amateurs joined them to battle it out for glory, a sweet trophy and a whole lot of cash.
Gerard Pique, after having already played the �50,000 Super High Roller earlier this festival, made another appearance. He gathered a big stack early on, but eventually fell a couple places short of the money in a hand against eventual final tablist Talbot Parker.
With so many entering, a lot left empty handed and, presumably, disappointed. Like Pique, big names like Anthony Zinno, Timothy Adams, Adrian Mateos, Jason Mercier, Shaun Deeb and last year's winner Martin Finger all fell well before the money.
Dutch high roller Robert Soogea would become the bubble boy in this single-day affair. His elimination started first when he lost a big hand with a flush draw that didn't materialize. The remainder of his chips were lost against Dmitry Yurasov where the latter made top pair with queen-jack against the ace-five of Soogea.
With that, the remaining 23 players were in the money earning a guaranteed �46,900.
One young player from Germany played exceptionally well all day, especially for someone considered a poker aficionado. He didn't seem fazed by the big names surrounding him and wasn't backing down to anyone. Fedor Holz, a self-proclaimed retiree from poker, battled the entire day and eventually made it into the money for a min cash. Once he busted out, the rest of the field was able to breathe a big sigh of relief as they now officially had a fighting chance. Holz, of who some jokingly say he's just playing the "retiree" game to be able to join the One Drop Extravaganza in Monaco in October, walked away with �46,900, just shy of what he bought in for.
After Holz busted out in 23rd place, the line at the payout desk would stay busy for some time. While the bubble hadn't didn't last long, play was still relatively shallow and pre-flop shoves were more common than post flop pots.
Players like November Niner Vojtech Ruzicka (18th for �50,940), WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (15th for �62,660) and One Drop player Christoph Vogelsang (14th for �62,660) all made deep runs but tripped before the final table was reached. While Russian regular Dmitry Yurasov did make it to the last table in play, his 9th place finish meant he had officially bubbled the final table.
With eight players remaining, the play did not tighten up in the least. Sergey Lebedev was the first to go after his ace-five didn't chop (let alone beat) the ace-four of his countryman Andrey Shatilov. A four on the flop and Lebedev hit the rail in 8th place for �117,640.
Parker Talbot, jovial as ever - or should we say jolly - hit the rail in 7th place as his pocket tens ran into the ace-king of [Removed:17]. The ace on the turn did him in and Talbot received a �160,080 check for his 7th place finish.
Alex Komaromi ended up 6th after he lost a crucial flip against Andrey Shatilov with ace-eight against deuces. Despite picking up a bunch of outs to counterfeit his opponent he eventually ended up with nothing more than ace-high. He received �216,250 for his 6th place.
Long time Global Poker Index commander Steve O'Dwyer went home in 5th place after his ten-eight failed to improve against the king-four of Pratyush Buddiga. The �278,900 he received for his 5th place finish was the 13th biggest score of his career.
Tobias Reinkemeier left the tournament in 4th place for �347,650 after his ace-six lost to Buddiga's ace-three, courtesy of a three on the turn.
The final 3 players immediately started talking shop after the shorties had all been eliminated. [Removed:17], Pratyush Buddiga and Andrey Shatilov didn't need long to shake hands and sign the ICM-deal papers. [Removed:17] received �704,755, Pratyush Buddiga got �690,275 and Andrey Shatilov guaranteed himself �606,020. Part of the deal was to go all in blind till someone had all the chips and could claim the trophy.
The finish only took two hands as the first eliminated Andrey Shatilov and crippled [Removed:17]. Pratyush Buddiga reigned supreme after one more flip to end it all. He didn't walk away the biggest winner cash wise, but he did receive the PokerStars spade trophy and was fortunate enough to pose for the winner photo as a result.
PokerNews.com live coverage of the 2016 PokerStars.es EPT Season 13 Barcelona continues tomorrow as Day 2 of the Main Event starts at noon local time.
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