The curtain has fallen on the first of four starting flights in the 888poker LIVE Barcelona �888 Main Event here at Casino Barcelona. Day 1a of the Main Event attracted 86 entrants, contributing �69,488 to the prize pool.
After ten 45-minute levels, Viktor Moskalenko bagged the biggest stack in the room, finishing with 400,000 chips, a stack that will be worth 133 big blinds going into Day 2. Moskalenko is most closely followed by Alejandro Peinado Guillen (330,000) and Kristian Larsson (314,500). Those three players are the only ones to bag over 100 big blinds from today's starting flight.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viktor Moskalenko | Spain | 400,000 | 133 |
| 2 | Alejandro Peinado Guillen | Spain | 330,000 | 110 |
| 3 | Kristian Larsson | Norway | 314,500 | 105 |
| 4 | Roberto Beccaria | Italy | 290,000 | 97 |
| 5 | Giuseppe Dedoni | Italy | 218,500 | 73 |
| 6 | Samuel Ravazzani | Italy | 205,000 | 68 |
| 7 | Heorhii Doroshev | Ukraine | 200,500 | 67 |
| 8 | Viacheslav Derbilov | Russian Federation | 200,000 | 67 |
| 9 | Pedro Gonzalez | Spain | 182,500 | 61 |
| 10 | Paul Kristoffersson | Sweden | 173,000 | 58 |
Day 1a Highlights
Larsson got off to a hot start today after being on the right side of an aces versus kings cooler that saw him double up in the second level of the day. Larsson was firmly in the driver's seat from that point until the end of the night and was able to leverage his big stack to consistently win pots without showdown.
Argentina's Matias Arroyo briefly found himself near the top of the counts after successfully making a massive hero call with just a pair of tens on a ace-high board with flush and straight possibilities. Although Arroyo took some big hits after that hand he still managed to bag 128,500 at the end of the night, just below an average stack.
All players who failed to survive the day will have the option to reenter as many times as they wish across the next three starting flights, with late registration remaining open until the start of Day 2. Day 1b and Day 1c will take place on May 17 and May 18 respectively and feature an identical structure to Day 1a. The fourth and final starting flight will take place will take place on May 19 and feature a turbo structure with 20-minute levels. The fields will combine for Day 2 later that same day.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action for this event until a winner is crowned on the third and final day taking place on May 20.
