Uri Reichenstein Leads Final Seven After Day 5 of the 2016 EPT Barcelona Main Event
The penultimate day of the PokerStars.es EPT Season 13 Barcelona €5,300 Main Event saw 24 hopefuls return to the tables of the Casino Barcelona, all guaranteed at least €33,300 for their efforts. Sebastian Malec held a sizable lead over his opponents and the PokerStars qualifier also reached the final table as well, securing the biggest payday on his poker resume thus far.
After six levels of 90 minutes each, Uri Reichenstein (11,330,000) edged out Thomas De Rooij (11,180,000) by less than one big blind. Mixed game specialist Adam “Adamyid” Owen follows in third place with 9,800,000 and the Brit set up the unofficial nine-handed final table with players from nine different countries by eliminating Morten Mortensen in tenth place with ace-ten versus ace-king.
They are joined by start-of-the-day leader Malec (7,330,000), Zorlu Er (7,090,000), Andreas Chalkiadakis (5,015,000) and Harcharan Dogra Dogra (1,700,000). Dogra Dogra is the last Spaniard in the field, hoping to keep the title on home soil, but will return with the shortest stack when play resumes in level 32 at blinds 100,000 / 200,000 and a running ante of 25,000.
2016 November Niner Vojtech Ruzicka was among the biggest names left in contention, but the Czech exited in 24th place. He first lost a big pot to Andrea Cortellazzi and then got his stack in with middle pair and a straight draw only to see Dogra Dogra look him up with the flopped straight. Other early casualties included Day 2 chip leader Anthony Chimkovitch (20th, for €49,170) and Michael Addamo (18th, for €49,170), while the last two tables were set with the elimination of Nuno Capucho in 17th place.
Mikahil Molchanov's run in the Main Event came to an end in 14th place after a cruel beat saw his pocket kings being cracked by Pavel Plesuv's pocket nines, when the king-high board gave the Moldovian a runner runner four-card straight. Konstantin Puchkov, who holds the most EPT cashes with 82 scores, followed in 13th when his king-queen failed to improve against the ace-king of De Rooij.
Cortellazzi and Alexandru Baron fell in 12th respectively 11th place and Mortensen then fell short of the final table after getting three-outered. Owen started the nine-handed final table with a strong lead and stayed in the top spot until the last few hands of the night.
Stephen Malone chipped up right away when the field was combined to the last table only to see his hopes getting crushed when his pocket kings were met by Er's ace-king and a cruel ace on the river.
Only two hands later, Plesuv fell in a three-way pot with pocket jacks after his straight draw and overpair could not improve against Reichenstein's flopped set of eights.
No further players would join the rail until the end of the sixth level of Day 5 and the remaining seven finalists have €230,950 locked up. However, all eyes are set on the first-place payout of €1,122,800, and a spot in the history books of poker by taking down the record-breaking Main Event with impressive 1,785 entries.
Seat Draw for the Final Day
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uri Reichenstein | Germany | 11,330,000 |
| 2 | Thomas De Rooij | Netherlands | 11,180,000 |
| 3 | Andreas Chalkiadakis | Greece | 5,015,000 |
| 4 | Zorlu Er | Turkey | 7,090,000 |
| 5 | Harcharan Dogra Dogra | Spain | 1,700,000 |
| 6 | Adam Owen | UK | 9,800,000 |
| 7 | Sebastian Malec | Poland | 7,330,000 |
Action resumes at 1 p.m. local time, and the live stream with hole cards will be on a security delay of one hour. The PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to provide the action until a winner is crowned.