Jose Nadal Dominates the Bubble to Bag Massive Lead in Day 1a of Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona got off to a hot start today, with Day 1a of the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) Main Event drawing 338 entrants by the time late registration ended. Following nearly 17 levels of play, just 51 managed to find a bag and secure their seat into Day 2.
Leading the way by a large margin is Mexican poker pro Jose Nadal, who managed to bag up a staggering 882,000 by the time the final hand was completed. His next closest competitor is Valentino Konakchiev, who ended with 512,000. Rounding out the top three is Brian Battistone, who also cleared the half-million mark with 510,000 here at Casino Barcelona.
Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Nadal | Mexico | 882,000 |
| 2 | Valentino Konakchiev | Bulgaria | 512,000 |
| 3 | Brian Battistone | United States | 510,000 |
| 4 | Tero Laurila | Finland | 505,000 |
| 5 | Borja Martinez | Spain | 478,000 |
| 6 | Tudor Zapsa | Moldova | 441,000 |
| 7 | Jose Gonzalez Sanchez | Spain | 394,000 |
| 8 | Bogdan Petrascu | Romania | 370,000 |
| 9 | Sergiy Antonov | Ukraine | 347,000 |
| 10 | Kevin Kent | United States | 333,000 |
Day 1a Action
Day 1a began with 86 players taking their seats and it didn't take long for the chips to start flying. EPT Paris Main Event Winner and PokerStars Ambassador Barny Boatman got off to an eventful start after doubling up with a runner-runner flush early on. Boatman had a bit of a roller coaster day, finding himself amongst the chip leaders at various points before slipping to a below-average stack late in the day. Boatman ultimately ended with a respectable 300,000 after doubling up through fellow PokerStars Ambassador Maria Konnikova during the last level with pocket queens.
Nadal was responsible for several eliminations throughout the day en route to emerging as the chip leader and, despite taking a big hit to his stack late in the day after running pocket jacks into Konachiev's cowboys, Nadal wouldn't be denied.
Nadal added massively to his stack during the Day-2 bubble after forcing a tough laydown from Anton Gililov and fading a lot of outs to eliminate Sean Jazayeri on the stone bubble to end play for the night.
Other notables who made it into Day 2 include "Hollywood" Dave Stann (38,000), Konnikova (75,000), Vladas Tamasauskas (146,000), Archibald Seaton (202,000), and 2024 Irish Open Main Event Champion Tero Laurila (505,000).
All players who earned a Day-2 berth have already made the money, although the exact amount of a min-cash won't be calculated until after all starting flights have been played to completion.
Among the less fortunate who entered but fell short of Day 2 include Fabian Rolli, Nicholas Palma, PokerStars Ambassador Parker Talbot, Shiina Okamoto, and Jari Mahonen, who lost a race with queens against Borja Martinez's big slick late in the day.
All players who failed to make it to Day 2 still have several chances left as the event has six more starting flights. Day 1c is the next flight, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, August 27 at 11 a.m. local time. Day 2 will take place on Friday, August 30 at 11 a.m.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action as the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event is just getting warmed up!