The PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) kicked off at Casino Barcelona with Day 1a, a flight that drew 353 players across more than 14 hours of play. At the end of the night, there were 53 who found bags and will return for Day 2 after the completion of the other three starting fights.
Leading the Day 1a survivors is Spain native Alex Baena, who bagged 559,000 to be in front of fellow big stacks Mathias Siljander (544,000) and Dennis Holmstrom of Finland (491,000). Other players who found bags include Cedric Kharif (485,000), Danilo Colomba (436,000), Anthony Stumbo (368,000) and Duong Van Man (291,000).
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Baena | Spain | 559,000 |
| 2 | Mathias Siljander | Finland | 544,000 |
| 3 | Dennis Holmstrom | Finland | 491,000 |
| 4 | Cedric Kharif | France | 485,000 |
| 5 | Danilo Colomba | Italy | 436,000 |
| 6 | Anthony Stumbo | Belgium | 368,000 |
| 7 | Mihai Trofim | Moldova | 367,000 |
| 8 | Miguel Fernandez Monton | Spain | 361,000 |
| 9 | Gustavo Dias | Brazil | 357,000 |
| 10 | Bernat Montes | Spain | 344,000 |
Plenty Of Action On Day 1a
There was no shortage of action in the first event to kick off EPT Barcelona here on the Spanish coast. One of the bigger names in the field, Dan Heimiller, lost a big one when he called off with king-seven against the pocket tens of Rodrigo Noceda and suited ace of Ryan Dansie to surrender his stack of around 60 big blinds.
Heimiller, who had a fantastic 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) that included a runner-up finish in Event #80: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. High Roller for $439,622, hopped into Day 1b but failed to build up a stack in the turbo flight.
Another notable name to fall on Day 1a was Jon Kyte, a Norwegian grinder who earlier in the day chopped a decent pot with Karim Lehoussine as the both held ace-king.
Other players who were eliminated during Day 1a include Peter Jaksland, Max Avela, Eduardo Santi, Michal Schuh, Charles La Boissonniere, Antonio Dascenzo and Tullio Bertoli.
Play slowed significantly as the money bubble approached before Ricardo Manquant found himself at risk with a flopped top pair. Unfortunately, his opponent, Gustavo Dias, had flopped a set and improved to quads mark the Frenchman's elimination on the stone bubble.
The 53 players who bagged will all be in the money when the return on Day 2, which will kick off on Aug. 25. Before that, flights 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1h will all take place and follow similar structures to Days 1a and 1b.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to bring you more coverage of the Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event here at EPT Barcelona, so stay tuned.
