Defending Champion Wiciak Among Big Stacks Coming into Day 2 of �5,300 Main Event
Welcome to Day 2 of the �5,300 Main Event at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona, hosted at the magnificent Casino Barcelona. Leading the pack is France��s Jeremie Zouari, who built an impressive stack of 402,500 during Day 1b last night, making him the only player to surpass the 400,000-chip mark.
Bringing in the second largest stack after bagging the Day 1a chip lead is Joost Hollak of the Netherlands, with 364,500. Just shy of making the top ten is the EPT Barcelona reigning Main Event champion Simon Wiciak with 212,000. The PokerStars Ambassador might start to experience a bit of d��j�� vu, having lifted the trophy in this event exactly one year ago today.
So far, there have been 1,891 entries from the two opening flights, with 628 having managed to bring a stack through to Day 2 today. Late registration remains open until the start of play, so that number is expected to grow. The official prize pool and payouts will be announced shortly after registration closes.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremie Zouari | France | 402,500 | 268 |
| 2 | Joost Hollak | Netherlands | 364,500 | 243 |
| 3 | Jorge Artiga-Pacheco | Canada | 306,500 | 204 |
| 4 | Georgios Zachmanidis | Greece | 304,500 | 203 |
| 5 | Ram Sanati | Australia | 303,000 | 202 |
| 6 | Yevhenii Kuzmin | Russia | 300,500 | 200 |
| 7 | Yuan Li | Hong Kong | 286,500 | 191 |
| 8 | Andrea Salamone | Italy | 275,000 | 183 |
| 9 | David Miscikowski | United States | 271,000 | 181 |
| 10 | Matteo Orchide | Italy | 263,000 | 175 |
Also in the hunt today with 122,000 chips and positioned in the middle of the pack is Derk van Luijk from the Netherlands. Luijk is no stranger to success, having already feasted on EPT Main Event glory earlier this year when he lifted the trophy at the tour's most recent stop in Monte Carlo just a few months ago.
An array of notables will be in the field today, all in the hopes of building up a stack to bring through to Day 3. Some of those include Stephen Song (230,500), Mark Teltscher (199,000), Maria Konnikova (128,500), Uri Gilboa (120,000), Davidi Kitai (122,500), Patrik Antonius (51,000), Tom Middleton (50,000), and two time EPT winner Mike Watson (47,000).
Cards will be in the air at noon local time, with play resuming at Level 11, featuring 1,000/1,500 blinds and a 1,500 big blind ante. Levels will now be extended to 90 minutes each, with a 20-minute break after every level and a 75-minute break after Level 14.
Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you live coverage from the tournament floor throughout Day 2 of the highly anticipated Main Event here in Barcelona.