The following players all recently departed from the 2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event.
The following players all recently departed from the 2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event.
You have to wonder what it’s like to play for $10,000 – more money than you’ve ever won before — only to then discover you’re also playing for a Platinum Pass.
That’s a credit card sized prize worth more than double that ten grand. And with it all those potentially life changing possibilities, hosted by PokerStars at the PSPC 2020 in Barcelona next August.
Oh, and you’re playing heads up, with a short stack. And you need to be quick because the blinds are going up.
Clement Eloy can tell you exactly what that’s like. And what it’s like to win it all. It’s what he did on Tuesday night to be the first winner of a new Platinum Pass...
Click here to read the entire article by Stephen Bartley over at the PokerStars Blog.
On a flop reading ![]()
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, Shannon Shorr, who just got moved to Table 5 to take Timur Margolin's open seat, checked from the small blind and Stefan Fabian bet 18,000 from the big blind. Shorr check-raised to 61,000 and Fabian stuck around with a call.
The turn was the
and Shorr checked. Fabian continued with a bet of 80,000 and Shorr tank-folded.
On a ![]()
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board, Johan Storakers, in the small blind, bet 85,000 into a pot of around 200,000 against Kully Sidhu, who was under the gun. The latter called.
With about 160,000 behind, Storakers saw the
being flipped onto the felt and went deep in the tank. After burning through two extensions, he decided to check and Sidhu took the showdown.
Storakers, who finished 19th in last year's Main Event (€59,940), showed ![]()
for a whiffed draw and Sidhu claimed it with ![]()
.
On the feature table, Fatima Moreira De Melo was at risk holding ![]()
for her last 220,000 chips against Alen Alencar.
It wasn't looking good for the PokerStars Ambassador, with her Brazilian opponent holding ![]()
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The board came ![]()
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and Moreira de Melo was eliminated in 139th place, taking home €12,440.
In a battle big blind versus button, Benjamin Saada jammed the ![]()
and Gaelle Baumann called with the ![]()
.
The board came ![]()
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and Saada headed to the payout desk.
Viktor Katzenberger raised to 16,000 in the hijack and Sahil Chuttani called from the cutoff. Gheorghe Podovei three-bet shoved 75,000 from the big blind, Katzenberger reshoved for 297,000 and Chuttani let the two duke it out.
Gheorghe Podovei: ![]()
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Viktor Katzenberger: ![]()
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The ![]()
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board brought a king on the flop for the Hungarian to send the Romanian out the door.
Gaelle Baumann raised to 16,000 from middle position and Ramandeep Singh Gujral three-bet shoved from the cutoff for 155,000. Action folded back to Baumann who made the call.
Ramandeep Singh Gujral: ![]()
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Gaelle Baumann: ![]()
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The runout was ![]()
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and Gujral doubled up with his pair of aces.
Action was on a ![]()
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board, and Istvan Birizdo had checked to Lander Lijo who bet 15,000 into a pot of around 45,000.
Birizdo then check-raised all in for 134,000.
Lijo tanked, but it quickly became apparent that his concentration was less on his opponent or the board, but the clock. With 144 players remaining, one more elimination would secure the remaining players a pay jump from €11,090 to €12,440.
His eyes were transfixed on the clock, burning through four of his time banks. There was an all-in and a call at the neighbouring table, and after confirmation that someone had been eliminated, he called.
"Jack high," said Birizdo showing ![]()
and Lijo doubled for 113,000 with ![]()
for a rivered pair of queens.
The cards of Gianfranco Iaculli were already in the muck with the board still showing ![]()
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and Raul Martinez raked in the pot with ![]()
on the button. According to Andres Korn and Ramin Hajiyev, Iaculli had three-bet shoved ![]()
preflop and didn't get there.