Joining the nine-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Famer will be Malaysian high-stakes veteran Paul Phua (438,000), Canadian crusher Timothy Adams (178,000) and Spain's Adrian Mateos (144,000), who earlier this year took down the EPT Monte Carlo €100,000 Super High Roller for €1,385,430.
Also still in the hunt in Uruguay's Francisco Benitez, who started off EPT Barcelona with a victory in €10,200 Mystery Bounty good for €114,080.
€25,000 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Chip Counts
TABLE
SEAT
PLAYER
COUNTRY
CHIPS
BIG BLINDS
1
1
Jean-Noel Thorel
France
127,000
13
1
2
Francisco Benitez
Uruguay
324,000
32
1
3
Timothy Adams
Canada
178,000
18
1
4
Artur Martirosian
Russia
242,000
24
1
5
Adrian Mateos
Spain
144,000
14
1
6
Paul Phua
Malaysia
438,000
44
1
7
Ramiro Petrone
Uruguay
229,000
23
1
8
Erik Seidel
United States
522,000
52
1
9
Pedro Garagnani
Brazil
297,000
30
The money bubble will bust on Day 2 as only seven spots are paid, with the seventh place finisher receiving €63,030. The eventual winner, meanwhile, will earn the trophy and the top payout of €390,160.
Day 2 will kick off on Level 19 with blinds of 5,000/10,000/10,000 and levels will increase from 30 minutes to 60 minutes in duration. Once three-handed play is reached, levels will return to 30 minutes in length. There is no dinner break scheduled but players will get a 15-minute break every two levels.
Some of the players who made it deep in Day 1 but couldn't find a bag include Stephen Chidwick, Patrik Antonius, Laszlo Bujtas, Aleksejs Ponakovs, Tom-Aksel Bedell and 2020 WSOP Main Event champion Damian Salas.
Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team is ready to bring readers updates up to the crowning of the latest champion here at EPT Barcelona.
Francisco Benitez opened to 20,000 from under the gun and Jean-Noel Thorel defended the big blind.
The flop was checked to the turn. Thorel announced "all in" for the rest of his short stack, and Benitez quickly put in chips for a call.
Jean-Noel Thorel:
Francisco Benitez:
Thorel was drawing to a chop, and the completed the board to eliminate the Frenchman in ninth place. Players are now on the bubble and one elimination from the money.
Francisco Benitez opened to 20,000 from early position, Adrian Mateos jammed for 80,000 in the cutoff, and Paul Phua called on the button. Action folded back to Benitez who also laid down his hand.
Adrian Mateos:
Paul Phua:
It was the classic preflop cooler of aces versus kings, and the board ran out to eliminate the Spaniard on the money bubble in eighth place. The remaining seven players are now guaranteed a minimum of €63,030.
Erik Seidel moved all in for 78,000 from under the gun and Ramiro Petrone called in the big blind.
Erik Seidel:
Ramiro Petrone:
Seidel was in good shape for a double, but the flop left him needing help, and the and completed the board to eliminate the Poker Hall of Famer in sixth place for €81,030.
Pedro Garagnani had recently doubled through Francisco Benitez, but was once again at risk of elimination. He ended up getting his 216,000 chips in on the button and was at risk against Paul Phua in the hijack.
Pedro Garagnani:
Paul Phua:
Garagnani needed to win the race to stay alive, but the board ran out to eliminate the Brazilian in fifth place for €102,040.
Artur Martirosian ended up getting his approximately 250,000 chips in from the small blind and was at risk against Francisco Benitez on the button.
Artur Martirosian:
Francisco Benitez:
The flop put Benitez into the lead, and the turn left Martirosian needing an ace to stay alive, but the completed the board to eliminate him in fourth place for €132,060 after being on the wrong side of a couple of pots against Benitez, who holds the majority of the chips in play.
Francisco Benitez jammed the small blind and Paul Phua called in the big blind for his 230,000 chips.
Paul Phua:
Francisco Benitez:
Phua was ahead, but the flop gave Benitez a bit of everything to put him in front. The turn changed nothing, and the completed the board to eliminate Phua in third place for €174,070.
Francisco Benitez and Ramiro Petrone have agreed to an ICM deal. Benitez takes home €341,565 as he held the chip lead, and Petrone receives €306,705.
A hand was dealt to determine who would receive the trophy.
Ramiro Petrone:
Francisco Benitez:
The board ran out to give all of the chips and the trophy to Benitez for his victory. Petrone's runner-up finish gives him €306,705 following the deal, which is a new live tournament best for the Argentinian.
Benitez is just coming off a victory in the €10,200 Mystery Bounty event for €224,080 with collected bounties. The day after that win, he entered this €25,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, and he ultimately emerged victorious to claim another trophy, along with a total of over half a million euro across the two events.
This high roller event attracted 50 entries to create a €1,200,500 prize pool, and the top seven finishers received a piece of it.
€25,000 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
PLACE
PLAYER
COUNTRY
PRIZE
1
Francisco Benitez
Uruguay
€341,565*
2
Ramiro Petrone
Argentina
€306,705*
3
Paul Phua
Malaysia
€174,070
4
Artur Martirosian
Russia
€132,060
5
Pedro Garagnani
Brazil
€102,040
6
Erik Seidel
United States
€81,030
7
Timothy Adams
Canada
€63,030
*Denotes Heads-Up ICM Deal
An Awesome Start
“I feel very good. It’s an awesome, awesome start,” Benitez exclaimed following his second victory in back-to-back events.
He found himself making it all the way to the end of the tournament with fellow South American Petrone, and the two players agreed to an ICM deal which gave Petrone €306,705 for the runner-up finish.
“He’s my friend, and we talked about getting heads up together, ‘blah, blah, blah', and (then we actually) did it.”
Although Benitez has some bigger online results, his victory the other day was his biggest live cash at the time, and now, he has already topped that with an even bigger cash.
“It’s amazing results… it’s not different to me from online. I have my biggest cash online, but of course, I feel very good.”
After his triumph the other day, the Uruguyan player said: "(It was a) good start and (gives me) more confidence for the rest of the tournaments.” Now, he may have all of the confidence in the world as he continues to play a full schedule of events in Barcelona.
Final Table Action
Nine players returned to the felt for the second and final day, yet only seven players would claim a piece of the prize pool.
France’s Jean-Noel Thorel came into the day as the short stack, and was the first casualty as he was eliminated by Benitez.
Spanish pro Adrian Mateos was looking to make an early run in Barcelona, but he ran kings into aces and was eliminated on the money bubble in the massive cooler.
The seven remaining players were now in the money and action started to pick up. Petrone found a double-up with a superior kicker to stay alive, and soon after, he eliminated Timothy Adamsin seventh place when Adams couldn’t win a flip.
Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel came into the day as the chip leader, but he was left short after being on the losing side of Petrone’s recent double. He found himself at risk against Petrone with ace-queen against ace-three, but a trey on the flop sent the legendary player to the rail in sixth place.
Brazil’s Pedro Garagnani had only a few big blinds on the money bubble but was able to chip up and make it into the money. However, his run came to an end in fifth place when his ace-king found no improvement against pocket nines.
Artur Martirosian took the lead in four-handed play, but quickly found himself without any chips. He lost a huge pot with pocket jacks against pocket kings in a hand which gave Benitez all of the momentum, and soon after, Martirosian lost the rest of his chips against the Uruguayan eventual victor and was eliminated in fourth place.
Not long after three-handed play began, Petrone secured a double with ace-queen against Benitez’s ace-ten, leaving Paul Phua as the clear short stack. A bit later, Phua ended up getting his chips in with the best hand against Benitez, but the board ran out to give Benitez the winner, and Phua was sent to the rail in third place.
After the third-place elimination, Benitez held more than sixty percent of the chips in play, and the two remaining players discussed and agreed to an ICM deal. As a result, the two South American players each scored their biggest-ever live cash, according to The Hendon Mob, as Petrone received €306,705 and Benitez took home €341,565 along with a second EPT trophy.
That wraps up the coverage of this €25,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, but stay tuned as PokerNews continues to bring action of select EPT Barcelona events from the coast of Catalonia at Casino Barcelona.