Bagattini Sprints to the Chip Lead in Day 1b of EAPT Madrid Main Event
The action has come to a close for Day 1b of the EAPT €560 Main Event at the Casino Gran Via here in Madrid. The second of five starting flights attracted a total of 51 entrants, of which only 8 players remain after nearly twelve hours of play. Those 8 players are in the money and have advanced to Day 2.
Dario Bagattini may have been unsuccesful with his first bullet from yesterday's Day 1a but he made the most out of his second entry in today's flight. After a wild bubble that saw the chip lead change multiple times, Bagattini emerged as the biggest stack at the end of the night with 649,000 chips, giving him the overall chip lead from the first two starting flights.
EAPT Madrid Main Event Day 1b Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dario Bagattini | Switzerland | 649,000 |
| 2 | Javier Romero | Spain | 432,000 |
| 3 | Oscar Gironella | Spain | 308,000 |
| 4 | Oliver Gayko | Germany | 159,000 |
| 5 | Gorka Echevarria | Spain | 153,000 |
| 6 | Adam Sanchez | Spain | 122,000 |
| 7 | Pak Hei Chow | China | 121,000 |
| 8 | Alberto Diaz | Spain | 100,000 |
Spain's Javier Romero got off to a hot start today after winning a big pot with just a pair of threes in the second level of the day. Romero would remain in cruise control with an above-average stack for most of the day after that until going on a late-night tear. He first turned a full house to knock out Adrian Lipe and then was on the right side of an aces versus kings cooler to become a commanding chip lead at the time. He would ride that momentum all the way to the end, bagging the second-largest stack with 432,000 chips.
Oscar Gironella was under the radar for most of the day today until taking the chip lead in the later levels of the night. Gironella found himself in a dream scenario when he turned quads in a hand against Adam Sanchez, who was attempting a massive bluff at the wrong time. Gironella is no stranger to success here in Madrid as he took down the WPT Prime Main Event in Madrid this past September for a career-best score of €69,826. The Spanish pro bagged 308,000 chips for the third-largest stack at the end of the night, and will be a force to be reckoned with going into Day 2.
Bagattini maintained an above-average stack for most of the day today before picking up some momentum in the later levels, particularly after winning a major flip against Walid Igalla. Bagattini's most important hand would come during bubble play. In a massive collision between the two biggest stacks in the room at the time, Bagattini had flopped a set and got paid by Gironella who had rivered two pair. That hand saw Bagattini and Gironella effectively switch stacks and shortly afterwards Bagattini would eliminate Ivan Gonzalez on the bubble to bring an end to the night.
Three more starting flights remain before the fields combine for Day 2. The turbo Day 1c flight is already underway while Day 1d will take place tomorrow, February 17 at 1:00 p.m. local time and play 40-minute levels. There will also be a final turbo Day 1e flight taking place at 8:00 p.m. on the same day featuring 15-minute levels. All starting flights will play down until 15% of the field remains at which point all remaining players will be in the money and advance to Day 2 which takes place on February 18.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews for our continuing coverage of this event until a winner is crowned on the final day which takes place on February 19.