Juanda and Dimov Eye Second EPT Title With 13 Remaining on Day 5
The penultimate day of the 2018 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona €5,300 Main Event will see 13 players out of 1,931 entries return to their seats on the final two tables at Casino Barcelona. The lion's share of the €9,365,350 prize pool is still up for grabs and all 13 remaining hopefuls have locked up €88,250 for their efforts. However, all eyes are set on the golden trophy and the first-place prize of €1,611,500 that comes along with it.
Two of the final 13 already know what it feels like to lift the EPT Main Event trophy for the winner shots, as Ognyan Dimov (3,100,000) and John Juanda (1,988,000) remain in contention with 39 and 25 big blinds respectively for the first level on Day 5. Dimov claimed the title back in 2015 in Deauville and Juanda entered the winner's circle right here in Salon Gaudi in the same year.
Leading the field into Day 5 is Portugal's Pedro Marques with 9,150,000 and Fabiano Kovalski is in second place with 8,745,000, Marques' countryman Rodrigo Carmo follows in third 5,330,000. It won't be an easy ride for any of them to reach the final six, as a tough competition awaits. Matthias Tikerpe (5,200,000), Haoxiang Wang (4,655,000), Mark Buckley (4,400,000), Georges Hanna (3,770,000), Piotr Nurzinsky (3,570,000), Patrick Clarke (3,550,000), Danny Tang (2,435,000) and Ben Heath (2,030,000) are all vying for a spot on the final table.
Two of the remaining 13 contenders are also still in the last longer competition for qualifiers that awards a Platinum Pass worth $30,000 for the highly anticipated 2019 PokerStars Players No Limit Hold'em Championship (PSPC), the winner of the Main Event will also receive a Platinum Pass as well.
Action resumes at 12 p.m. local time with blinds of 40,000/80,000 and a big blind ante of 80,000. The feature table live stream with hole cards up coverage will run on a security delay of 30 minutes and the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide all the action from right here in Barcelona.
Day 5 Seat Assignments
| Table | Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ben Heath | UK | 2,030,000 | 25 |
| 1 | 2 | Georges Hanna | Lebanon | 3,770,000 | 47 |
| 1 | 3 | Danny Tang | UK | 2,435,000 | 30 |
| 1 | 4 | Ognyan Dimov | Bulgaria | 3,100,000 | 39 |
| 1 | 5 | John Juanda | Indonesia | 1,988,000 | 25 |
| 1 | 7 | Pedro Marques | Portugal | 9,150,000 | 114 |
| 1 | 8 | Piotr Nurzynski | Poland | 3,570,000 | 45 |
| 2 | 2 | Rodrigo Carmo | Portugal | 5,330,000 | 67 |
| 2 | 3 | Matthias Tikerpe | Estonia | 5,200,000 | 65 |
| 2 | 4 | Haoxiang Wang | China | 4,655,000 | 58 |
| 2 | 5 | Patrick Clarke | Ireland | 3,550,000 | 44 |
| 2 | 6 | Fabiano Kovalski | Brazil | 8,745,000 | 109 |
| 2 | 8 | Mark Buckley | Ireland | 4,400,000 | 55 |