Unlike the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour (EPT) doesn’t have a major event seemingly every other week. EPT stops are spaced out over the year, so there is actually some anticipation when they arrive. The EPT Barcelona Main Event was the latest to get underway, beginning with the first of two starting flights on Monday. It was a solid field of 459 players today, with 286 remaining after eight 75-minute levels. It was a close battle for the top spot, with Imad Derwiche leading the way with 170,000 chips, followed by Martin Vallo with 163,300.
Derwiche, from France, has earned over $1.1 million on the live tournament circuit, according to TheHendonMob.com. That number is a little bit misleading, though, as the vast majority of it came in a single tournament in May. Derwiche finished second in the EPT Grand Final €25,000 High Roller Eight-Handed Event, good for $835,962 (€750,000). Thus, across the rest of his cashes, he has won around $300,000. More than half of that, $170,250 (€125,000) to be exact, was earned from winning the €10,000 High Roller Event at the World Poker Tour Regional Series in Paris. That all said, I would love to have earned over a million dollars, no matter how many tournaments it required. That’s some good stuff, right there.
Other notable names who made it past Day 1A include Patrick Antonius (103,800), John Juanda (89,300), Mustapha Kanit (83,200), Isaac Haxton (79,200), Dani Stern (64,600), Leo Margets (55,300), Byron Kaverman (41,000), and Anthony Zinno (37,200), to name just a few.
Day 1B of the €5,000 + €300 event will begin at noon local time on Tuesday as another batch of players tries to make it to Wednesday’s Day 2. The tournament will continue all the way through Sunday, August 30th.
2015 European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event – Day 1A Chip Leaders
1. Imad Derwiche – 170,000
2. Martin Vallo – 163,300
3. Jesse Liljegren – 153,100
4. Oliver Weis – 135,000
5. Nandor Solyom – 123,300
6. Vladimir Troyanovskiy – 115,600
7. Sam Chartier – 114,000
8. Amir Touma – 112,900
9. Christian Campan – 112,000
10. Daniel Dvoress – 111,000