The European Poker Tour’s Barcelona tournament is currently in full swing. The event began on Wednesday from the Casino Barcelona and will crown a champion on Sunday. After Day 1A, Michael Bernhard Murra paced the field, ending with 87,000 chips. There were 102 survivors from the first day of play and the average chip stack is 28,744.
Hailing from nearby Germany, Murra held a considerable chip lead over second place finisher Jason Mercier, who stacked up 79,300 chips after one day of play. Mercier had three cashes during the 2008 World Series of Poker, highlighted by a 13th place finish in a $2,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament, which was worth $30,203. His three career WSOP cashes total $56,769. Mercier won the EPT San Remo tournament in Season IV, pocketing $1.3 million after qualifying on PokerStars for that tournament.
Nichlas Mattsson Saarisilta is currently third in chips after Day 1A with 76,100. He’s a PokerStars qualifier who is a native of Sweden. Rasmus Hede Nielsen is in fourth, holding 73,100 chips. He finished fourth in the EPT Copenhagen tournament for $303,701. That tournament was won by American Tim Vance.
Jesper Hougaard is in fifth in Barcelona, holding a stack of 72,700. He’s followed closely by Haward Speer, who has 72,300. Speer’s EPT career was highlighted by a $51,561 cash in the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final during Season IV; Canadian Glen Chorny took down that event and pocketed $3 million.
David Shave Kruger, from the United States, left Casino Barcelona seventh in chips with 71,100. Kruger has a pair of cashes in WSOP Circuit Events held at the Grand Casino Tunica that total $22,202. “Ultimate Poker Challenge” host and PokerStars pro Chad Brown is in eighth place, holding 67,100 chips. Brown reached the final table of EPT London during Season III, cashing for $113,135. He was the runner up in the $5,000 rebuy World Championship of No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball during the 2007 WSOP, banking $324,777. He has 24 lifetime WSOP cashes for a grand total of $796,151.
Chorny rounds out the top 10, right behind Dren Ukella of Germany. Chorny has dominated EPT play, winning the Monte Carlo tournament and also finishing 13th in the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, where he won $80,000. He has one WSOP cash to his name, a $8,323 payday in a $5,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event during the 2008 World Series.
Here are the top 20 finishers after Day 1A:
1. Michael Bernhard Murra (Germany), 87,000
2. Jason Mercier (United States), 79,300
3. Nichlas Mattsson Saarisilta (Sweden), 76,100
4. Rasmus Hede Nielsen (Denmark), 73,100
5. Jesper Hougaard (Denmark), 72,700
6. Haward Speer (Germany), 72,300
7. David Shave Kruger (United States), 71,100
8. Chad Brown (United States) 67,100
9. Dren Ukella (Germany) 65,800
10. Glen Chorny (Canada) 65,500
11. Ramzi Jelassi (Sweden) 62,800
12. Albert Sapiano (Ireland) 53,700
13. Jonathan Dwek (Canada), 52,500
14. Jerry Wong (United States), 52,400
15. Carles Escobedo Santolaria (Spain), 50,900
16. Luca Giovannone (Italy), 50,400
17. Peter Buermann (Germany), 48,700
18. Jens Klaning (Denmark), 46,200
19. Daniel Mangas Nuñez (Spain), 46,200
20. Dennis Fredrik Bejedal (Sweden), 45,900
Day 1B of the EPT Barcelona tournament takes place on Thursday. The survivors from Days 1A and 1B will then combine for Day 2 on Friday. The tournament plays down to a winner on Sunday, September 14th. The EPT Barcelona event had a buy-in of €8,000 + €250 and Day 1A started with 292 players.
