The third day of the €5,300 Main Event ended at the 2023 European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona with Canada’s Santiago Plante leading a field of 79 into Day 4. The remaining 79 will return to Casino Barcelona on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. local time to continue their quest for the top €1,488,000 prize.
With a strong turnout of 2,120 entries, this is the second-largest EPT Main Event where everyone’s competing for their share of €10,282,000 prize pool. The sole Indian competing on Day 3 of the event was Paawan Bansal, who started his day with a stack of 155,000 (placed 151st in chips) and did well, going a little deeper and finishing 133rd for an impressive €15,550 – his highest score EPT score this year.
The final hand of Bansal saw him clashing with Brazil’s Lucas Scafini who held Kd Qc against Ad 7s. Both players were all-in with Bansal at risk for 132,000 chips. The board 4h 9h Kh 10h Jd did not favour Bansal, giving Scafini the coveted pot and bringing end to Bansal’s remarkable run.
Day 2 of the event had three Indians players in contention, namely Paawan Bansal (93,000), Ankit Ahuja (50,500) and Apoorva Goel (19,000), all advancing from Day 1B flight of the marquee event.
Unfortunately for Ankit Ahuja, who had placed fifth-place finish in the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event for €177,810, and Apoorva Goel, they both busted short of the money on Day 2 itself.
So far, three Indian challengers have scored in the ongoing EPT series. Prior to Paawan Basnal and Ankit Ahuja, it was Bharat Janardhan who had showcased his poker skills, cashing the €2,200 Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) High Roller 2023. He finished 136th and banked €5,950 for his efforts.
2023 EPT Barcelona ME Top 5 Chip Counts
- Santiago Plante – 3,025,000
- Carl Shaw- 2,200,000
- Mathias Duarte – 2,115,000
- Ka Kwan Lau – 2,110,000
- Ezequiel Waigel – 2,110,000
Content & Image Courtesy: PokerNews