The plan at the start of Day 6 of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event was to play down to the final six players, and for a while it looked like that might not happen until a flurry of dramatic eliminations in the final level of the night got the field down to that magic number.
When they return on Sunday, it will again be Stephen Song holding the chip lead as he’ll bring 15,150,000 into play.
Just behind Song is the incredible story of PokerStars qualifier Marius-Catalin Pertea of Romania, who initially got into the tournament via a $55 online satellite before firing a second bullet, brings 14,575,000 chips to the final table.
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FT | 1 | ||||
| FT | 2 | Andrew Hulme | United Kingdom | 5,525,000 | 22 |
| FT | 3 | David Coleman | United States | 10,425,000 | 42 |
| FT | 4 | Stephen Song | United States | 15,150,000 | 61 |
| FT | 5 | Marius-Catalin Pertea | Romania | 14,575,000 | 58 |
| FT | 6 | ||||
| FT | 7 | Rania Nasreddine | United States | 8,300,000 | 33 |
| FT | 8 | Boris Kuzmanovic | Croatia | 5,275,000 | 21 |
American David Coleman is the only other player with over ten million chips, sitting third with 10,425,000.
Rania Nasreddine became the ninth player to make back-to-back EPT Main Event Final Tables as the 2024 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event third-place finisher will come back Sunday in fourth place with 8,300,000.
The lawyer from Tulsa, Oklahoma, didn't mince words when asked if she thought a return trip to an EPT final table so soon was possible.
“Zero chance. Like no, zero chance. (I called) my Mom, I was like ‘Hey Mom, I’m on Day 5’ and she’s like ‘ok,’ and I’m like ‘Mom, you don’t understand, these are very hard tournaments with amazing players from around the world.’ You hope to cash, that’s the goal, can I cash another one? The idea of running deep in two of these in the course of multiple years okay, great dream. But back-to-back? Insane.”
The opening level of the day saw the demise of the two remaining Dutch players as the shortest stack entering the day, Govert Metaal was first to go, followed soon after by countryman Jelle Moene in 15th.
The second level saw three more eliminations with Jose Barbosa in 14th, before Daniel Myers in 13th after losing a big hand to Alexandre Fournier. Myers attempted to make the “greatest comeback in PokerStars history”, spinning 20% of a big blind up to three big blinds before he finally succumbed to an unfortunate river card.
Before the level was done, Sriharsha Doddapaneni was then ousted from the feature table in 12th place.
The following level saw the final two eliminations needed to get the field to the unofficial final table of nine as Yurii Zabrodotskyi was eliminated just minutes after the break at the hands of Boris Kuzmanovic who became the first player to hit the ten million chip mark.
Shortly after that, Harry Lodge was the unfortunate player to bubble the unofficial final table, doing so in horrible fashion as a 94% favorite on the flop.
Once play resumed, the eliminations slowed, with all nine remaining players making it through the new level to dinner break, but not before Song regained the chip lead thanks in part to a pair of wins over Kuzmanovic.
Following dinner, with a €50,000+ pay jump in view and stacks between Song’s 51 big blinds at the top and Andrew Hulme’s 15 at the bottom, play continued to be snug with players not wanting to bust, and no one did. In fact, for a second straight level there wasn't a single all in and call.
That finally changed immediately in Level 33 as on the first hand back from break, Pertea scored a huge double through Kovalski to take the lead, leaving Kovalski with crumbs.
Kovalski’s quest for a second official EPT Barcelona final table in three years ended shortly after, as he was eliminated in ninth place by Nasreddine.
That elimination ‘unkinked the knot in the hose’ as the PokerStars TV commentators had said would happen, with Nasreddine providing the next elimination shortly after, as she felted Jianwei Lin in eighth place by going runner-runner to make Broadway in a very dramatic hand.
Alexandre Fournier was the day’s final bustout at the hands of Coleman, ending the day with 31:01 remaining in Level 33.
The final six players will now return at 12:30 p.m. CEST on Sunday to play down to a winner, who will claim the €1,512,000 first prize along with the coveted PokerStars EPT Barcelona Main Event trophy. For now, they each have €306,900 locked up.
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (EUR) |
| 1 | €1,512,000 | ||
| 2 | €944,000 | ||
| 3 | €674,150 | ||
| 4 | €518,600 | ||
| 5 | €398,950 | ||
| 6 | €306,900 | ||
| 7 | Alexandre Fournier | Canada | €236,100 |
| 8 | Jianwei Lin | China | €181,600 |
| 9 | Fabiano Kovalski | Brazil | €139,750 |
PokerNews will have all the coverage from right there on the tournament floor on a 30-minute delay to coincide with the PokerStars TV stream.
Keep your browsers locked right here as we wrap up this incredible EPT 20th anniversary series from Casino Barcelona.