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EPT BARCELONA 2025: Day 1B of the Main Event Dominated by Anton Kraous
2025-08-26 - RICHARD Fabien
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Mettre en anglais L’air vibrait encore dans les salles du Casino Barcelona, où le DAY 1B du Main Event a tenu toutes ses promesses. Pour Kraous, la journée a été idéale ! ChatGPT a dit : The air was still buzzing inside Casino Barcelona, where Day 1B of the Main Event lived up to all expectations. For Kraous, it was the perfect day!

Intensity, suspense, and flashes of brilliance: this second starting day confirmed the reputation of an ever more spectacular festival.

Two lines are enough to capture the scale of this flight: the crowd witnessed new heroes emerge and the return of big names who shape the tour’s history. With more than 1,200 entries, Barcelona once again proved it remains the beating heart of European poker.

 

Headliners step up

 

 

Anton Kraous dictated terms, ending the day on top of a massive field. His big stack came from steady pressure and a decisive hand against Ivo Bartoletti that opened the door to the chip lead. Chasing close behind, Jerry Odeen and Jakub Sterba set up a tantalizing battle for the sessions to come.

That’s not all: several familiar faces climbed near the top of the counts. Spain’s Cesar Garcia, the seasoned Olivier Fazio, and EPT champion Steve O’Dwyer showed the fight has only just begun. Alongside them, no fewer than five former EPT Main Event champions advanced to Day 2, including defending champion Stephen Song and France’s 2023 winner Simon Wiciak. They’ll return with more modest stacks, but their experience could weigh heavily as the stakes rise.

Team PokerStars also shone, with Alex Romero well placed, while Kenny Hallaert and Alejandro Lococo secured their bags. Further down, Ramon Colillas and Julien “Jbzz” Dupré also made it through, as did the tireless Omar Lakhdari, intent on shaking up the favourites.

Among the French contingent in this Day 1B, ten players stood out by climbing high in the rankings. Olivier Fazio claimed a prime spot with more than 270,000 chips, closely followed by Jacob Amsellem and David Taieb, both comfortably over 200,000. Behind them, Mohamed Iche confirmed his consistency, while Raphaël Bilger and Clément Bonnant positioned themselves as dangerous outsiders. Mathieu Brun, Damien Gayer, Malcolm Franchi, and Habib Rachedi complete a tricolour Top 10 that made France shine in Barcelona.

In all, 424 survivors bagged chips. They now converge on a Day 2 that promises fireworks, with a demanding structure and a clear goal: move closer to the money and keep the EPT title dream alive.

 

Top 10 Chip Count – Day 1B:
Anton Kraous (Germany) 330,000
Jerry Odeen (Sweden) 302,500
Jakub Sterba (Czech Republic) 291,000
Cesar Garcia (Spain) 277,500
Olivier Fazio (France) 276,000
Steve O’Dwyer (Ireland) 266,000
David Taieb (France) 231,000
Timo Kamphues (Germany) 196,500
Alex Romero (Spain) 173,000
Lorenzo Arduini (Italy) 131,000

 

 

Chip Count of French Qualifiers – End of Day 1B:

Olivier Fazio 276,000
Jacob Amsellem 248,500
David Taieb 231,000
Mohamed Iche 188,000
Raphael Bilger 151,000
Clement Bonnant 148,000
Mathieu Brun 147,500
Damien Gayer 135,500
Malcolm Franchi 130,500
Habib Rachedi 128,500
Mohamed Kerkeni 127,500
Mohamed-Said Taghla 125,000
Frederic D’Orazio 123,500
Medhi Madene 123,000
Samy Khaled 120,000
Nicolas Tytgat 114,000
Julien Dupre 112,000
Anthony Apicella 112,000
Youssef Zereg 111,000
Arnaud Enselme 108,500
Miroslav Alilovic 106,000
Ibrahim Senoussi 105,000
Benoit Albiges 105,000
Leo Soma 104,000
Mehdi Hadj 99,500
Patrick Bruel 98,000
Cecile Ticherfatine 94,000
Victor Fryda 94,000
David Belaich 91,500
Simon Wiciak 85,000
Arthur Navellou 85,000
Mostafa Bel Khayate 85,000
Rayane Mokhtar 84,000
Henri Mejjati 83,000
Samir Ainous 82,000
Volga Uyanik 77,000
Philippe Narboni 75,500
Thomas Eychenne 73,500
Christophe Pommier 72,000
Arthur Gouriten 70,500
Antonin Teisseire 68,000
Alexandre Doyer 66,500
Mohamed Mokrani 63,500
Mario Fata 62,500
Achraf Boufdil 60,000
Christophe Malaurie 57,000
Antoine Camors 56,000
David Djian 56,000
Jamel Hassani 55,000
Vladimir Nex 44,500
Tsang Wuai Cheng 44,000
Ouassini Mansouri 36,500
Claude Mamalepot 36,000
Patrick Gaonach 35,500
Mercedes Osti 35,000
Donato Sparavilla 34,500
Kalidou Sow 30,000
Jean-Baptiste Pano 30,000
Agatino Spitaleri 29,000
Jean Souprayenmestry 24,000
Simon Marra 17,500

 

(Photo credit: PokerStars)

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