Entrance to poker tables at Casino Barcelona
The turnout at the ECPT Barcelona 2010 has been tremendous. 291 of the finest poker players from all over the world entered the tournament, creating a staggering € 727.500 prize pool, with € 170.000 going to the champion.
We have seen a mixture of seasoned live pros, online qualifiers and Titan sponsored players.
Some of the biggest names in the tournament are Frenchmen Fabrice Soulier and EPT Warsaw winner Christophe al Benzimra, Sweden’s delightful Cecilia Nordenstam and ECPT Malta winner Bo Sehlstedt. Also in the mix are Canadian Titan pro Sorel ‘1mper1um’ Mizzi and Danish Dynamite Jeppe Nielsen.
One of the first players to exit the tournament is Team Titan’s local hero Jose Manuel Gomez. He lost a big pot with KK against AA and regretfully for him, his chance to take the title is over. It appeared for a while as if the whole Team Titan was struck by this early exit; the only three members to make it to Day 2 are Germany’s Andreas Schmidt, France’s Fabien Carliez and UK’s Adam York. York is among the chipleaders entering day 2 with 85.700 chips.
After a promising start, Sorel Mizzi has to leave the tournament halfway through day 1when he loses a pot for the chip
Entrance Casino Barcelona
lead. He gets it in with 8 7 of spades on a Q 5 4 board with two spades, giving him a gut shot straight flush draw. Sorel is up against top set Queens of Jamel Maistriaux. A 4 on the turn gives Jamel a full house, leaving Sorel with only one out. The miracle 6 of spades doesn’t come on the river and that’s that for Sorel. Jamel continues his good run and ends day 1 as the absolute chip leader with 200.700 chips.
In the meantime, Jamel isn’t the only French player doing well; Fabian Carliez, Fabrice Soulier, former football player Cedric Rossi, Michel Abbecassis and Chistophe ‘Mister 20 Big Blinds’ al Benzimra all make it to day 2, leaving them a good chance to take the title for Les Bleus.
Sadly, the lovely Cecilia Nordenstam has to leave the tournament in the dying seconds of day 1. With barely a minute on the clock, she gets it in with KJ of hearts on a xxxJ board with two hearts. Her opponent tables A2 of hearts for a better flush draw and an over card; the baby heart on the river completes the nut flush for Cecilia’s opponent and it’s Adios for Cecilia. See you next time, honey!
Day 1 has been sensational! All of the competitors have had bags of fun and the thrill and rush of a devastating opening day of stunning poker. 111 players make it to day 2, battling it out for that holy grail of first place prize of € 170.000! Here are some chipcounts of the most notable players:
Jamel Maistriaux (FRA) 200.700
Marvin Rettenmaier (GER) 102.900
Nils Petterson (SWE) 90.100
Frederik Pedersen (DEN) 89.200
Adam York (UK) 85.700
Cedric Rossi (FRA) 69.200
Fabrice Soulier (FRA) 59.900
Daan Ruiter (HOL) 49.600
Jeppe Nielsen (DEN) 38.700
Nigel Goldman (UK) 29.700
Andreas Schmidt (GER) 24.500
Christophe al Benzimra (FRA) 24.400
Fabien Carliez (FRA) 12.500
With the adrenaline fueled opening day, the anticipation of Day 2 can not come soon enough. Would you like to be part of the next EPCT in Venice in November 2010? Stay tuned on www.titanpoker.com for news about special offers and tons of satellites! See you at the tables!
