Josep Valls Leads Final 11 Players Into Final Day of �888 Main Event
The penultimate day of the 888poker LIVE Barcelona �888 Main Event has come to a close here at Casino Barcelona. The day began with 172 players and by the end of the night only 11 remained.
Spain's Josep Valls finished the night with the chip lead, bagging an impressive 4,590,000 chips worth 77 big blinds going into the final day. Valls soared to the top of the counts late in the night after scoring a pivotal double knockout on the feature table.
Valls is most closely followed by Gonzalo Mencia (4,525,000) and Jose Criado (3,760,000). The top three players hold a massive lead over the rest of the field, with Criado having at least double the chips of all other players left in the field.
Full Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josep Valls | Spain | 4,590,000 | 77 |
| 2 | Gonzalo Mencia | Spain | 4,525,000 | 75 |
| 3 | Jose Criado | Spain | 3,760,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Scott Fritz | United States | 1,830,000 | 31 |
| 5 | Daguang Lin | Spain | 1,665,000 | 28 |
| 6 | Leo Jubien | France | 1,630,000 | 27 |
| 7 | Mindaugas Pagareckas | Lithuania | 1,490,000 | 25 |
| 8 | Jose Massa | Spain | 1,210,000 | 20 |
| 9 | Florens Feenstra | Netherlands | 1,170,000 | 20 |
| 10 | Fernando Margo | - | 1,145,000 | 19 |
| 11 | Guillem Morgo | Spain | 745,000 | 12 |
Among the notables who exercised their option to join the field at the end of late registration was Maria Lampropulos, who just a few days ago won the 888poker LIVE �2,000 High Roller for �22,000. Lampropulos did not have the same luck in this event and would ultimately bust before the money.
Other notables to play Day 2 but fall before the money include 888poker ambassadors Alexandre Mantovani and Ian Simpson along with start of day chip leader Gabriel Podovei. Day 1d chip leader Adam Martinsson was also eliminated before making the money. The chip leaders from the other two opening flights had a bit more success. Day 1a chip leader Viktor Moskalenko finished 23rd for �3,000 while Day 1c chip leader Jeremy Atlan hit the rail in 15th for �3,900.
888poker ambassadors Lucia Navarro and Vivian Saliba both made the money but were sent to the rail before the end of the night. Navarro was short-stacked after the bubble had burst and was knocked out after failing to improve with pocket sixes against Criado's pocket jacks in a preflop confrontation, earning a min-cash of �2,350 in the process. Saliba made it a a few pay jumps further before losing a big preflop flip to James Hawkins who turned quad fives to eliminate the last 888poker ambassador left standing. Saliba received �2,600 for her 37th place finish in the event.
All remaining players are guaranteed at least �4,500, with a pay jump occurring after two more eliminations at which point the remaining players will all have made the final table. All eyes are on the top prize of �75,000 and the 888poker LIVE trophy.
�888 Main Event Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | �75,000 |
| 2 | �48,000 |
| 3 | �33,000 |
| 4 | �24,000 |
| 5 | �15,000 |
| 6 | �10,800 |
| 7 | �8,550 |
| 8 | �6,900 |
| 9 | �5,500 |
| 10-11 | �4,500 |
Play will resume tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. local time with the blinds at 30,000/60,000 and a 60,000 big blind ante. The action will be streamed on the 888poker Twitch and YouTube channels.
As always, stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you all the action for the final day of this event until a winner is crowned.