Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel Leads Final Table in EPT Barcelona �25,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1 of �25,000 No-Limit Hold'em at the 2022 PokerStars and Barcelona?Casino European Poker Tour wrapped up early Thursday morning with nine players remaining and Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel bagging the chip lead after doubling up in the last hand of the day.
Seidel, who will enter Day 2 with a stack of 522,000 good for 52 big blinds, will be joined by fellow big stacks Paul Phua (438,000), Francisco Benitez (324,000) and Pedro Garagnani (297,000). Close behind are Russia's Artur Martirosian (242,000) and Spain's Adrian Mateos (144,000), who is looking to nab his latest high roller title as he holds the home-court advantage.
The nine-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Seidel was close to busting at the end of Day 1 when he raised all in with a flush draw and was called by Jean-Noel Thorel with a set. Seidel made his flush to take the eleventh-hour chip lead and leave the Frenchman as the shortest stack (127,000).
�25,000 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Chip Counts
| TABLE | SEAT | PLAYER | COUNTRY | CHIPS | BIG BLINDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | 127,000 | 13 |
| 1 | 2 | Francisco Benitez | Uruguay | 324,000 | 32 |
| 1 | 3 | Timothy Adams | Canada | 178,000 | 18 |
| 1 | 4 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | 242,000 | 24 |
| 1 | 5 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 144,000 | 14 |
| 1 | 6 | Paul Phua | Malaysia | 438,000 | 44 |
| 1 | 7 | Ramiro Petrone | Uruguay | 229,000 | 23 |
| 1 | 8 | Erik Seidel | United States | 522,000 | 52 |
| 1 | 9 | Pedro Garagnani | Brazil | 297,000 | 30 |
The high roller event attracted 50 unique entrants and generated a prize pool of �1,200,500 with only seven spots getting paid, meaning the money bubble has yet to burst.
Many of poker's best and most decorated were in the Day 1 field, including Britain's Stephen Chidwick, who bowed out on the final table bubble when he couldn't win a flip with pocket deuces against the jack-nine of Martirosian.
Chidwick had the chip lead earlier in the day when fellow high stakes titan Michael Addamo ran a king-high bluff at the wrong time as Chidwick had picked up aces. The Australian survived the dinner break with a single chip after the hand and was eliminated on his third and final bullet upon returning.
Chidwick put a beat on another Aussie, Kahle Burns, earlier in the day when he flopped two pair against Burns' Cowboys.
Other players who failed to survive the day include Patrik Antonius, Steve O'Dwyer, Mike Watson, Daniel Dvoress, Mikita Badziakouski, Ben Heath and 2020 WSOP Main Event Champion Damian Salas.
Day 2 of �25,000 No-Limit Hold'em will kick off on Thursday, Aug. 11 at 12:30 p.m. local time on Level 19 with blinds of 5,000/10,000/10,000. Day 2 will play down to a winner, who will take home the trophy and the top prize of �390,160.
All eyes will be on Seidel tomorrow as he looks to continue his hot run. Stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on site tomorrow to finish out coverage of �25,000 No-Limit Hold'em.