Simone Andrian opened in the cutoff and Ka Kwan Lau three-bet 110,000 from the small blind. Andrian put in a four-bet to 250,000 and Lau called.
The dealer spread a flop of A♥K♥5♥ before Lau check-raised the bet of 100,000 to 250,000 and Andrian called.
The 3♥ turn was checked through to the 10♣ river, where Kau jammed for 430,000 and Andrian tank-folded. Lau proudly rolled over 7♠4♠, showing he's not afraid to bust.
"Can't plug that one in a solver," joked Nicholas Palma, "Not solver approved."
Toby Joyce opened 30,000 on the button before Alessio Sardone three-bet 100,000 from the small blind. Joyce paused for about 15 seconds before jamming for 335,000 and Sardone snap-called.
Toby Joyce: A♠9♠
Alessio Sardone: K♦K♥
The 10♦8♥6♠ flop gave Joyce a massive draw as he picked up a flush draw and straight draw. The A♥ landed on the turn, giving him the lead with a pair of aces and the 3♥ completed the board.
The action folded to Edilson Marques in the small blind and he jammed for 210,000. Xiong Chen was in the big blind and made the call.
Edilson Marques: A♦3♦
Xiong Chen: K♠Q♣
Marques was in the lead but not for long as the K♣J♣3♠ flop hit the mat. The 8♥ turn and 5♠ river were no help for Marques as he was sent to the payout desk.
Vlad Darie opened to 30,000 from under the gun and received calls from Francesco Pilato on the button and Dominik Panka in the big blind.
The flop came 5♠4♠2♥ and action checked around to Pilato, who bet 60,000. Panka got out of the way and Darie put in a check-raise to 175,000. Pilato made the call.
Darie sized down on the J♠ turn with a bet of 50,000. This time Pilato raised it to 250,000. Darie made the call.
Both players checked the Q♦ river. Darie tabled 4♣4♥ for a flopped set while Pilato had 10♠8♠ for a turned flush to take down a huge pot.
Meanwhile at another table, Song Xue was recently eliminated.
The final day of the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) at Casino Barcelona festival is about to get underway, with just 40 players returning to their seats in the €10,000 EPT High Roller but only one will come out on top in this 475-entry tournament.
After two days and 20 levels of poker, Vlad Darie is currently leading the way with an impressive stack of 1,460,000 chips. Darie is in search of his largest career live tournament score but the competition will be tough when the cards go back in the air. Simone Andrian (1,335,000), Francisco Benitez (1,105,000) are the only other players with a seven-figure chip count.
Patrik Antonius
There are plenty of others to keep an eye on moving forward including EPT Champions Razvan Belea (960,000), Dominik Panka (605,000), and Patrik Antonius (275,000). The list also includes PokerStars Team Pro Rafael Moraes (750,000), Simon Lofberg (600,000), and Alexandre Reard (390,000). Vinicius Pinheiro, and Song Xue are on the short stacks but they each have plenty of experience so don't count them out either.
Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Vlad Darie
Romania
1,460,000
97
2
Simone Andrian
Italy
1,335,000
89
3
Francisco Benitez
Uruguay
1,105,000
74
4
Ren Lin
China
980,000
65
5
Razvan Belea
Romania
960,000
64
6
Francesco Pilato
Italy
920,000
61
7
Alessio Sardone
Italy
910,000
61
8
Ka Kwan Lau
Hong Kong
870,000
58
9
Jeferson Pinow
Brazil
795,000
53
10
Hwany Lee
Korea
785,000
52
The action is scheduled to get underway at 12:30 p.m. local time. The blinds will resume on level 21 at 10,000/15,000 and a 15,000 big blind ante. The levels will remain at 60 minutes throughout for the time being with a 20-minute break after every two levels. Each player will receive additional time extensions to begin the day as well as at the final table.
There is still plenty of money up for grabs as the day unfolds with the remaining players having already locked up €19,350. There will be significant pay jumps throughout the day with the winner taking home a cool €910,400.
Follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team to find out who will come out on top of this star-studded field and become the champion.
