Alejandro Lococo Tops Final Opening Flight of PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
On day four of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona there were two more flights to be played out in the PokerStars Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) Main Event which is taking place at Casino Barcelona. Day 1h, the last of the eight opening flights, drew 1,097 entries and saw 162 players advancing to Day 2.
Pokerstars Ambassador Alejandro Lococo bagged the chip lead with an impressive stack of 896,000, a lot of which were gained during the bubble period where he played very aggressively. Lococo has four European Poker Tour (EPT) titles to his name and his set himself up for a good run at a fifth here in Barcelona.
Day 1h Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Name | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | 896,000 |
| 2 | Alejandro Rodenas | Spain | 700,000 |
| 3 | Alexandros Kolonias | Greece | 681,000 |
| 4 | Gabriele Re | Italy | 561,000 |
| 5 | Mario Fata | France | 560,000 |
| 6 | Lin Chen | United Kingdom | 552,000 |
| 7 | Ismael Alvarez | Spain | 548,000 |
| 8 | Alexandre Gomes | Brazil | 543,000 |
| 9 | Daniel Pastor | Netherlands | 537,000 |
| 10 | Santiago Nadal | Mexico | 530,000 |
Alejandro Rodenas sits second in the counts with exactly 700,000 and Alexandros Kolonias rounds out the podium places with a stack of 681,000. Kolonias is second on Greece's all-time money list and is still on the hunt for his first EPT title, with his best finish being a runner-up spot in a high roller event back in 2016 at EPT Monte Carlo.
Nine different countries are represented in the top ten stacks which shows the international appeal that the EPT has as players from around the world have flocked to the city to test their poker skills.
The day had 165 spots available in the money but with a flurry of late eliminations, only 162 managed to make it through. Matteo Orchide was eliminated on the bubble after he lost a flip with pocket fours against ace-king. Then two more eliminations saw both Michele Rinaldi and Darko Percic hit the rail at the same time.
Some other notable players to make it through the day were Lin Chen (552,000), Noah Boeken (470,000), Daniel Laidlaw (443,000), Benny Glaser (233,000), Renji Mao (233,000), Simon Gilles (155,000), and Parker Talbot (104,000).
The total number of players in the event hit 7,138, which is the second-biggest tournament in PokerStars live event history, trailing only the same event last year which hit 7,398 runners. A prize pool of €6,852,480 was generated from 3,145 unique entries with 958 players making it into the money.
Day 2 kicks off at 11 a.m. local time and will play 60-minute levels, with the payout information being announced shortly before play gets underway.
Keep it right here with PokerNews to stay in the loop with the latest action from the felt as we bring you expert coverage from Day 2 of the ESPT Main Event here at Casino Barcelona.