The inaugural PokerStars Championship Barcelona continues today with its premier event: the €5,300 Main Event. At noon local time (in about 90 minutes), play kicks off in Casino Barcelona. PokerNews will be your one-stop shop for all the live updates, photos, and videos from the Catalonian capital.
The sunny festival in Spain is always a very popular stop with the players, and 2017 is no different. Attendance records have been shattered over the weekend, with a massive 4,557 entries in the €1,100 National Championship, the Estrellas Main Event successor.
Last year, Sebastian Malec bested a field of 1,785 players, taking home €1,122,800. John Juanda, Tim Middleton, Carter Philips and Sebastian Ruthenberg are just some of the other legends that triomphed here in Barcelona.
Day 1A will see eight 75-minute levels on the schedule, with players beginning with 30,000 in tournament chips and the blinds kicking off at 50/100. There will be a 75-minute dinner break at the end of Level 6, and play should wrap up around 11:55 p.m. tonight.
The cards will be in the air shortly, so be sure to keep it locked right here to PokerNews.com all day long.
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In one of the last hands of the previous level, Nick Petrangelo opened the cutoff for 300 and received no fewer than 3 callers; the button and both blinds were all interested in seeing a flop.
Small blind Francois Corouge and big blind Liem Huynh checked on and Petrangelo bet 800. Ricardo Tavares called from the button before small blind Corouge squeezed to 3,100. Huynh wasted no time calling.
Petrangelo glanced at his chips for a bit before he 3-bet to 8,000. Tavares thought about it for a just a bit before folding. Corouge thought about it a bit longer but eventually followed suit en folded as well. Huynh called.
The hit the turn and Huynh checked.
"You have 3 blues behind, right?" Petrangelo asked.
Huynh acknowledged he had 15,000 in blue chips and had about 2,000 or so more in smaller denomination chips.
Petrangelo bet 19,000, putting Huynh all in and leaving himself just 2,550 behind.
Huyhn tanked for under a minute and folded. Petrangelo silently mucked while raking in the chips.
A player on the button had an all-in shove of 11,000 in front of him when we got to his table, having been faced with a raise to 1,600 from Jeff Kirsch in the small blind. Kirsch thought it over and then tossed in a call, and the all-in shipper immediately stood up and tabled , expecting to be heading for the exits.
However, he was ahead as Kirsch held . The dealer spread a flop.
"Good flop for you," said Mark Teltscher, clearly expecting things were wrapped up.
That would be a natural assumption with Kirsch drawing to runners, but he found a sweat on the turn. The river gave Kirsch kings full to eliminate his unfortunate opponent, who had resumed sitting in expectation of receiving a double and had to get right back up.
While things are just getting going here in the €5,300 Main Event at PokerStars Championship Barcelona, they're winding down in the €1,100 National Championship, which drew the largest field in PokerStars Live history with 4,557 entries. Over 3,600 of those were unique entries as well, and the prize pool swelled to the point where first place is set to be awarded €575,000.
Gaelle Baumann has made an early exit from the PokerStars Championship Barcelona Main Event. According to the French reporter that was on hand, Hans Sybrandi raised to 700 and Nick Petrangelo called. From the big blind, Gaelle Baumann three-bet to 2,600, Sybrandi called, and Petrangelo called as well.
The flop was and Baumann continued with 3,300. Sybrandi made the call, while Petrangelo opted to fold. The turn brought the and Baumann shoved 14,000, which got snap-called by Sybrandi.
Gaelle Baumann:
Hans Sybrandi:
The river wasn't the ace or six Baumann needed to fill up and she was eliminated.
We found high roller regs Christoph Vogelsang and Charlie Carrel tangling in a pot of about 13,000 with on the felt. Vogelsang was facing an overbet of 20,000 on the river, with Carrel sitting in position on the button. Vogelsang seemed truly pained as he went deep into the tank. After about four minutes, he finally slid his cards forward and told Carrel he was folding. Carrel busted out laughing, and Vogelsang dragged his cards back, regretting his move.
The German smiled and turned over , with Carrel showing he had gotten the better hand to fold after missing his flush draw: .
Fatima Moreira de Melo bet 4,500 from the small blind against a pair of opponents on a flop. Both called, and the paired the board. Moreira de Melo fired again for 7,000. An early player mucked, but Alexis Urli shoved it all in from middle position. Moreira de Melo would need to call off her remaining 17,300 to continue. After a couple of minutes, she decided not to let it go.
Moreira de Melo:
Urli:
The PokerStars Team Pro desperately needed a cowboy to emerge from the deck, but a fell to end her tournament.
We missed it, when we arrived, Vogelsang was already getting up and packing his bags. Kirsch told our German colleague what had happened, and our colleague told us. So here's what happened in the hand.
Jeff Kirsch opened from late position and Christoph Vogelsang called from the big blind. Both of them checked on and the hit the turn. Vogelsang bet out and Kirsch called. The river was the and Vogelsang shoved for approximately 8,500. Kirsch called and Vogelsang mucked.
The dealer wanted a showdown but Vogelsang's cards were already unretrievable. The German high roller said he had . Kirsch tabled and took down the pot, eliminating Vogelsang.
Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu's run in the Main Event has ended in the penultimate level of the day. On a board, Negreanu was all in with for trip sevens but his opponent held for a king-high flush to become the second player to eliminate the Canadian today.
"I played the €50k earlier and I'm so tired. Good luck everyone," Negreanu said while making his exit.
and Petrangelo bet 800. Ricardo Tavares called from the button before small blind Corouge squeezed to 3,100. Huynh wasted no time calling.
hit the turn and Huynh checked. 
, expecting to be heading for the exits.
. The dealer spread a 
flop.
turn. The 
and Baumann continued with 3,300. Sybrandi made the call, while Petrangelo opted to fold. The turn brought the 
and Baumann shoved 14,000, which got snap-called by Sybrandi.
on the felt. Vogelsang was facing an overbet of 20,000 on the river, with Carrel sitting in position on the button. Vogelsang seemed truly pained as he went deep into the tank. After about four minutes, he finally slid his cards forward and told Carrel he was folding. Carrel busted out laughing, and Vogelsang dragged his cards back, regretting his move. 
, with Carrel showing he had gotten the better hand to fold after missing his flush draw: 
paired the board. Moreira de Melo fired again for 7,000. An early player mucked, but Alexis Urli shoved it all in from middle position. Moreira de Melo would need to call off her remaining 17,300 to continue. After a couple of minutes, she decided not to let it go.
fell to end her tournament.
and Vogelsang shoved for approximately 8,500. Kirsch called and Vogelsang mucked.
. Kirsch tabled 
