Nine months ago, Gaspare Sposato was the final player standing in the UKIPT London Main Event, banking a score of £107,660 and hoisting his first PokerStars trophy. Today, at 12:30 p.m. local time, Sposato returns to Casino di Campione for the finale of the first-ever PokerStars Open (PSO) Main Event, looking to bring home his second Shard and improve his best-ever score set in London.
The PSO Campione €1,100 Main Event blew all expectations out of the water, attracting a record-setting field of 2,423 entries and generating a prize pool of €2,326,080. Only 26 players made it to Day 4, all eyeing the victory and the €363,000 prize money that comes with it. Sposato made the final day with an above-average stack of 3,390,000, which will be worth 57 big blinds and is just enough to squeeze into the ten.
Meanwhile, the field is led by Spanish player Manel Sala, who starts today with nearly 100 big blinds as he comes back with a stack of 5,875,000. Salvatore Russo is Italy's best hope to keep the trophy at home soil, sitting in second with 5,620,000. The remaining two five-million stacks are in posession of Austrian regular Andreas Putz and Friedrich Raez from Switzerland, who scored his first six-figure cash at EPT Prague a few months ago and will be looking to repeat that feat.
Manel Sala
Start of Day 4 Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Day 4 Big Blinds
1
Manel Sala
Spain
5,875,000
98
2
Salvatore Russo
Italy
5,620,000
94
3
Andreas Putz
Austria
5,110,000
85
4
Friedrich Raez
Switzerland
5,070,000
85
5
Jakub Sterba
Czechia
4,925,000
82
6
Giorgio Soceanu
Italy
4,645,000
77
7
Mykhailo Demydenko
Ukraine
4,410,000
74
8
Andrii Nikitin
Ukraine
3,875,000
65
9
Christian Andronico
France
3,615,000
60
10
Gaspare Sposato
Italy
3,390,000
57
Petre Ionescu suffered a brutal cooler on Day 3 but still made Day 4 with 2,720,000, as a decent score will elevate his lifetime earnings into seven-figure territory. Adrian State (2,135,000) and Alessandro Giordano (1,970,000) are looking for their second six-figure score at a PokerStars Event, while Christopher Day (1,650,000) is on the hunt for his second PokerStars trophy after winning a side event at EPT Berlin in 2013. Day 1 chipleader Darius Neagoe is also still in contention, coming back with a stack of 1,705,000.
Christopher Day
All contenders have guaranteed themselves €8,600 for making the final day. Final table payouts start at €33,320, while six-figure scores are reserved for the top four finishers. As mentioned, the eventual champion will walk away with the massive sum of €363,000, the biggest-ever prize awarded at a standalone PokerStars 1K Main Event.
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
€363,000
10-11
€25,650
2
€225,200
12-13
€21,380
3
€160,880
16-17
€14,860
4
€123,760
18-20
€12,370
5
€95,190
21-23
€10,320
6
€73,210
24-26
€8,600
7
€56,330
8
€43,340
9
€33,320
The players will return to a blind level of 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. A shot clock of 30 seconds will be in play from the start, and levels will have a length of 75 minutes until the final seven players are reached, with a break after every two levels. From the final seven onward, the levels will last ten minutes per player still in contention. If a deal is made at any point, the clock will be reduced to 30 minutes instead.
The action will also be streamed live on Pokerstars' YouTube and Twitch channels, which feature a cards-up broadcast on a 30-minute delay. The live reporting will follow a similar delay to avoid spoilers on the final day and will thus commence around 1 p.m.
Stay tuned as PokerNews will be on the floor from start to finish to relay who gets crowned the first-ever PSO champion at PokerStars Open Campione, along with all the action along the way.
