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PokerStars EPT Barcelona 2018 kicks off

One of the most awaited events of the year, the PokerStars European Poker Tour returned to the beautiful city of Barcelona to celebrate the run of EPT Barcelona. Running from August 21 to September 2, the 2018 EPT Barcelona will take place in Casino Barcelona.

The EPT Barcelona brings in a number of various events, most awaited of them are EUR 1,100 EPT National, EUR 2,200 EPT National High Roller, two EUR 10,000 High Roller Events, a EUR 25,000 and EUR 50,000 Single Day High Roller Event and of course the EUR 5,300 EPT Main Event. It will also bring us the EUR 100,000 Super High Roller event to top it all off.

The 2018 EPT Barcelona will feature about 34 tournaments and the buy-ins of these tournaments vary from EUR 120 to EUR 100,000. The first of two EUR 10,300 High Rollers is the first big tournament of the series and will be held on 22nd August as well as the tournament that attracted a monster crowd of 4,500 entries last year, The EPT National 2018.  Argentina’s Pedro Cairat stood tall in the gigantic event, parlaying his EUR 1,100 investment into a payday of EUR 432,178.

The 5,300 EPT Main Event begins on Monday, August 27 and will last the traditional seven days before a champion is decided. Sebastian Malec from Poland is the defending champion after defeating a 1,785-strong field for EUR 1,122,800 (INR 9,03,83,154) in 2016.

EPT Barcelona, known for intense high roller action, has upped the stakes even more this year as the EUR 50,000 Super High Roller has been replaced with the EUR 100,000 Super High Roller. The 100K kicks off on Saturday, August 25 for three days of high-stakes action. Last year, PokerStars Team Pro Igor Kurganov reigned supreme in the biggest buy-in the series has to offer for EUR 1,135,000 (9.13 Cr). Two years ago, German wunderkind Fedor Holz conquered the 50K at EPT13 Barcelona in 2016, which netted him EUR 1,300,300 (INR 10.46 Cr.).

Besides the 100K, high roller aficionados can also try their hand in the EUR 50,000 Single-Day High Roller and EUR 25,000 Single-Day High Roller. The 50K will be played out on Tuesday, August 28, while the 25K will see its winner crowned on Thursday, August 30.

Rounding out the schedule is the EUR 10,300 EPT High Roller, one of the most popular 10K events on European soil. Connor Drinan reigned supreme in 2016 and won EUR 849,200(INR 6.83 Cr.). At the 2017 PokerStars Championship, it was Switzerland’s Ronny Kaiser that walked away with the trophy, as well as the first-place prize of EUR 735,000 (INR 5.91 Cr.), after a three-way deal with Markus Durnegger and Benjamin Pollak.

Keep reading GutshotMagazine.com for similar updates from the world of poker. 

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