This year's Main Event, with a €5,300 buy-in, attracted a massive 1,823 entries, resulting in a total prize pool of €8,841,550. The final 13 players entered Day 6 in pursuit of the €1,370,050 winner's prize.
In the opening minutes of the day, Finland's Toni Kaukua had to bid farewell to the tournament, quickly followed by Ukrainian Vasyl Pidhrusnyi. With Matas Cimbolas exiting in 11th place, an unofficial final table was formed.
The unfortunate bubble girl of the official final table was Barbara Akemi. While her elimination in 10th place for €97,700 was painful, she made history by achieving the deepest run by a Brazilian woman in an EPT Main Event.
Next, three notable names went out. Dutch phenomenon Joris Ruijs repeated his finish from February's EPT Paris, ending in 9th place (€126,950). South Korean Edward Pak finished 8th (€165,050), and home favorite Gerard Carbo had a painful exit just shy of the final day. Running into the aces of Xiaosheng Zheng, he collected €214,600 for 7th place.
The final six offer a fascinating mix of stories. At the top sits Italy’s Manuel Ferrari, carrying 16,100,000 chips into the finale. Ferrari has been on a remarkable run, leading the start and finish of Day 6's standings. Already boasting two PokerStars Open trophies from Malaga and Campione, this marks his biggest achievement yet.
Close on his heels is local favorite Jose Criado with a stack of 15,775,000. The professional football tipster enjoys massive audience support, aiming to become the first Spanish EPT Barcelona champion in history.
During Day 6, Criado thrice picked up pocket 4s in quick succession. First, he hit quads, then completed a full house on the river, and finally executed a successful bluff with the same hand.
Chinese player Xiaosheng Zheng also holds a comfortable eight-figure stack, solidified by eliminating Gerard Carbo at the day's end.
The lineup is rounded out by the most legendary player and only former champion at the table, Lebanon's Nicolas Chouity. Entering the final day as a clear shortstack with 1,975,000 chips, his experience remains invaluable.
Chouity clinched the Main Event title at EPT Monte Carlo in 2010 for €1.7 million. If he manages a final day comeback, he'll join an elite group of just five players with two EPT Main Event titles.
Current Standings after Day 6 in Event #31: €5,300 EPT Main Event
|
Position |
Player |
Country |
Stack |
|
1. |
Manuel Ferrari |
Italy |
16,100,000 |
|
2. |
Jose Criado |
Spain |
15,775,000 |
|
3. |
Xiaosheng Zheng |
China |
11,200,000 |
|
4. |
Lukas van Eeden |
Netherlands |
5,075,000 |
|
5. |
Michael Dwyer |
Ireland |
4,550,000 |
|
6. |
Nicolas Chouity |
Lebanon |
1,975,000 |
Sources: PS Live, Flickr