What a week it’s been in Madrid.
The EPT Open Madrid Main Event has been running since Wednesday. A total of 1,151 players entered the tournament, making it the biggest $1.1K in the history of Casino Gran Madrid. It also beats last year’s PokerStars Festival Marbella by 124 entries.
Lots of local players turned out, as did plenty of others from further afield. British, Italian, Scandinavian, French, Israeli, Bulgarian and Chinese players all showed up to play in Madrid.
Luckily for those of us who weren’t able to make it in person, we haven’t had to wonder what things looked like in the later stages of the tournament. Fintan & Spraggy have been helming cards-up coverage for the last two days on the PokerStars English-language Twitch channel (with the French channel hosted by Benny and Yu and the Spanish channel hosted by Catof and Willo).
Special password protected $2 & $5 #EPTOpenMadrid Sit and Go’s are running on PokerStars. @EasyWithAces and @spraggy will be playing them during breaks in play.
To get involved, watch the stream at https://t.co/ZarB0RN21O to learn the password. pic.twitter.com/CVqkNZgywk— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) June 29, 2019
They kicked off their coverage on Day 2 with 485 players remaining in the field. They watched as those numbers dwindled and the money bubble eventually popped when Spain’s David Benítez left in 168th place. By the end of the day only 53 players remained, led by Endrit Geci from the United Kingdom with nearly 2.5 times the average stack. He was followed closely by Ireland’s Peter Doherty and the Netherlands’ Britt Freya Petersen.
Doherty won his seat online for a mere €1.10. Joining him on Day 3, albeit with only a third of the average stack, was fellow qualifier Yannic Richert, who won his package through a €2.50 Spin & Go. They were just two of the 280 players who qualified for this tournament online.
It’s hard not to back players like this. Online qualifier Brian Bradley spent just €7.50 to get to #EPTOpenMadrid 👏😎 Go him! pic.twitter.com/rFBxKiCZUG
— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) June 29, 2019
PokerStars Ambassador Ramon Colillas was also on hand to play alongside his countrymen for the third consecutive day. He advanced to Day 3 with about 17 big blinds and was eventually eliminated in 32nd place.
Eliminado el 32! Estuvo cerquita, de todas formas buena puesta a punto para el Main de las Vegas la semana que viene! Seguiremos dando guerra 💪. Mucha suerte a @Paul_Lozano que ojala se lo lleve!
— Ramon Colillas (@Mr__Boxes) June 29, 2019
As of right now there are still 12 players remaining in the tournament. They’re playing down to six today, and then down to a winner tomorrow. Here’s what’s on the line for everyone still competing:
1st: €198,500
2nd: €118,230
3th: €83,200
4th: €62,550
5th: €47,620
6th: €35,030
7th: €26,570
8th: €18,970
9th: €14,760
10th: €12,250
11th: €12,250
12th: €10,990
Go check out the EPT Open Madrid live stream to watch the rest of the Day 3 action, and use the same link when you come back for Day 4 on Sunday.
And if you’re starting to wish you could compete with the Spanish locals yourself, open up the PokerStars lobby and have a look at the EPT Barcelona satellites. With three qualifiers running weekly, you have lots of opportunities to lock up a seat of your own before the festivities begin there in late August.