The EPT Barcelona 2013 €10,000 High Roller event launched on 5 September with 168 players registering to Day 1. As registration is open until the start of Day 2, no final prize pool has so far been published. The field boasted talents worthy of a high roller event, accompanied by a number of wealthy businessmen as well as a sports star, FC Barcelona central defender Gerard Piqué.
Eventually, 90 players qualified to Day 2 with Ole Schemion in the lead (stack: 393,600), right ahead of Igor Kurganov (315,300). Piqué ran well, too, finishing in 5th position with 308,500 in chips. The Spanish football ace played actively and good but happened to make a mistake in a hand that got the largest coverage. On Level 6 (75/300/600), he mistook his opponent’s move preflop for an all-in and called, showing
Q 
Q . However, the other player did not shove but raise and it was ruled that the original raise was in effect with Piqué calling. Since he had tabled his cards, he had to play the hand with an open hand.
The flop came
A A 2 and they both checked, to players’ delight, considering the open hand. They also checked the 
3 turn but Piqué’s opponent decided to bet 7,150 on the 6 turn. The footballer called and won the hand with top two pairs, his opponent showing 5 3 .
It was still not Piqué but PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu, who delivered the hottest news of the day. It is definitely a rare sight that a player gets himself eliminated on purpose anyway but it is downright unprecedented in a high roller tournament. Now we have that as well, with the new Rule #29 of the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) guidelines behind the outrage.
According to the new rule, players have to be at their seat when the first card is dealt to the first player, otherwise their hand is dead. This is to ensure faster games, as many players have tended to leave their tables, moving around during tournaments. However, “at their seat” does not mean players are not allowed to stand up but that they have to remain within arm’s reach.
For details on the issue and Negreanu’s rant, please click here. Suffice it to say, the Canadian’s hand was mucked while he was standing beside the table, talking to Philipp Gruissem. Negreanu gave voice to his dissatisfaction with the decision and, despite the floorman’s best intentions to calm him down, he insisted on going blind all-in the next hand and, losing it to Timothy Adams, “rage quitting” the tournament.
The EPT Barcelona 2013 High Roller event Day 1 turned out to be stirring, to say the least.
The unofficial top 10 chip counts are as follows:
Ole Schemion – 393,600
Igor Kurganov – 315,300
Sam Greenwood – 313,800
Seng Yong – 312,200
Gerard Piqué – 308,500
Richard Yong – 300,000
Abi Khaitan – 295,200
Eugene Katchalov – 260,400
Jason Lavallee – 246,500
David Benefield – 220,400
Eventually, 90 players qualified to Day 2 with Ole Schemion in the lead (stack: 393,600), right ahead of Igor Kurganov (315,300). Piqué ran well, too, finishing in 5th position with 308,500 in chips. The Spanish football ace played actively and good but happened to make a mistake in a hand that got the largest coverage. On Level 6 (75/300/600), he mistook his opponent’s move preflop for an all-in and called, showing
Q Q . However, the other player did not shove but raise and it was ruled that the original raise was in effect with Piqué calling. Since he had tabled his cards, he had to play the hand with an open hand.The flop came
A A 2 and they both checked, to players’ delight, considering the open hand. They also checked the 3 turn but Piqué’s opponent decided to bet 7,150 on the 6 turn. The footballer called and won the hand with top two pairs, his opponent showing 5 3 .It was still not Piqué but PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu, who delivered the hottest news of the day. It is definitely a rare sight that a player gets himself eliminated on purpose anyway but it is downright unprecedented in a high roller tournament. Now we have that as well, with the new Rule #29 of the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) guidelines behind the outrage.
According to the new rule, players have to be at their seat when the first card is dealt to the first player, otherwise their hand is dead. This is to ensure faster games, as many players have tended to leave their tables, moving around during tournaments. However, “at their seat” does not mean players are not allowed to stand up but that they have to remain within arm’s reach.
For details on the issue and Negreanu’s rant, please click here. Suffice it to say, the Canadian’s hand was mucked while he was standing beside the table, talking to Philipp Gruissem. Negreanu gave voice to his dissatisfaction with the decision and, despite the floorman’s best intentions to calm him down, he insisted on going blind all-in the next hand and, losing it to Timothy Adams, “rage quitting” the tournament.
The EPT Barcelona 2013 High Roller event Day 1 turned out to be stirring, to say the least.
The unofficial top 10 chip counts are as follows:
Ole Schemion – 393,600
Igor Kurganov – 315,300
Sam Greenwood – 313,800
Seng Yong – 312,200
Gerard Piqué – 308,500
Richard Yong – 300,000
Abi Khaitan – 295,200
Eugene Katchalov – 260,400
Jason Lavallee – 246,500
David Benefield – 220,400
