Dongwoo Ko Bags the Lead in Day 1 of €10,200 No-Limit Hold'em
Although there are just a handful of events left in the 2024 European Tour Barcelona, plenty of high-stakes players have remained and are eager to play in the biggest tournaments available here at Casino Barcelona.
As expected, many of them found their way over to €10,200 No-Limit Hold'em. After a quick Day 1 that attracted 36 entries, Dongwoo Ko emerged as the overall chip leader of the 16 remaining players after bagging 398,000. Not far behind him is Jan Eric Schwippert with 380,000, and rounding out the top three is Andrey Andreev, who managed to end with 322,000.
Ko won his first Spadie just a few short days ago after besting an 18-entry field in the €5,200 8-Game event, which included some top talent such as Benny Glaser and Mike Watson. The Canadian pro is also riding high off of his momentum from a victory in the WPT Montreal Championship earlier this year, in which he cinched a career-best score for $319,216.
€10,200 No-Limit Hold'em Top Ten Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dongwoo Ko | Canada | 398,000 | 80 |
| 2 | Jan Eric Schwippert | Germany | 380,000 | 76 |
| 3 | Andrey Andreev | Russian Federation | 322,000 | 64 |
| 4 | Juha Helppi | Finland | 314,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Sven Andersson | Sweden | 289,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Aram Zobian | United States | 281,000 | 56 |
| 7 | Stoyan Madanzhiev | Bulgaria | 268,000 | 54 |
| 8 | Vladas Tamasauskas | Lithuania | 233,000 | 47 |
| 9 | Jules Dickerson | United Kingdom | 229,000 | 46 |
| 10 | Konstantyn Holskyi | Ukraine | 176,000 | 35 |
Action of the Day
Finnish poker pro Juha Helppi, who made a late appearance at EPT Barcelona, hopped into the mix and got off to a hot start after doubling with jacks in just the second level. Helppi's stack continued to trend upward for the rest of the day through well-timed value bets and aggressive play and he ended with 314,000 — good for fourth place overall heading into Day 2.
Stoyan Madanzhiev managed to bag a top-ten stack, thanks in part to making a sick hero call with ten-high against Arthur Conan's counterfeited pair toward the end of play.
Faring less well was Ren Lin, who joined the fray about half way through Day 1 and wasted no time getting involved in pots. Lin had a couple bluffs picked off and suffered some beats en route to busting two bullets before calling it a night.
Samuel Ju also had a night to forget and ended up dusting three bullets, including one where he got coolered by Ko in a full-house over full-house setup.
Other players who entered, but fell short include Franck Makaci, Michel Molenaar, Marcelo Bonanata and Teun Mulder.
All players who failed to bag still have until the start of play on Day 2 to reenter, at which point late registration will close. The action is set to resume tomorrow, September 8, at noon local time and play down until a winner.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action from this and other events right up until the final day of the 2024 EPT Barcelona!