Seth Davies went from first out to atop the leaderboard in a rollercoaster showing on Day 1 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona €100,000 Super High Roller.
Davies was the first player eliminated early in the day but took full advantage of his second chance, busting Biao Ding with a set of tens as he began to climb the chip counts. He saved his highlight for the end of the night, however, spiking a set of nines in a three-way all in to bust both Steve O’Dwyer and Vladimir Korzinin as he bagged up 1,240,000 and the chip lead.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seth Davies | United States | 1,240,000 | 207 |
| 2 | Kayhan Mokri | Norway | 967,000 | 161 |
| 3 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | 728,000 | 121 |
| 4 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | 640,000 | 107 |
| 5 | Morten Klein | Norway | 573,000 | 96 |
| 6 | Teun Mulder | Netherlands | 498,000 | 83 |
| 7 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | 434,000 | 72 |
| 8 | Enrico Camosci | Italy | 424,000 | 71 |
| 9 | Thomas Santerne | France | 417,000 | 70 |
| 10 | Justin Saliba | United States | 324,000 | 54 |
Davies is already enjoying an incredible month. Just a week ago, he won the Super High Roller Bowl in Cyprus for $3.2 million, the biggest score of his illustrious poker career that includes nearly $30 million in live earnings. He’ll look to continue that strong form when 18 players return tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. local time.
A familiar face is right behind him on the leaderboard. Kayhan Mokri won this event last year and ended Day 1 in second place with 967,000 in defense of his title. Jean-Noel Thorel, who finished runner-up to Mokri, joined Davies on the rail early today but also jumped back in and knocked out Nacho Barbero with a set of nines on his way to 640,000. Nick Petrangelo (728,000) is also a big stack, while Morten Klein (573,000) rounds out the top five after hitting a straight flush to double up off Korzinin’s full house.
Patrik Antonius was a late arrival on Day 1, and the new Poker Hall of Famer cracked Mike Watson’s queens by hitting trip eights on the turn to double up as he bagged 434,000. Other players to advance include Justin Saliba (324,000), Jesse Lonis (310,000), Sam Greenwood (296,000), Byron Kaverman (259,000), Niklas Astedt (229,000), Santhosh Suvarna (182,000), Watson (141,000), and Sean Winter (130,000).
A total of 32 players entered over the course of eight hour-long levels, blowing past last year’s field of 18. Late registration remains open until the start of play tomorrow. The action on Day 2 picks up on Level 9 with blinds of 3,000-6,000 and a 6,000 big blind ante. The starting stack is still worth more than 40 big blinds, and with already more than $3 million in the prize pool, there is plenty of incentive for new players to jump in tomorrow and try to chase the trophy.
PokerNews will be back tomorrow providing all the live updates as one of the most anticipated events on the poker calendar enters its stretch run.