EPT Barcelona Smashes All Records

It was announced, it was expected – but now it has been officially confirmed. The Main Event of European Poker Tour in Barcelona broke all the records, becoming the biggest EPT event to ever take place on European soil (only few PCA events had bigger fields). Timing could not possibly be better either, as Barcelona marks an important event for the Tour – 100th EPT event.

Over the course of two starting days, the €5,300 Main Event attracted total of 1,496 players. Although Day 1A did not cross the 500 line, with 475 total entries, Day 1B yesterday just exceeded all expectations when 1,010 players took their seats at the tables. Add to that another 21 players who took advantage of late registration at the start of Day 2, and we come to the grand total of 1,496!

This turnout shattered to pieces the previous record held by San Remo from Season 6, when the Main Event peaked at 1,240. It seems bit strange that it took more than four years for this record to be broken, but poker has always been a strange animal that never seizes to surprise.

The rise and rise and rise of EPT player numbers, landmark-by-landmark. http://t.co/N5488p8bfb#EPT100pic.twitter.com/2hSFNTAWSw

— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) August 22, 2014

Of these 1,496, nearly 900 made it through to Day 2, which actually caused some confusion in the ranks of tournament organizers. Of course, even if they were somewhat surprised, the excellent tournament staff is always prepared and all nine hundred had their seat at the start of the day. They did have to expand a bit today and players were spread across three rooms.

This did nearly max out the capacities both in terms of space and man power. Luca Vivaldi, a senior tournament official, explained for PokerStars blog that every single dealer is dealing at the tables, even those who usually only deal satellites. There is simply no one to spare.

The big turnout naturally created a big prize pool. The last man standing in Barcelona will receive a big payout of €1,261,000. Eight of nine final table players will all receive six-figure amounts as well and total of 239 players will be making the money. These are really some nice numbers for a live tournament.

The first two days were long and grueling, as players played for twelve hours straight, including breaks. Today they will get to take it easy a bit as tournament officials announced that play would last for just six or potentially seven levels.

Action so far today has been fast and furious, as we have already lost more than 300 players. One of the casualties is Liv Boeree, the winner of the previous record holder from San Remo. We will try to keep you up to date on our EPT Barcelona Main Event page as play continues to unfold, slowly moving towards the money and the big finale on Wednesday.