After a lengthy hiatus for the World Series of Poker, the European Poker Tour is back in action. Traveling to the Casino Barcelona for one of their most popular stops, the 2025 EPT Barcelona once again has drawn the crème of the European tournament poker world – and some interlopers from the Americas – to battle it out on the felt. There were two Day One flights held over the past two days, and Day 1A leader Daiki Shingae emerged as the overall leader, with Day Two set for action on Tuesday.
Small Field for Day 1A Action
The 2025 EPT Barcelona kicked off on Sunday with a smallish field coming to the tables for action. ‘Only’ 715 players ponied up the €5000 buy-in to take their shot, but the players would be an active bunch. Some of the notable names in the field included Leo Margets, the ‘last woman standing’ at the final table of the 2025 WSOP Main Event in July, defending Barcelona champion Stephen Song, former EPT champs such as poker Triple Crown winner Davidi Kitai, and two PokerStars Ambassadors, another 2025 WSOP Main Event final table player in Kenny Haellert and Maria Konnikova.
Faced with ten one-hour levels for the day, players settled in for a lengthy slog, but there were those moments of excitement. Quads seemed to be the hand of the day as two players, Joaquin Duran and Nicola Danselmo, both would make quads (Aces for Duran, tens for Danselmo) to add chips to their stacks for their future battles. But it was Shingae who made the slow and steady climb to the top of the ladder, ending Sunday’s action as the only player over the 400K mark in chips to go to Day Two:
1. Daiki Shingae (Japan), 440,000
2. Marc Bougaret (France), 339,000
3. Demis Mariani (Italy), 309,500
4. Volodymyr Paschchetnyk (Ukraine), 278,500
5. Panagiotis Pantazis (Greece), 266,000
Bigger Field for Day 1B, Familiar Name Rises to the Top
As usual for multi-flight Day Ones, the last one for the 2025 EPT Barcelona would prove to be the largest flight. Despite having more chips in play, however, the players could not push past Shingae’s Day 1A stack. In fact, the chip leader from Day 1B, Bulgaria’s Anton Kraous, didn’t even garner enough chips to take the second-place slot on the overall leaderboard either.
Some of the faces seen on Day 1A who failed to make it out of the pack came back on Day 1B for another bite of the apple. Hallaert was one of these players, and this time around, he would pack up a bag to move on into the Day Two festivities. Several former EPT champions were also in the mix, including a couple of Day 1A fatalities; Simon Wiciak, who won this tournament in 2023, joined the defending champion Song in moving on from Day 1B with similarly sized stacks (88K for Song, 85K for Wiciak).
The big story from Day 1B, other than Kraous, was the return of Steve O’Dwyer to the tables in Barcelona. O’Dwyer, an expat U.S. citizen who now calls Ireland home, did not play at the 2025 WSOP, instead utilizing the time to recharge and study. That work seems to have been worthwhile as he would end the Day 1B action with a 266,000 stack, good enough to make it into the Top Ten for Day 1B, but was it enough to make the overall Top Ten?
1. Anton Kraous (Bulgaria), 330,000
2. Jerry Odeen (Sweden), 302,500
3. Jakub Sterba (Czechia), 291,000
4. Cesar Garcia (Spain), 277,500
5. Olivier Fazio (France), 276,000
As Day Two starts on Tuesday, this is how the Top Ten lines up:
1. Daiki Shingae (Japan), 440,000*
2. Marc Bougaret (France), 339,000*
3. Anton Kraous (Bulgaria), 330,000
4. Demis Mariani (Italy), 309,500*
5. Jerry Odeen (Sweden), 302,500
6. Jakub Sterba (Czechia), 291,000
7. Volodymyr Paschchetnyk (Ukraine), 278,500*
8. Cesar Garcia (Spain), 277,500
9. Olivier Fazio (France), 276,000
10. Steve O’Dwyer, 266,000
(tie) Panagiotis Pantazis (Greece), 266,000*
* – Day 1A entries
The total of 1928 entries still have a chance of cracking the 2000 mark. Late registration will be available for players until the start of Day Two action, at which point the players will find out what they are playing for. Expect the grind to get serious at that point with the 645 remaining players battling down to the money bubble, perhaps as early as Tuesday evening, at the 2025 EPT Barcelona Main Event.
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