STANLEY CHOI WINS MACAU HIGH STAKES CHALLENGE

PHOTO: POKERACE.com

The Star World Hotel and Casino hosted the inaugural 2M HKD buy-in (250K USD) Macau High Stakes Challenge on Friday. The event drew a total of 94 entries (73 players registered, 21 of them re-bought).

While many of the top / well-known high stakes poker players in the world entered the event, it's those that aren't in the poker world spotlight that stole the headlines on Friday as Stanley Choi (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-162nd) won the event, picking up over 50M HKD (almost 6.5M) for the victory.

John Juanda (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 250th), Sam Trickett (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-214th) and Phil Ivey (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 11th) all final tabled the event while Nicholas Wong, Tang Zheng, Philipp Gruissem and J.P. Kelly cashed in the event that carried a monster 23M USD prizepool.

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EVENT PAYOUTS (HKD) Stanley Choi HK$50,149,000 Zhu Guan Fai HK$33,737,000 Nicholas Wong HK$25,530,000 Tang Zheng HK$17,324,000 John Juanda HK$12,765,000 Lap Key Chan HK$9,574,000 Sam Trickett HK$7,750,000 Phil Ivey HK$6,383,000 Alan Sass HK$5,471,000 Philipp Gruissem HK$4,559,000 Di Van Hoang Dang HK$4,559,000 JP Kelly HK$4,559,000

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT MACAU HIGH STAKES CHALLENGE NLH Super High Rollers August 31, 2012 Star World Hotel | Macau Buy-in: $237,875 | Prizepool: $23,512,950 Entries: 94 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION STANLEY CHOI 100 ZHU GUAN FAI 60 NICHOLAS WONG 35 TANG ZHENG 25 JOHN JUANDA 18 LAP KEY CHAN 10 SAM TRICKETT 8 PHIL IVEY 5 ALAN SASS 5

WPT LEGENDS: HALE TO THE CHIEF - MONSTER CHIP STACK TOO MUCH FOR OPPONENTS

PHOTO: WPT.com

A few weeks after wins by big name pros Marvin Rettenmaier and Tony Gregg, relative unknown Josh Hale (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-91st) is the latest winner on the World Poker Tour.

Hale defeated 621 other competitors to win the WPT Legends of Poker Main Event at the famous Bicycle Casino, outside of Los Angeles.

Hale collects 500K USD for his efforts, eclipsing his previous tournament-best 35K USD score at the 1M Guarantee event at the Legends last season.


Second place finisher Max Steinberg (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 9th) certainly made a game of it. The bracelet winner started final table play as one of the short stacks but built his chips up so much so that he started heads-up play as the leader.

The turning point came during hand #132 where Hale hit a river flush as both players had put all of their chips in the middle on the flop. Hale had his monster stack back and wouldn't surrender from that point.

It's not all bad news for Steinberg, first, he collects over 290K for a few days work - he also pushes Phil Ivey out of the Top 10 for Player of the Year, Steinberg sits ninth with only four months left to the season.


Three of the final table favourites were out of the event much earlier than most poker fans watching the live stream would have wanted as Jeff Madsen (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 289th), Greg Mueller (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 39th) and Ali Eslami (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 167th) were the first three players eliminated on Wednesday.

Mueller enters the QJ Player of the Year Top 100 with his performance, in fact, Mueller cracks the Top 40 with his 36-point score.

The WPT makes their way to France next as the Grand Prix de Paris is fast approaching!

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FT PAYOUTS (USD) Josh Hale $500,000 Max Steinberg $293,490 Raouf Malek $192,400 Ali Eslami $133,700 Greg Mueller $97,100 Jeff Madsen $75,400 RELATED POSTS > HALE LEADS WPT LEGENDS FT > WPT LEGENDS PLAYS DOWN TO FT > THE THRILL OF VICTORY DEFENDING CHAMPION 2011 PTPR Player of the Year: Will Failla 2012 PTPR Points: 71 NEXT WPT EVENT WPT Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de France September 10-15, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT WORLD POKER TOUR WPT Legends of Poker NLH Main Event August 24-29, 2012 Bicycle Casino | California Buy-in: $3,700 | Prizepool: $2,111,690 Entries: 622 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION JOSH HALE 131 MAX STEINBERG 81 RAOUF MALEK 51 ALI ESLAMI 41 GREG MUELLER 36 JEFF MADSEN 31 JIM WILLERSON 31 STEPHEN GRANER 16 JESSE MARTIN 16 ART ALANIZ 16 DAVID MARSHALL 16 CYRUS FARZAD 14 ALAN MYERSON 14 RAMZI SROUR 14 SAM BARNHART 14 ANTONIOS ROUNGERIS 11 EFREN ABUSTAN 11 JOSEPH CHEONG 11

WPT LEGENDS: JOSH HALE LEADS AS WPT HOSTS STACKED FINAL TABLE

PHOTO: WPT.com

One thing is for sure - tonight's WPT Legends of Poker Final Table will not - ok, should not - dissapoint as some of poker's big hitters hope that this is their time to pickup a first WPT title at the Bicycle Casino near Los Angeles.

Josh Hale (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) refused to succumb to the veterans last night as we drew closer and closer to a final table. Hale - who will receive Player of the Year point for the first time of his career tonight - was the chip leader late last night and continued to pickup chips all the way through to the final whistle.

Hale will start the day with a +2:1 chip advantage over his second place opponent.

That man starting the day in second is no other than two-time WSOP bracelet winner Greg "FBT" Mueller (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-113th). Mueller had a good start to the WPT LAPC - the last time the WPT was in the Los Angeles area - but fizzled quickly and was unable to make the kind of noise he hopes to make tonight.

Mueller, who concentrates mostly on cash games when he's not spending his summers at the WSOP, is an accomplished tournament player nonetheless and could very well be the odds-on favourite to get things done later tonight.

Former WSOP Circuit Rincon Regional winner Ali Eslami (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 364th), two-time bracelet winner Jeff Madsen (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 608th) and Max Steinberg (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-53rd) (who owns a WSOP bracelet of his own) are three of the other major threats and are three other reasons that things should be very interesting once we shuffle up and deal.

A win for Steinberg would also catapult him into the QuadJacks Poker Player of the Year Top 5.

FINAL TABLE SEAT ASSIGNMENTS/CHIP COUNTS:
Seat 1 Max Steinberg 1,020,000
Seat 2 Jeff Madsen 1,030,000
Seat 3 Raouf Malek 3,130,000
Seat 4 Greg Mueller 3,490,000
Seat 5 Josh Hale 7,325,000
Seat 6 Ali Eslami 2,900,000

Blinds start at 30K/60K with a 10K ante.

We are moments away from final table play. WPT.com will provide "live" coverage (on a 30-minute delay) starting at 4:30pm PT.

So forget Big Brother, forget the NL and AL pennant races for a night and forget about the Theo Walcott rumours coming out of London and settle in and enjoy the action as Tony Dunst brings up live coverage from beautiful Bell Gardens.

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FT PAYOUTS (USD) 1st $500,000 2nd $293,490 3rd $192,400 4th $133,700 5th $97,100 6th $75,400 RELATED POSTS > WPT LEGENDS PLAYS DOWN TO FT > THE THRILL OF VICTORY DEFENDING CHAMPION 2011 PTPR Player of the Year: Will Failla 2012 PTPR Points: 71 NEXT WPT EVENT WPT Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de France September 10-15, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT WORLD POKER TOUR WPT Legends of Poker NLH Main Event August 24-29, 2012 Bicycle Casino | California Buy-in: $3,700 | Prizepool: $2,111,690 Entries: 622 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st place 131 2nd place 81 3rd place 51 4th place 41 5th place 36 6th place 31 JIM WILLERSON 31 STEPHEN GRANER 16 JESSE MARTIN 16 ART ALANIZ 16 DAVID MARSHALL 16 CYRUS FARZAD 14 ALAN MYERSON 14 RAMZI SROUR 14 SAM BARNHART 14 ANTONIOS ROUNGERIS 11 EFREN ABUSTAN 11 JOSEPH CHEONG 11

WPT LEGENDS: FINAL 10 PLAYING DOWN TO A FINAL TABLE

PHOTO: WPT.com

While there isn't much in terms of experienced players, or at least players with major scores on the circuit, at the top of the WPT Legends of Poker Final 10 Leaderboard, the players currently under the average chip count totals total 5 WSOP bracelets and hope to turn things around as we play down to the WPT Final Table of six players tonight at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California, minutes from Los Angeles.

Josh Hale is the current chip leader (as Level 25 wraps-up) with Jim Willerson and Raouf Malek following Hall in second and third place.

Next in line are two double WSOP bracelet winners (each did it in the same year): Jeff Madsen and Greg Mueller.

Both players usually play well in California tournaments ... Mueller actually held the overnight chip lead early at the WPT LAPC back in February.

Another bracelet winner, Max Steinberg is still in contention, as are former WSOP Circuit Rincon Regional Champion Ali Eslami and Jesse Martin.

622 players entered the event which started over the weekend creating a 2.1M+ prizepool with a cool 500K USD going to the winner!

UNOFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS (as of 6:30PM PT)
Josh Hale 4,835,000
Jim Willerson 3,390,000
Raouf Malek 3,370,000
Jeff Madsen 1,480,000
Greg Mueller 1,160,000
Max Steinberg 1,130,000
Art Alaniz 1,085,000
Ali Eslami 1,000,000
Jesse Martin 655,000
Stephen Graner 580,000

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (USD) 1st $500,000 2nd $293,490 3rd $192,400 4th $133,700 5th $97,100 6th $75,400 7th $60,400 8th $49,800 9th $40,400 10th $32,000 RELATED POSTS > THE THRILL OF VICTORY DEFENDING CHAMPION 2011 PTPR Player of the Year: Will Failla 2012 PTPR Points: 71 NEXT WPT EVENT WPT Grand Prix de Paris Aviation Club de France September 10-15, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT WORLD POKER TOUR WPT Legends of Poker NLH Main Event August 24-29, 2012 Bicycle Casino | California Buy-in: $3,700 | Prizepool: $2,111,690 Entries: 622 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st place 131 2nd place 81 3rd place 51 4th place 41 5th place 36 6-7th place 31 8th place 16 9-10th place 16 DAVID MARSHALL 16 CYRUS FARZAD 14 ALAN MYERSON 14 RAMZI SROUR 14 SAM BARNHART 14 ANTONIOS ROUNGERIS 11 EFREN ABUSTAN 11 JOSEPH CHEONG 11

EPT BARCELONA: KENNEY'S WIN CLOSES OUT BARCA

While one of Spain's heroes/part-time poker player (Sergio Garcia) is catching fire on the PGA tour at the right time with the Ryder Cup around the corner and another hero/part-time poker player (Rafael Nadal) out of the US Open, the final major of the tennis season, due to injury, Spain was unable to find a hero at EPT Barcelona - a player from Spain has never won a EPT Main Event - but Barcelona should still hold its head high for hosting such a fantastic Poker Festival - Barca has certainly become one of the "must attend" stops on the poker circuit.

American Bryn Kenney (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 17th) wrapped-up EPT Barcelona with a win in the 5K NLH Six-Max Turbo event, collecting over 80K EURO for the win. Kenney and second-place finisher Nikolaus Jedlicka (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-300th) struck a deal while heads-up and Jedlicka will actually take home more money than Kenney, despite his second place finish.

Steve O'Dwyer (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-40th) earned his fourth PTPR Score of 2012, finishing in 3rd position. O'Dwyer, who was on the Top 100 bubble, jumped into the Top 50 with his score.

Daniel Stern and Jussi Nevalinna also cashed in the event that drew a total of 62 players taking one last shot at glory in Barcelona.

PokerStars now have their eyes set on WCOOP - The World Championship of Online Poker - which begin on Sunday ... then, PokerStars and the EPT make their way to San Remo for what should be another extremely successful tour stop.

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PAYOUTS (EURO) 1. Bryn Kenney €83,000 2. Nikolaus Jedlicka €88,400 3. Steve O'Dwyer €39,090 4. Daniel Stern €28,570 5. Antonio Palma €21,050 6. Edward Khebzou €15,030 7. Jussi Nevanlinna €13,530 8. Jonas Becker €12,030 RELATED POSTS > SPANISH SHOCKER IN BARCA > POLITO WINS HR > NO RESOLUTION AT HR > DAMYANOV PEEVSK WINS SIDE > ANOTHER UNKNOWN LEADS BARCA > DUDA DOMINATES ON DAY 3 > GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS! > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA DEFENDING CHAMPION Roberto Romanello 2012 PTPR Points: 42 NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona 5K NLH Turbo Six-Max August 25, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $6,280 | Prizepool: $377,740 Entries: 62 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION BRYN KENNEY 100 NIKOLAUS JEDLICKA 60 STEVE O'DWYER 35 DANIEL STERN 25 ANTONIO PALMA 18 EDWARD KHEBZOU 10 JUSSI NEVALINNA 8 JONAS BECKER 5

EPT BARCELONA: SPANISH SHOCKER - POBAL UPSETS THE FINNS

For a while on Saturday, Finnish rising star Joni Jouhkimainen (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 84th) - who began final table play as the short stack - was pitching a perfect game, he was making the correct reads, raising at opportune times, folding when most would not have had the guts to.

The Finn found himself with 75% of the chips and it looked like a no-brainer, Jouhkimainen would be earning his tournament victory on a major poker circuit ... well, sometimes things don't go as planned.

But two hands in a small span of time did Jouhkimainen in. He first called Mikalai Pobal's all-in - his ace-jack was never able to get there against Pobal's 88.

Then, it was an all-Finn showdown versus Ziigmund. Jouhkimainen held Kings to Sahamies' 87 on a 8-J-7 rainbow board. The turn and river wouldn't help Jouhkimainen. Joni still held the chip lead at that point, but, it sure did look as if these were two signs of what was to come as a few hours later he was on the rail.

Mikalai Pobal (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-76th) eventually outlasted the two Finns - who appeared to have shared a couple of drinks during the dinner break ... one wonders if that affected their performance at the final table post-meal - Pobal takes home over 1M EURO for his big victory.

Ziigmund (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-132nd) was the runner-up here at EPT Barcelona. It sure was great to see Ziigmund back on the circuit.

John Juanda (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-359th) suffered a sick end to his tournament. Juanda, who came into today's final table as one of the favourites, was the first player ousted from final table play.

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FT PAYOUTS (EURO) Mikalai Pobal € 1,007,550 Ilari Sahamies € 629,700 Joni Jouhkimainen € 404,050 Anaras Alekberovas € 301,750 Samuel Rodriguez € 230,900 Sinel Anton € 178,400 Antonin Duda € 125,950 John Juanda € 76,100 RELATED POSTS > POLITO WINS HR > NO RESOLUTION AT HR > DAMYANOV PEEVSK WINS SIDE > ANOTHER UNKNOWN LEADS BARCA > DUDA DOMINATES ON DAY 3 > GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS! > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA DEFENDING CHAMPION Martin Schleich 2012 PTPR Points: 0 NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona NLH Main Event August 19-25, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $6,235 | Prizepool: $6,544,930 Entries: 1,082 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION MIKALAI POBAL 135 ILARI SAHAMIES 85 JONI JOUHKIMAINEN 55 ANARAS ALEKBEROVAS 45 SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ 40 SINEL ANTON 35 ANTONIN DUDA 35 JOHN JUANDA 20 OLE SCHEMION 20 MORTEN MORTENSEN 20 JONATHAN KARAMALIKIS 20 MIKOLAJ ZAWADZKI 18 ALEX CASALS 18 AKU JOENTAUSTA 18 ELIAS GUTIERREZ HERNANDEZ 18 FATIMA MOREIRA DE MELO 15 JAVIER PIAZUELO 15 MAURO CANAVESE 15

EPT BARCELONA: POLITO WINS HIGH ROLLERS, BILOKUR MOVES UP THE RANKINGS

A day after a marathon session where we weren't able to get down to our final table of 8, the remaining 12 players in the High Rollers event were back at it on Saturday and this time, it didn't take long at all to trigger the action.

Within the first 90 minutes of play, the first five players (including Jonathan Duhamel and Andrew Lichtenberger) had hit the rail ... ElkY wasn't far behind them.


Ultimately, Laurent Polito (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 123rd) and Leonid "Alex" Bilokur (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 24th) duked it out for all the marbles with Polito coming out on top in the end.

For Bilokur, it was a second shot at a major High Rollers title on the EPT circuit in 2012 - he won the 25K HR at the PCA in the Bahamas.

German pro Tobias Renkemeier (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 129th), who like Bilokur has had a lot of success in High Roller events, started the day as the chip leader, but, wasn't able to do better than third on Saturday.

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PAYOUTS (EURO) Laurent Polito 270,229 Alex Bilokur 295,451 Tobias Reinkemeier 119,660 Stanislav Labutkin 95,180 Carlos Mora 73,430 Jean-Noel Thorel 54,390 Bertrand Grospellier 43,150 Joao Vieira 32,630 Kristijonas Andrulis 27,190 Jonathan Duhamel 27,190 Andrew Lichtenberger 24,470 Gurgen Melkonyan 24,470 RELATED POSTS > NO RESOLUTION AT HR > ZIIGMUND THE MAN TO BEAT > DAMYANOV PEEVSK WINS SIDE > ANOTHER UNKNOWN LEADS BARCA > DUDA DOMINATES ON DAY 3 > GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS! > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA DEFENDING CHAMPION Philipp Gruissem 2012 PTPR Points: 36

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona NLH 10K High Rollers August 23-25, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $12,565 | Prizepool: $1,366,710 Entries: 111 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION LAURENT POLITO 101 LEONID BILOKUR "ALEX" 61 TOBIAS REINKEMEIER 36 STANISLAV LABUTKIN 26 CARLOS MORA 19 JEAN-NOEL THOREL 11 BERTRAND GROSPELLIER 9 JOAO VIEIRA 6 KRISTIJONAS ANDRULIS 6 NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

EPT BARCELONA: NO RESOLUTION - BIG NAMES BACK FOR HIGH ROLLERS FINAL TABLE

We were hoping for the final table participants in the 10K High Rollers event at EPT Barcelona would be known but, after a looooong day, we still have 12 players remaining and we're done for the night.

Final day play is set for Saturday where we will be playing down to a winner ... no matter how long it takes!




Leading the charge is High Rollers veteran Tobias Reinkemeier (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-225th). Reinkemeier has plenty of big High Stakes cashes to his name, he most recently finished second to Justin Bonomo in the 100K buy-in Super High Rollers event at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

Trailing Reinkemeier is the defending EPT PCA 25K High Rollers champion Leonid "Alex" Bilokur (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 120th).

The rest of the list is full of big names including ElkY (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-20th), Andrew Lichtenberger (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 112th) and the man who held the #1 rank for a large part of 2012 Jonathan Duhamel (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 5th).

FINAL DAY CHIP COUNTS
Tobias Reinkemeier 714,000
Alex Bilokur 673,000
Laurent Polito 647,000
Jean Noel Thorel 615,000
Kristijonas Andrulis 495,000
Stanislav Labutkin 494,000
Bertrand Grospellier 468,000
Andrew Lichtenberger 352,000
Jonathan Duhamel 335,000
Carlos Mora 300,000
Joao Vieira 245,000
Gurgen Melkonyan 218,000

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PAYOUTS (EURO) 1 € 359,000 2 € 206,680 3 € 119,660 4 € 95,180 5 € 73,430 6 € 54,390 7 € 43,150 8 € 32,630 9-10 € 27,190 11-12 € 24,470 RELATED POSTS > ZIIGMUND THE MAIN TO BEAT > DAMYANOV PEEVSK WINS SIDE > ANOTHER UNKNOWN LEADS BARCA > DUDA DOMINATES ON DAY 3 > GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS! > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA DEFENDING CHAMPION Philipp Gruissem 2012 PTPR Points: 36

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona NLH 10K High Rollers August 23-25, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $12,565 | Prizepool: $1,366,710 Entries: 111 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st position 101 2nd position 61 3rd position 36 4th position 26 5th position 19 6th position 11 7th position 9 8th position 6 9th position 6 NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

EPT BARCELONA: ZIIGMUND THE MAN TO BEAT AS FINAL TABLE IS SET

We were nine-handed for what seemed like an eternity on Friday as no one refused to lose, with a spot at the EPT Barcelona final table on the line.

While no one refused to lose, one familiar face took advantage of a few opportunities and now stands as the man to beat as final table play is set for Saturday at Casino di Barcelona ... that man is online nosebleed master Ziigmund, Ilari Sahamies (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-945th).

Ziigmund will start the day with over 7.8M chips on Saturday, about 1.4M chips ahead of PokerStars qualifier - and Day 4 chip leader - Samuel Rodriguez (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR).

Day 3 chip leader Antonin Duda (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR), five-time bracelet winner John Juanda (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-587th) as well as European Masters of Poker Lisbon winner Joni Jouhkimainen (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 224th) are some of the other participants who will be looking for their first EPT Title on Saturday.

FINAL TABLE SEAT ASSIGNMENTS/CHIP COUNTS
Seat 1 Anaras Alekberovas 4,430,000
Seat 2 Ilari Sahamies 7,885,000
Seat 3 Antonin Duda 3,445,000
Seat 4 Samuel Rodriguez 6,450,000
Seat 5 John Juanda 1,890,000
Seat 6 Joni Jouhkimainen 1,510,000
Seat 7 Mikalai Pobal 4,410,000
Seat 8 Sinel Anton 2,355,000

Some big name players were eliminated on Friday but they were able to improve their positions on the QuadJacks Player of the Year Leaderboard...

Ole Schemion (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 164th) was the final table bubble boy. Schemion has won 1K NLH Side Events at back-to-back EPT Berlin festivals.

Morten Mortensen (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 278th), Jonathan Karalamikis (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-295th) and Fatima Moreira De Melo (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-1291st) also collected PTPR Points in the event.

Lucille Cailly, Roberto Romanello and Alain Roy were also eliminated during Day 5 play.

CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Coverage of the final table will be shown live-to-tape (with delay) over at www.PokerStars.tv.

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FT PAYOUTS (EURO) 1 € 1,007,550 2 € 629,700 3 € 404,050 4 € 301,750 5 € 230,900 6 € 178,400 7 € 125,950 8 € 76,100 RELATED POSTS > DAMYANOV PEEVSK WINS SIDE > ANOTHER UNKNOWN LEADS BARCA > DUDA DOMINATES ON DAY 3 > GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS! > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA DEFENDING CHAMPION Martin Schleich 2012 PTPR Points: 0 NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona NLH Main Event August 19-25, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $6,235 | Prizepool: $6,544,930 Entries: 1,082 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st position 135 2nd position 85 3rd position 55 4th position 45 5th position 40 6-7th position 35 8th position 20 OLE SCHEMION 20 MORTEN MORTENSEN 20 JONATHAN KARAMALIKIS 20 MIKOLAJ ZAWADZKI 18 ALEX CASALS 18 AKU JOENTAUSTA 18 ELIAS GUTIERREZ HERNANDEZ 18 FATIMA MOREIRA DE MELO 15 JAVIER PIAZUELO 15 MAURO CANAVESE 15

EPT BARCELONA: DAMYANOV PEEVSK WINS 2K SIDE EVENT

Ivaylo Damyanov Peevsk (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) survived a 261-player field to win a 2K NLH Side Event at EPT Barcelona on Wednesday.

While most eyes were on the Main Event, Damyanov Peevsk was busy fending off several game opponents on his way to his first PTPR Points of 2012.




Third place finisher Scott Seiver (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) was happy with the money collected in the event, that gave him some extra cash as many pros made their way to the El Classico clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona (Barca won 3-2 in the first leg of the 2012 Supercopa de Espana for those who wanted to know) Thursday.

Seiver is the 2011 WPT World Champion and the defending PartyPoker Premier League Champion.

Stephane Benadiba (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR), who final tabled the France Poker Series Finale in Paris in February of 2011, finished in seventh position while Walid Bou-Habib (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR), who recently scored at the WPT Merit Classic, finished in 8th position.

Mike Watson, Govert Metaal, Zoltan Szabo, Andrew Lichtenberger and Kyle Wilson all cashed in the event.

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TOP 15 PAYOUTS (EURO) 1. Ivaylo Damyanov Peevski €141,800 2. Roland Bachmann €75,950 3. Scott Seiver €45,630 4. Petar Kochev €35,450 5. Ramin Hajiyev €27,850 6. Peter Bosen €22,780 7. Stephane Benadiba €17,720 8. Walid Bou-Habib €12,660 9. Nikolaus Jedlicka €10,120 10. Mike Watson €10,120 11. Gurgen Melkonyan €8,600 12. Christopher Pereirra €8,600 13. Salman Behbehani €7,590 14. Joao Ribeiro €7,590 15. Govert Metaal €6,580 RELATED POSTS > ANOTHER UNKNOWN LEADS BARCA > DUDA DOMINATES ON DAY 3 > GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS! > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA DEFENDING CHAMPION Alexander Vaserfirer 2012 PTPR Points: 0

PTPR SIDE EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona NLH 2K Side Event August 21-22, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $2,700 | Prizepool: $636,165 Entries: 261 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION IVAYLO DAMYANOV PEEVSKI 75 ROLAND BACHMANN 40 SCOTT SEIVER 25 PETAR KOCHEV 15 RAMIN HAJIYEV 10 PETER BOSEN 8 STEPHANE BENADIBA 5 WALID BOU-HABIB 5 NIKOLAUS JEDLICKA 5 NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

EPT BARCELONA: ANOTHER UNKNOWN LEADS AS WE HIT THE FINAL THREE TABLES

It's getting down to the nitty gritty in Barcelona. When we post our next report, the final table participants will be known ... for now, it's down to three tables with a second unknown online qualifier leading the charge.

One day after Antonin Duda took Barcelona by storm, it's PokerStars online qualifier Samuel Rodriguez' (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) time to shine.



Rodriguez - who was second after Day 3 play - nearly quadrupled his chip stack on Thursday, becoming the only player left in the field with more than 3.1M in chips ... he in fact has more than 5.3M chips.

Sitting behind Rodriguez in the standings is colourful Aussie poker pro Jonathan Karamalikis (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-458th). Better known to most by his online poker and Twitter handle xMonsterxDongx, Karamalikis will certainly be looking to his vast poker experience to guide his to a final table on Friday.

There are still a bunch of other top players still alive as we play down to the first final table this season on the European Poker Tour. Lead by two former former EPT Champs (Morten Mortensen (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-435th) and Roberto Romanello (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-501st)) and a Olympic Gold Medalist (Fatima Moreira de Melo (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR)) and other notables Cailly, Schemion, Juanda, Roy, Sahamies and Jouhkimainen, we are certainly looking at one of the best Final 24 fields in EPT history.

FINAL 24 SEAT ASSIGNMENTS/CHIP COUNTS
TABLE - SEAT - PLAYER - CHIP STACK
1 1 Lucille Cailly 1,431,000
1 2 Antonin Duda 2,054,000
1 3 Ole Schemion 1,571,000
1 4 Javier Piazuelo 1,256,000
1 5 Jonathan Karamalikis 3,085,000
1 6 Morten Mortensen 392,000
1 7 Alex Casals 731,000
1 8 John Juanda 1,644,000

2 1 Saveikis Algirdas 488,000
2 2 Alain Roy 445,000
2 3 Mauro Canavese 1,026,000
2 4 Ilari Sahamies 1,040,000
2 5 Fatima Moreira de Melo 805,000
2 6 Mikolaj Zawadzki 1,006,000
2 7 Luis Rufas 405,000
2 8 Elias Gutierrez Hernandez 1,290,000

3 1 Ibon Merino Borbolla 615,000
3 2 Joni Jouhkimainen 1,161,000
3 3 Aku Joentausta 1,015,000
3 4 Anton Sinel 1,974,000
3 5 Anaras Alekberovas 685,000
3 6 Mikalai Pobal 2,745,000
3 7 Roberto Romanello 497,000
3 8 Samuel Rodriguez 5,330,000

NOTABLE DAY 4 PLAYER ELIMINATIONS
Ilan Boujenah, Zimnan Ziyard, Leo Margots, Andrey Zaichenko, Konstantin Puchkov and Matthias de Meulder.

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REMAINING PAYOUTS (EURO) 1 € 1,007,550 2 € 629,700 3 € 404,050 4 € 301,750 5 € 230,900 6 € 178,400 7 € 125,950 8 € 76,100 9-10 € 55,100 11-12 € 46,700 13-14 € 40,400 15-16 € 34,650 17-24 € 29,400 RELATED POSTS > DUDA DOMINATES ON DAY 3 > GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS! > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA DEFENDING CHAMPION Martin Schleich 2012 PTPR Points: 0

PTPR PREMIER EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona NLH Main Event August 19-25, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $6,235 | Prizepool: $6,544,930 Entries: 1,082 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st position 135 2nd position 85 3rd position 55 4th position 45 5th position 40 6-7th position 35 8-11th position 20 12-15th position 18 16-18th position 15 NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

EPT BARCELONA: GRISHIN WINS ESTRELLAS HIGH ROLLERS

Dmitry Grishin won the Estrellas Poker Tour High Rollers NLH Event earlier this week. The ESPT is celebrating its end to Season 3 as part of the EPT Barcelona Poker Festival.

Grishin (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-246th) defeated Christopher Andler heads-up.

Euro Masters Lisbon winner Joni Jouhkmainen (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 223rd) finished third in the event while LAPT Punta del Este runner-up Angel Guillen (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-823rd) was fifth.

Kevin MacPhee (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-1033rd), Zoltan Szabo (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-1019th) and Jonathan Karamalikis (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-458th) all final tabled the high rollers event.

Dan Shak, Jason Duval, and a pair of EPT Champions - David Vamplew (EPT London 2010) and Sandra Naujoks (EPT Dortmund 2009) - all cashed in the event.

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (EURO) 1. Dmitry Grishin €77,210 2. Christopher Andler €62,000 3. Joni Jouhkimainen €56,000 4. Fabrice Maltez €39,000 5. Angel Guillen €22,400 6. Kevin MacPhee €17,750 7. Zoltan Szabo €13,500 8. Jonathan Karamalikis €10,030 9. Cayetano Garcia €7,710 10. Julien Alberola €7,710 RELATED POSTS > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > GONZALEZ WINS SAN SEBASTIAN > HOBSON WINS WSOP ANTE-ONLY NEXT ESPT EVENT Season 4 Events TBA

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT ESTRELLAS POKER TOUR ESPT Barcelona NLH High Rollers August 18-19, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $2,505 | Prizepool: $483,390 Entries: 215 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION DMITRY GRISHIN 75 CHRISTOPHER ANDLER 40 JONI JOUHKIMAINEN 25 FABRICE MALTEZ 15 ANGEL GUILLEN 10 KEVIN MACPHEE 8 ZOLTAN SZABO 5 JONATHAN KARAMALIKIS 5 CAYETANO GARCIA 5

EPT BARCELONA: DUDA DOMINATES DAY 3 HEADLINES

While we have several interesting names still alive at EPT Barcelona, it's the name Duda that grabbed most of the headlines on Tuesday.

With only 61 of the original 1,082 still in contention in the Main Event, online qualifier Antonin Duda (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) is the man to beat as players prepare for what should be an action-packed Day 4 in Barcelona.



While Duda had most of the poker world buzzing, other name players are hoping that EPT Barcelona is theirs for the taking ...

The man known to most of the poker world as Zigmund, Ilari Sahamies (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-940th), is third in chips heading into Wednesday play. Zigmund is no stranger to huge moments (although they usually happen in NLH cash games, at nosebleed stakes).

Right behind Sahamies is poker superstar John Juanda (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-582nd). Juanda, a five-time WSOP bracelet winner, has had success on the European Poker Tour. He finished second to David Vamplew at EPT London in 2010.

2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Fatima Moreira de Melo (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) closes out the Top 5. The three-time Olympian (field hockey, Netherlands) will certainly be playing at a Championship level on Wednesday.

EPT Loutraki champion Zimnan Ziyard (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 198th) and EPT Grand Final runner-up Lucille Cailly (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 163rd) both hold Top 10 chip stacks.


NOTABLE PLAYERS : DAY 4
Antonin Duda 1,470,000
Samuel Rodriguez 1,416,000
Ilari Sahamies 1,269,000
John Juanda 968,000
Fatima Moreira De Melo 955,000
Zimnan Ziyard 940,000
Marcos Fernandez 926,000
Lucille Cailly 902,000
Ole Schemion 762,000
Jonathan Karamalikis 677,000
Roberto Romanello 671,000
Alain Roy 562,000
Morten Mortensen 543,000
Ilan Boujenah 329,000
Leo Margets 250,000
Konstantin Puchkov 197,000
Matthias De Meulder 116,000

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REMAINING PAYOUTS (EURO) 1 € 1,007,550 2 € 629,700 3 € 404,050 4 € 301,750 5 € 230,900 6 € 178,400 7 € 125,950 8 € 76,100 9-10 € 55,100 11-12 € 46,700 13-14 € 40,400 15-16 € 34,650 17-24 € 29,400 25-32 € 24,650 33-40 € 20,000 41-56 € 16,800 57-61 € 14,150 RELATED POSTS > GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS! > SABATO WINS ESTRELLAS > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA DEFENDING CHAMPION Martin Schleich 2012 PTPR Points: 0

PTPR PREMIER EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona NLH Main Event August 19-25, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $6,235 | Prizepool: $6,544,930 Entries: 1,082 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st position 135 2nd position 85 3rd position 55 4th position 45 5th position 40 6-7th position 35 8-11th position 20 12-15th position 18 16-18th position 15 NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

WSOPC BILOXI: FIVE ALIVE - CARTWRIGHT WINS FIFTH CIRCUIT RING

Kyle Cartwright (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-76th) sure is a fan of the World Series of Poker Circuit! After four previous Circuit event victories, Cartwright has added a fifth ring, filling up a hand full of jewelry.




Cartwright's latest victory came earlier today during the WSOP Circuit Biloxi Main Event, at the IP Casino in Mississippi.

With his third place finish, John Dolan (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-76th), moves back into the 2012 QuadJacks Poker Player of the Year Top 20, sitting in 18th position, just one point behind WSOP bracelet winner Aubin Cazals.

Meanwhile, Cory Wood (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-76th), who scored points in 2011 during the WSOP, finished fourth in this event.

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FT PAYOUTS (USD) Kyle Cartwright $107,992 Brad Johnson $66,744 John Dolan $48,429 Cory Wood $35,730 Jesus Cabrera $26,798 Dennis Pasentine $20,421 Tony Hatley $15,804 Peter Shashy $12,420 Patrick Eskandar $9,909 RELATED POSTS > CARTWRIGHT WINS CIRCUIT STL > MONROE WINS WSOP CIRCUIT BILOXI > TRUESDELL WINS CIRCUIT NO DEFENDING CHAMPION Jerry Monroe 2012 PTPR Points: 0

PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT WORLD SERIES OF POKER CIRCUIT WSOP Circuit Biloxi NLH Main Event August 18-20, 2012 IP Biloxi | Mississippi Buy-in: $1,675 | Prizepool: $450,000 Entries: 300 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION KYLE CARTWRIGHT 35 BRAD JOHNSON 18 JOHN DOLAN 10 CORY WOOD 8 JESUS CABRERA 5 NEXT WSOP CIRCUIT EVENT WSOPC Horseshoe Bossier City Bossier City, Louisiana September 13-24, 2012

EPT BARCELONA: SABATO WINS BIGGEST TOURNEY IN SPAIN'S HISTORY

The EPT Barcelona Poker Festival hosted the largest field in Spain's tournament poker history over the weekend as Lorenzo Sabato (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-76th) won the final Estrellas Poker Tour stop of Season 3.




Sabato survived the 1,036-player field in order to collect the 200K EURO top prize! The Italian finished 18th in the first-ever Ante Only event at this summer's WSOP.

Sabato defeated Andrey (not to be confused with Ivan) Demidov of Russia heads-up.

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (EURO) Lorenzo Sabato 200,000 Andrey Demidov 122,500 Niclas Svensson 76,500 Miguel Mora 59,200 Samuel Bernabeu Guilabert 44,200 Pere Estatuet 30,100 Artur Alabart Urgelles 22,000 Jonas Garstick 16,000 Jacques Zaicik 12,500 Tomeu Gomila 12,500 RELATED POSTS > GONZALEZ WINS SAN SEBASTIAN > HOBSON WINS WSOP ANTE-ONLY NEXT ESPT EVENT Season 4 Events TBA

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT ESTRELLAS POKER TOUR ESPT Barcelona NLH Main Event August 15-19, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $1,355 | Prizepool: $1,238,160 Entries: 1,036 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION LORENZO SABATO 120 ANDREY DEMIDOV 80 NICLAS SVENSSON 55 MIGUEL MORA 45 SAMUEL BERNABEU GUILABERT 38 PERE ESTATUET 30 ARTUR ALABART URGELLES 28 JONAS GARSTICK 25 JACQUES ZAICIK 25

EPT BARCELONA: U MAD? GIVE SMITH HIS NUBS!

Give the man his due ... or his nubs, as he would prefer. Only 10 days after losing his lead atop the 2012 QuadJacks Poker Player of the Year Leaderboard to Marvin Rettenmaier, Dan Smith (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 1st) has taken back what's his, the #1 spot.

With his win in the EPT Barcelona 50K Super High Rollers event, Smith has won his fifth major event this season, four of those wins counting for PTPR Points and Smith becomes the first player since the beginning of the PTPR Rankings back in 2010 to top the 500-point mark in a season ... and we still have four and a half months to go in 2012!

Smith started the season winning the 100K High Rollers Challenge at the Aussie Millions, he then proceeded to win THREE events in one week during the EPT Grand Final festivities in Monte Carlo. Smith also had a fine WSOP this past summer, earning three Top 20 finishes including a third place finish in the 5K NLH event a few days before the start of the Main Event.

Smith joins Jonathan Duhamel and Phil Ivey as the only three players with seven PTPR Scores for 2012.

JC Alvarado (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-273rd) was Smith's heads-up victim, nursing a very short stack for most of heads-up play. Alvarado earning his second PTPR Score of 2012.

Ilari Sahamies (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-932nd) - better known to the poker world as Zigumnd - and the Canadian duo of Mike Watson (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 401st) and Mike McDonald (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-281st) were the other members of the Top 5.

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FT PAYOUTS (EURO) Dan Smith 1,075,500 JC Alvarado 676,100 Mike Watson 399,500 Ilari Sahamies 291,900 Mike McDonald 215,100 Erik Seidel 153,600 Talal Shakerchi 138,300 Jim McCrink 122,960 RELATED POSTS > SMITH TO TAKE WHAT'S HIS > SMITH TOPS APRIL > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival Casino San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR EPT Barcelona 50K Super High Rollers August 17-19, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $61,605 | Prizepool: $3,786,190 Entries: 64 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION DANIEL SMITH 100 JC ALVARADO 60 MICHAEL WATSON 35 ILARI SAHAMIES 25 MIKE MCDONALD 18 ERIK SEIDEL 10 TALAL SHAKERCHI 8 JIM MCCRINK 5

EPT BARCELONA: SMITH LOOKING TO TAKE BACK WHAT WAS HIS

It was only ten days ago when Dan Smith (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 2nd) was the only player to be over the 400-point mark and was leading the way in the 2012 QuadJacks Player of the Year race. Then Marvin Rettenmaier decided to win the WPT Merit Classic and takeover from Smith, who had led the Player of the Year race since his crazy run at the EPT Grand Final series in Monte Carlo at the start of the summer.



Well, Smith didn't take long to put himself in a position to regain the #1 spot. With only 8 players remaining in the 50K Super High Rollers event at EPT Barcelona, Smith holds the chip lead and, unless he loses all of his chips first, will regain the #1 overall ranking from Mad Marvin.

Smith is one of only three players with over 700K in chips, in fact, Smith, Mike "Timex" McDonald (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-425th) and J.C. Alvarado (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-1695th) have an absurd advantage on the rest of the final table as all three hold at least 3M chips as final table play looms.

The remaining five players - which include Erik Seidel (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-760th), Zigmund a.k.a. Ilari Sahamies (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) and Mike Watson (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-1265th) - will have a huge mountain to climb in order to hope to win this thing on Sunday.

FINAL TABLE SEAT ASSIGNMENTS / CHIP COUNTS
Seat 1 JC Alvarado 3,116,000
Seat 2 Mike McDonald 4,650,000
Seat 3 Erik Seidel 698,000
Seat 4 Mike Watson 604,000
Seat 5 Dan Smith 5,108,000
Seat 6 Jim McCrink 500,000
Seat 7 Ilari Sahamies 685,000
Seat 8 Talal Shakerchi 670,000

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FT PAYOUTS (EURO) 1st 1,075,500 2nd 676,100 3rd 399,500 4th 291,900 5th 215,100 6th 153,600 7th 138,300 8th 122,960 RELATED POSTS > SMITH TOPS APRIL > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA NEXT EPT EVENT EPT San Remo Festival San Remo, Italy October 3-11, 2012

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT EUROPEAN POKER TOUR EPT Barcelona 50K Super High Rollers August 17-19, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $61,605 | Prizepool: $3,786,190 Entries: 64 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st position 100 2nd position 60 3rd position 35 4th position 25 5th position 18 6th position 10 7th position 8 8th position 5

EPT BARCELONA: THE PLACE TO BE AS ESTRELLAS, SUPER HIGH ROLLERS DRAW BIG NUMBERS

By inserting the final tour stop of the Estrellas Poker Tour at the beginning of the EPT Barcelona Poker Festival, PokerStars were certainly hoping for a large field. But event the folks at PokerStars must be impressed by the massive 1,036 player field and the over 1M EURO prizepool - with 200K EURO to the winner - making it the largest poker tournament ever held in Spain!

A large number of poker pros have entered the ESPT Main Event with Italian player Lorenzo Sabato holding the chip lead following Day 2 play Friday.

Former EPT Champions Michael Eiler and Martin Finger as well as Canadian poker pro Jason Lavallee are three of the 49 players who survived Day 2 play as the money bubble burst six hours into Friday play.

TOP 15 CHIP COUNTS
Lorenzo Sabato 1,185,000
Samuel Bernabe Guilabert 1,018,000
Artur Alabart Urgelles 762,000
Andrey Demidov 741,000
Jason Lavallee 534,000
Antonio Luft 528,000
Mikel Diaz Allende 501,000
Rumen Nanev 498,500
Martin Clemmense 455,000
Carlos Lopez Salazar 454,000
Martin Finger 451,500
Vincente Zamorano 425,000
Michael Weiss 412,000
Miguel Mora Hernandez 411,500
Jonas Garstick 400,500


RE-BUY A GOOD MOVE FOR O'DWYER
2011 standout Steve O'Dwyer didn't have the WSOP everyone expected him to have this summer but he's hoping to make up for lost time as the EPT Barcelona Poker Festival rolls along with the 50K NLH Super High Rollers Event.

O'Dwyer was eliminated early during Day 1 play but thankfully, there were unlimited rebuys for the first day of play. O'Dwyer was one of three players to rebuy during Friday's opening day play - Jonathan Duhamel and Masa Kagawa were the other two with Duhamel being the only player to be ousted twice on Day 1.

Daniel Negreanu is another player who was eliminated during Day 1 play. Negreanu and any other player not currently in the field will have one last opportunity to rebuy before play starts on Day 2. All indications point towards Kid Poker re-entering the event Saturday.

The prize pool will be - at the very least - 1.8M EURO with the winner getting a nice pay check on Sunday once final table play is concluded.

TOP 15 CHIP COUNTS
Steve O'Dwyer 1,249,000
Erik Seidel 738,000
JC Alvarado 713,000
Ignat Liviu 656,000
Simon Ravnsbaek 640,000
Mike Watson 639,000
John Juanda 638,500
Dan Smith 585,000
Steven Silverman 580,000
Tobias Reinkemeier 565,000
Raffaele Gerbi 530,000
Jason Mercier 503,000
Ilari Sahamies 487,000
Vadzim Kursevich 477,000
Timothy Adams 442,000

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (EURO) 1st 200,000 2nd 122,500 3rd 76,500 4th 59,200 5th 44,200 6th 30,100 7th 22,000 8th 16,000 9th 12,500 10th 12,500 RELATED POSTS > O SO CLOSE, O'DWYER 2ND IN VENICE > KATCHALOV THIRD AT BARCELONA > LUNDMARK WINS BARCELONA NEXT ESPT EVENT Season 4 Events TBA

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT ESTRELLAS POKER TOUR ESPT Barcelona NLH Main Event August 15-19, 2012 Casino di Barcelona | Spain Buy-in: $1,355 | Prizepool: $1,238,160 Entries: 1,036 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st position 120 2nd position 80 3rd position 55 4th position 45 5th position 38 6th position 30 7th position 28 8-9th position 25

WPT PARX: GREGG OUTDUELS REYNOLDS; ENTERS QJ TOP 10

They were both supposed to be players to watch as the final table picture became clearer in Pennsylvania, and, in the end, Anthony Gregg (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 8th) and Stephen Reynolds (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 72nd) didn't fail to deliver, playing down to the final two in a fight for the finish.

Gregg is the one who was crowned WPT Champion and, in the process, collects his first-ever major tournament victory - a stat that may be surprising to many as Gregg is widely known in the poker community as one of the best players out there - so many fellow poker pros were ecstatic to hear that Gregg had finally won a big one.

Reynolds held his own, holding a major portion of the chips for awhile during heads up play but a crucial - all-in pre-flop - A-5 (Reynolds) vs. 99 (Gregg) hand in which Gregg's pocket pair held seemed to swing the momentum Tony's way.

Gregg also holds bragging rights on most poker pros as soon after collecting the big win, Olympic gold-medal legend Michael Phelps was quick to congratulate Gregg through his twitter feed - sick brag for sure!

No rest for the wicked over at the WPT as the tour makes it way near Los Angeles for the Legends of Poker - Main Event action starts later next week!

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (USD) Anthony Gregg $416,127 Stephen Reynolds $244,877 Chris Lee $158,450 Larry Sharp $108,034 Chris Vandeursen $76,824 Andre Nyffeler $61,619 Joey Couden $47,215 Joseph Wertz $33,611 Tommy Miller $24,008 Robert Pyne $18,406 RELATED POSTS > FT SET NEAR PHILLY > MARVIN WINS CYPRUS, #1 RANK > WERTZ WINS WPT REGIONAL > KARR DOMINATES PARX OPEN DEFENDING CHAMPION New Event on WPT Schedule NEXT WPT EVENT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Casino Near Los Angeles, CA August 24-29, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT WORLD POKER TOUR Parx Open Poker Classic NLH Main Event August 10-15, 2012 Parx Casino | Pennsylvania Buy-in: $3,500 | Prizepool: $1,212,694 Entries: 500 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION ANTHONY GREGG 130 STEPHEN REYNOLDS 80 CHRIS LEE 50 LARRY SHARP 40 CHRIS VANDEURSEN 35 ANDRE NYFFELER 30 JOEY COUDEN 30 JOSEPH WERTZ 15 TOMMY MILLER 15 ROBERT PYNE 15 ATHANASIOS POLYCHRONOPOULOS 15 ALAN KRAUT 13 VINNY PAHUJA 13 TIMOTHY CHANG 13 BRENT ROBERTS 13 KEVIN CALENZO 10

WPT PARX: FINAL TABLE SET NEAR PHILLY

One week after crowing Marvin Rettenmaier as its first ever back-to-back Champ, the next tour stop for the World Poker Tour has reached final table play.

Although Rettenmaier won't have the opportunity to make it three in three (Rettenmaier was eliminated early during tournament play), two well-known pros will start the day in the top 2 chip positions, hoping to take their first-ever WPT title.

Stephen Reynolds (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-349th) enjoyed (2) 11th place finishes during this summer's WSOP, he will start the day with the biggest stack of them all.

Anthony Gregg (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 132nd) will start the day in second place. Gregg has scored two major tournament Top 10 finishes this year - in the PCA Main Event and during the WSOP this summer.

2011 WSOP bracelet winner Chris Lee (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) enters final table play with third place chips.


FINAL TABLE SEAT ASSIGNMENTS/CHIP COUNTS:
Seat 1 - Stephen Reynolds 4,035,000
Seat 2 - Andre Nyffeler 895,000
Seat 3 - Chris Lee 3,040,000
Seat 4 - Tony Gregg 3,600,000
Seat 5 - Larry Sharp 870,000
Seat 6 - Chris Vandeursen 2,430,000

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (USD) 1st $416,127 2nd $244,877 3rd $158,450 4th $108,034 5th $76,824 6th $61,619 Joey Couden $47,215 Joseph Wertz $33,611 Tommy Miller $24,008 Robert Pyne $18,406 RELATED POSTS > MARVIN WINS CYPRUS, #1 RANK > WERTZ WINS WPT REGIONAL > KARR DOMINATES PARX OPEN DEFENDING CHAMPION New Event on WPT Schedule NEXT WPT EVENT Legends of Poker The Bicycle Casino Near Los Angeles, CA August 24-29, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT WORLD POKER TOUR Parx Open Poker Classic NLH Main Event August 10-15, 2012 Parx Casino | Pennsylvania Buy-in: $3,500 | Prizepool: $1,212,694 Entries: 500 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st place 130 2nd place 80 3rd place 50 4th place 40 5th place 35 6th place 30 JOEY COUDEN 30 JOSEPH WERTZ 15 TOMMY MILLER 15 ROBERT PYNE 15 ATHANASIOS POLYCHRONOPOULOS 15 ALAN KRAUT 13 VINNY PAHUJA 13 TIMOTHY CHANG 13 BRENT ROBERTS 13 KEVIN CALENZO 10

LAPT COLOMBIA: ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? QUALIFIER EARNS UPSET VICTORY

Ireland's Robbie Renehan (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-602nd) sure picked a good time to qualify online for a live poker tournament.

The relative newcomer to the circuit qualified through PokerStars to play in LAPT Colombia's Main Event over the weekend and pulled off the minor upset, turning a short stack into a victory, earning his first major live poker tournament.

Renehan's win seems even more surprising as it looked as if Spanish pro Raul Paez (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-998th) - who came into final table play as the big chip leader - was destined to earn his first LAPT title. But, it wasn't meant to be as Paez was eliminated in third position.

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (COL$) 1. Robbie Renehan 264,700,000 2. Jayr Fregona 200,000,000 3. Raul Paez 122,350,000 4. Weider José Gutiérrez 91,160,000 5. Cristian David Velasquez 69,930,000 6. Hernan Villa 54,940,000 7. Ruben Ospina 41,210,000 8. Luis Felipe Perez 31,220,000 9. Liam McMillan 24,040,000 10. Pedro Ramirez Rincon 20,600,000 RELATED POSTS > PAEZ LEADS COLOMBIA FT > RAMOS WINS LAPT URUGUAY > MENENDEZ MASTERS LAPT COLOMBIA > SCOTT WINS WSOP 3K PLO EVENT DEFENDING CHAMPION Julian Menendez 2012 PTPR Points: 0

PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT LATIN AMERICAN POKER TOUR LAPT Colombia Ntl' Championship NLH Main Event August 7-12, 2012 Casino Allegre | Colombia Buy-in: $2,340 | Prizepool: $696,785 Entries: 337 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION ROBBIE RENEHAN 35 JAYR FREGONA 18 RAUL PAEZ 10 WEIDER JOSE GUTIEREZ 8 CRISTIAN VELASQUEZ 5 NEXT LAPT EVENT LAPT Panama September 26-30, 2012

LAPT COLOMBIA: PAEZ LEADS AS FINAL TABLE SET FOR HIGH NOON

The Latin American Poker Tour has made its way to Colombia in order to crown its latest LAPT Champion as a Spaniard leads the final table charge.





Fresh off a Top 15 finish in WSOP Event #36 - 3K Pot-Limit Omaha, Raul Paez (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-1366th) is no stranger to the big stage. Paez finished third to Scotty Nguyen and Michael Mizrachi at the 2006 WPT Gold Strike World Poker Open and has several other final table performances all over Europe.

As the chip leader, Paez is in control of his own destiny, looking for his first LAPT title.

Cristian Velasquez (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: NR) - who enters final table play fourth in chips - finished third in the High Rollers event here at LAPT Colombia last season.

Although some have a few minor scores, none of the remaining final table participants have ever been in this type of spotlight, it will be interesting to see who will rise and who will fall as final table play is set to begin at Noon Colombia Time (COT).


FINAL TABLE SEAT ASSIGNMENTS/CHIP COUNTS:
Seat 1 Raul Paez 1,734,000
Seat 2 Hernan Villa 568,000
Seat 3 Robbie Renehan 561,000
Seat 4 Ruben Ospina 1,165,000
Seat 5 Weider Vanegas 1,152,000
Seat 6 Jayr Fregona 286,000
Seat 7 Luis Herrera 549,000
Seat 8 Cristian Velasquez 672,000

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (COL$) 1st 284,700,000 2nd 180,000,000 3rd 122,350,000 4th 91,160,000 5th 69,930,000 6th 54,940,000 7th 41,210,000 8th 31,220,000 9th Liam McMillan 24,040,000 10th Pedro Ramirez Rincon 20,600,000 RELATED POSTS > RAMOS WINS LAPT URUGUAY > MENENDEZ MASTERS LAPT COLOMBIA > SCOTT WINS WSOP 3K PLO EVENT DEFENDING CHAMPION Julian Menendez 2012 PTPR Points: 0

PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT LATIN AMERICAN POKER TOUR LAPT Colombia Ntl' Championship NLH Main Event August 7-12, 2012 Casino Allegre | Colombia Buy-in: $2,340 | Prizepool: $696,785 Entries: 337 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st place 35 2nd place 18 3rd place 10 4th place 8 5th place 5 NEXT LAPT EVENT LAPT Panama September 26-30, 2012

WPT CYPRUS: STARK RAVING MAD - RETTENMAIER TAKES CYPRUS, #1 OVERALL RANK

PHOTO: WORLD POKER TOUR

Make it back to back WPT title for "Mad" Marvin Rettenmaier. After winning the WPT World Championship days before the start of the 2012 WSOP, Rettenmaier followed that up with a victory at the kickoff event of the 2012-13 WPT season, the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic.



Not only does Rettenmaier win his second straight WPT title, he jumps two spots to #1 Overall on the 2012 QuadJacks Player of the Year Leaderboard - powered by PTPRPoker.

Rettenmaier earns his sixth PTPR Score of 2012 having scored points at the Aussie Millions, EPT Berlin, EPT Grand Final, WPT Championship, WSOP and WPT Merit so far this season.

Mad Marvin finished 2011 ranked #21 overall with 252 PTPR Points, earning the most PTPR Scores with nine.


Erik Cajelais also made major strides on the QJ Leaderboard, his seventh place finish allowed him to jump over 20 spots into the Top 20 at #19 overall for 2012.


Ran Azor, Walid Bou Habib, former WPT Champ Sam El Sayed, Robert Mizrachi and defending GSOP Grand Final Champ Andrey Shatilov all collected points in the event.

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TOP 15 PAYOUTS (USD) Marvin Rettenmaier $287,784 Artur Voskanyan $184,020 Ran Azor $118,360 Victor Parashiv $87,610 Joseph El Khoury $65,770 Kiryl Radzivonau $52,590 Erik Cajelais $43,690 Walid Bou Habib $35,020 Gilboa Yossi $26,240 Kemal Sevevi $19,110 Sam El Sayed $19,110 Eddy Maksoud $19,110 Husnu Sincar $15,670 Aram Vartevanyan $15,670 Robert Mizrachi $15,670 RELATED POSTS > MAD MARVIN WINS WPT CHAMPIONSHIP > RETTENMAIER EARNS MOST PTPR SCORES DEFENDING CHAMPION First-Time Event NEXT WPT EVENT WPT Parx Open Poker Classic August 10-15, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT WORLD POKER TOUR WPT Merit Cyprus Classic NLH Main Event August 4-9, 2012 Merit Crystal Cove | Cyprus Buy-in: $4,400 | Prizepool: $1,212,694 Entries: 329 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION MARVIN RETTENMAIER 128 ARTUR VOSKANYAN 78 RAN AZOR 48 VICTOR PARASHIV 38 JOSEPH EL KHOURY 33 KIRYL RADZIVOUNAU 28 ERIK CAJELAIS 28 WALID BOU HABIB 13 GILBOA YOSSI 13 KEMAL SEVEVI 13 SAM EL SAYED 13 EDDY MAKSOUD 11 HUNSU SINCAR 11 ARAM VARTEVANYAN 11 ROBERT MIZRACHI 11 ANDREY SHATILOV 8 TOLGA DEMIREL 8 JULIEN EHRHARDT 8

KESTER SCORES AGAIN: GALEN KESTER WINS WORLD POKER OPEN

Galen Kester (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-319th) has collected his third PTPR Score of the 2012 season.

After a couple of scores at the World Series of Poker, Kester has added a victory to his 2012 resume, winning the World Poker Open at the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.



Kester now has 67 PTPR Points on the season.

Former November Niner John Dolan (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-319th) finished 8th in the event, outside of PTPR Points collection however.

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (USD) Galen Kester $165,000 Brad Peeples $91,000 Mike Postle $50,000 Jessie Bryant $40,000 Johnny Landreth $30,000 Mark Herm $25,000 Timothy Stull $20,000 John Dolan $15,000 Glen Biddle $10,000 Marlin Drake $7,000 RELATED POSTS > DIAZ WINS WPO DEFENDING CHAMPION David Diaz 2012 Rank: NR

PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT WORLD POKER OPEN NLH Main Event August 3-6, 2012 Gold Strike Casino | Mississippi Buy-in: $3,000 | Prizepool: $500,000 Entries: 158 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION GALEN KESTER 35 BRAD PEEPLES 18 MIKE POSTLE 10 JESSIE BRYANT 8 JOHNNY LANDRETH 5

TO THE MAXX: DANSKY WINS CARD PLAYER CHOCTAW

The Card Player Poker Tour made its way to the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma over the weekend.

Maxx Dansky was the eventual winner as 800 players registered for the event, creating a total prizepool of 760K!

Dansky defeated Miguel Hernandez heads-up.

Poker legend T.J. Cloutier was ousted in 16th position. The six-time WSOP bracelet winner collected over 7K for his efforts.

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TOP 10 PAYOUTS (USD) Maxx Dansky $152,008 Miguel Hernandez $93,708 Michael Newport $69,084 Carlos Valdivieso $51,490 Keith Carter $38,889 Jason Brewer $29,754 Travis Riffle $23,051 Ricky Green $18,080 Tana Karnchanakphan $14,356 Gary Luther $11,537

PTPR CHALLENGER EVENT CARD PLAYER POKER TOUR CPPT Choctaw NLH Main Event August 3-6, 2012 Choctaw Casino Resort | Oklahoma Buy-in: $1,080 | Prizepool: $760,000 Entries: 800 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION MAXX DANSKY 35 MIGUEL HERNANDEZ 18 MICHAEL NEWPORT 10 CARLOS VALDIVIESO 8 KEITH CARTER 5

2012 FSPC: FLORIDA CONTINUES TO PROVE IT'S A HOTBED FOR POKER

PHOTO: THE ISLE

Brandon Barnes (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-146th) won over 212K USD by winning the Main Event, but it's the overall success of the Florida State Poker Championship that has the State of Florida once again proving that it is indeed on the hotbeds of poker.

Although the leaderboard was dominated by Florida residents, it's Barnes, a Michigan native, who picked up the Main Event top prize. Barnes earned a second place finish at Heartland Michigan this past November. Barnes had collected over 117K USD for that second place finish.

Barnes defeated veteran pro Adam Levy (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: T-319th) heads-up.

Meanwhile Hans Winzeler (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 72nd) collected his third PTPR Score of 2012, crossing the 100-point mark.

WPT Seminole Hard Rock Champion Tommy Vedes (2012 QJ/PTPR Rank: 10th) earned his fourth PTPR Score of the season - Vedes climbs back into the 2012 QuadJacks Poker Player of the Year Top 10 Leaderboard - powered by PTPRPoker.

Darryll Fish, Micah Raskin and Norm Zapczynski are other notables who earned PTPR Points in the event.


Other FSPC highlights included:

EVENT #5
A total of 1,187 entries in the 250K Guaranteed event as Hagai Stein won 30K for his efforts - not bad of a $500 buy-in!

EVENT #13
Joseph Urgo won the $1,600 buy-in bounty event, defeating 120 opponents. Adam Levy - who finished second in the Main Event - was sixth in this event.

EVENT #14
Over 34K to Barry Hutter for winning the Six-Max event. Eventual Main Event winner Brandon Barnes was third in this event.

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MAIN EVENT TOP 10 (USD) Brandon Barnes $212,500 Adam Levy $187,000 Hans Winzler $151,000 Tommy Vedes $94,340 Stuart Paterson $58,750 Darryll Fish $44,650 Micah Raskin $34,780 Norman Zapczynski $25,850 Jacob Schindler $18,330 Richard Zipes $14,570 RELATED POSTS > DRININ TAKES DOWN FSPC > WEST SOARS TO HPT TITLE DEFENDING CHAMPION Connor Drinin 2012 Rank: NR

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT FLORIDA STATE POKER CHAMPIONSHIP NLH Main Event July 27-30, 2012 The Isle Casino | Florida Buy-in: $5,300 | Prizepool: $940,000 Entries: 188 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION BRANDON BARNES 101 ADAM LEVY 61 HANS WINZELER 36 TOMMY VEDES 26 STUART PATERSON 19 DARRYLL FISH 11 MICAH RASKIN 9 NORM ZAPCZYNSKI 6 JAKE SCHINDLER 6