Raul Pinto called Patrick Lebahr's bet of 2,325 on a flop of to bump a pot from worth winning to chunky. On the turn of , Lebahr was at it again, making it 6,425 and getting another call. The river of saw Lebahr move all-in and he got an instant call.
Lebahr turned over but he was crushed by Pinto's pocket kings of . While Lebahr drops below starting stack, Pinto rockets up to a top ten stack after 96 entries so far have left us with 91 players still in their seats.
So far, with Day 1a approaching its halfway stage, Javier Martinez has made the most early running, and in a very quiet manner. We've hardly seen him involved in many big showdowns, but the Spanish player is the nearest to cracking the six-figure stack mid-way through Level 5.
A reminder that the hour-long dinner break takes place after Level 6, with play expected to conclude in the room at around 3.30am local time.
Jeroen Aarts open the action from first position to 800 and was called in the next seat by Ange Besnainou and in the big blind by Jani Haarala. The flop of saw Aarts continue for 1,500, and Besnainou again made the call. But Jani Haarala made it 6,000 and eventually he got two folds.
"Happy?" Aarts asked his table neighbour.
Jan Haarala simply shrugged and piled up some valuable additional chips, although Jeroen Aarts maintains a strong lead over the rest of his table.
Sally Stephens has busted here on Day 1a of the Main Event, part of the 888Live Festival. Stephens was down to around 17,500 and moved all-in pre-flop over an opening bet with . She got a call from a player with and although the flop came seven-high, an ace on the turn and river saw her exit.
Stephens, who busted the High Roller yesterday, has the option of re-entry right up until the first deal on Day 2, along with everyone else here in the Catalan casino paradise of Barcelona.
Holger Zahn moved all-in pre-flop for 14,450 and was called only by the initial raiser in the hand, Balazs Somodi, who held slightly more.
Balazs Somodi:
Holger Zahn:
Zahn needed a lot of help, and didn't receive any of it across a board showing . He was out of the door, while Somodi has almost doubled, and hops above starting stack once again.
Also at the table is Evgeni Cherniak, who is second in chips overall with a massive stack of 84,000.
On a board showing , a river bet of 3,500 from Robert Escribano was paid off by Gheorghe Podovei. When Escribano turned over it was good enough to win the hand and Podovei's shown along with a wink and a smile confirmed that the river card cost him that call.
Darius Jedrzejczyk bet 3700 on the river of a board showing and he was called, turning over to rake in a valuable pot of around 15,000 chips. With the average in the room now up to 42,000, he needed a boost and his jacks were good enough to send him over starting stack.
Sally Stephens has re-entered following the dinner break. Late registration is open until the first hand of Day 2, so there is plenty of time with Day 1 flights both today and on Saturday to come. With 102 entries, Day 1a has chipped away at the 500 entries needed to smash the €500,000 guarantee.