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Eleven years after capturing his first EPT Barcelona Main Event crown, John Juanda is making a strong push toward a second. The Indonesian pro, inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2015, has advanced to Day 5 of this year’s €5,300 buy-in event with 28 players remaining.
Juanda’s 2015 title came with a €1,022,593 payday after a three-way deal, a result that ranks as the fourth-largest score of his career according to the Hendon Mob. A repeat win this year, worth €1,370,050, would actually push that 2015 result down to fifth on his all-time list.
Entering Day 4 in 24th place among 67 remaining players, Juanda built on his stack and finished the day 13th out of 28. A key moment came when he eliminated Oleh Pritsak with pocket kings, though he later gave back chips after losing a flip with jacks against Albert Grane’s ace-queen.
Juanda isn’t the only past Barcelona champion still alive in the field. Sebastian Malec, who won the title in 2016 at just 21 years old, sits close behind him in 17th place. Malec, now fifth on Poland’s all-time money list, also made a deep run in last year’s EPT Monte Carlo Main Event.
Heading into Day 5, the chip lead belongs to Spanish online qualifier Jose Criado, alongside fellow Spaniard Gerard Carbo and Dutch pro Joris Ruijs.
PokerNews continues to provide live coverage of the EPT Barcelona Main Event throughout the festival.
