Tom Middleton Leads for Final of EPT10 Barcelona Main Event

British online pro Tom Middleton is chip leader for the third night running – this time for the final of the €5,300 EPT Barcelona Main Event. A record field of 1,234 players has been whittled down to eight who will be fighting it out for a massive first prize of €1,067,000. All are guaranteed at least €102,430 – only Middleton and fellow finalist Kimmo Kurko have ever cashed for more in a live event.

Middleton – known as Middy to his friends (who include Team PokerStars Pro Jake Cody et al) - is a high-stakes online player with the screen name “hitthehole”. The 26-year-old from Leeds has a string of great online tourney results achieved on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker as well as live tournament winnings totalling nearly $1 million.

The finalists also include Pasi Sormunen from Finland, Danish player Kresten “The Killer” Nielsen, aiming for his first live cash, and former estate agent Luca Fiorini, who qualified on PokerStars.it. The other finalists are recreational player Eduard Bhaggoe from Holland, Andreas Christoforou from Cyprus and PokerStars.fr’s “TV Star” Benoit Gury. Spain lost its chance of a first EPT title when Alejandro Perez from the Canary Islands was eliminated on the final table bubble by Gury.

1, Andreas Christoforou, Cyprus, PokerStars Player 2,560,000 
2, Kimmo Kurko, Finland 2,265,000 
3, Pasi Sormunen, Finland 3,070,000 
4, Tom Middleton, UK, PokerStars Qualifier 9,850,000 
5, Eduard Bhaggoe, Netherlands, 1,615,000 
6, Luca Fiorini, Italy, PokerStars Qualifier 4,610,000 
7, Kresten Nielsen, Denmark, PokerStars Qualifier 7,300,000 
8, Benoit Gury, France, PokerStars Player 5,610,000

The EPT 10 Barcelona Main Event attracted a record 1,234 players from 64 countries, generating a €5,984,900 prize pool. The winner will take home €1,067,000 as well as a trophy and stunning watch from luxury Swiss brand Slyde, the Official Watch Sponsor for EPT Season 10 Main Events and High Roller Events. 104 players have already cashed including Alex Stevic, the first EPT champion who finished 86th for €12,700, as well as Team PokerStars Pros Christophe De Meuilder, Victor Ramdin, Leo Fernandez and Toni Judet.

Source: www.pokerstars.com