The biggest pot of the night ended with a call, not a shove. Matas Cimbolas fired a massive river check-raise as a bluff, and Italy's Manuel Ferrari tanked, called with second pair and was right. That hero call pushed him past ten million chips and made him the clear leader of the EPT Barcelona Main Event, now down to 13 players from 1,823 entries. Everyone left has locked up €81,350; the champion, crowned Saturday, takes €1,370,050.
The facts: Ferrari leads, Akemi carries Brazil
Ferrari bagged 10,625,000 (106 big blinds), the only eight-figure stack in the room. Behind him sit the two Spaniards who ran the previous day: online qualifier Jose Criado with 8,950,000 and Gerard Carbo with 8,325,000.
Seventh in chips is Brazil's Barbara Akemi with 3,300,000 — 33 big blinds, the only woman left in the field and, after the exits of Fabricio Nociolini, Vinicius Goncalves and Eduardo Kalil, the last Brazilian too. Hers is already the deepest EPT Main Event run by a Brazilian woman.
The day also claimed two legends. Sebastian Malec, the 2016 champion here, busted in 21st when his river check-jam with blockers ran into Cimbolas' trips. John Juanda, the 2015 champion and Poker Hall of Famer, fell in 15th for €67,800 when his suited Broadway cards couldn't outrun Criado's pocket fives. That leaves Nicolas Chouity, on 20 big blinds, as the only former EPT Main Event champion still in contention.
Play resumes at noon on Level 29 (blinds 50,000/100,000) and continues until six remain.
Why it matters: 33 big blinds with the final table in sight
With 13 players and payouts jumping from €81,350 to €1.37 million, this is pure ICM territory: every chip you risk is worth less than every chip you win. Akemi's stack is the textbook middle spot — too short to bully like Ferrari, too deep for push-or-fold. The correct game is surgical: tighten opening ranges, pick spots with genuine fold equity, and let the seven and twelve big blind stacks break first.
Ferrari's final hand carries the other lesson. Calling a river check-raise with second pair isn't bravery — it's hand reading. He replayed the story Cimbolas was telling, found the inconsistency, and paid it off. That process is trainable, and it's exactly what separates a well-read bluff catch from a stubborn call.
The close
Tonight we'll know whether Akemi turns 33 big blinds into a final table seat or Ferrari finishes what that call started. Your homework: review the last river check-raise you called. Did you have a story, or just hope?
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