The Main Event at 888poker LIVE Barcelona concluded late last night and the trophy is staying in Spain after Josep Valls scooped €61,550 and the silverware after a four-way ICM deal punctuated a tough final table battle.
The €888 buy-in event at Casino Barcelona attracted 476 entries over three starting flights, with a prizepool of €369,450 to be shared by the top 60 finishers.
Maria Lampropoulos, fresh from taking down the 888poker LIVE €2k High Roller for €22,000, was one big name who failed to make the money. Ian Simpson also fell short, but his fellow 888poker ambassadors Lucia Navarro and Vivian Saliba crept into the paid spots.
There was a distinct Spanish feel to the final nine, with six homeland hopefuls in the mix along with one each from the USA, Romania, and France.
The final table saw six Spanish players battling to keep the trophy at homeScott Fritz, the US player, had to settle for seventh after losing a race to Giulio Morgo, while Jose Massa ran into the kings of Day 2 chip leader Valls to fall in sixth.
When Morgo then hit the rail courtesy of Jose Criado, the remaining four decided discretion was the better part of valor and talked numbers.
The ICM chop saw them set aside €17,700 for the winner and lessened the blow of variance, with all four players now guaranteed their biggest poker paydays.
A deal always does wonders for breaking a deadlock, and Leo Jubien busted on the first hand after the handshakes. He was out-kicked by Valls, who then dismissed Gonzalo Mencia with another dominant hand, leaving him heads-up with Criado for the title.
That turned into a fascinating affair, with little to choose between the pair, until, that is, Criado shoved his button and Valls – with less than one small blind more in chips – found enough of a hand to call.
Valls: 
Criado: 
Flop: 
Turn: 
River: 
Criado's flopped gutshot turnd into an open-ended draw on the turn to keep him sweating, but the river bricked and Valls celebrated.
888poker LIVE Barcelona results
| Place | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Josep Valls | €61,550 |
| 2nd | Jose Criado | €41,985 |
| 3rd | Gonzalo Mencia | €37,895 |
| 4th | Leo Jubien | €35,570 |
| 5th | Guillem Morgo | €15,000 |
| 6th | Jose Massa | €10,800 |
| 7th | Scott Fritz | €8,550 |
| 8th | Fernando Marco | €6,900 |
| 9th | Daguang Lin | €5,500 |
You can watch the final day of the Main Event play out with commentary from David Tuchman and Nick Wealthall below.
