True, a single hand can change the entire trajectory of a poker tournament, and Rania Nasreddine’s epic hero call in the last level on Day 4 of the Poker Stars 2024 EPT Barcelona Main Event is one such moment.
Fresh off from her EPT Monte Carlo Main Event final table, Nasreddine was on the verge of elimination. After running her queens into Lin’s aces, her stack dipped to over 200k, leaving her in a precarious position. But she flopped a set of nines to double off Pablo Beltran and then hero-called Chung with the second pair to double up again, securing her spot among the top 10 stacks to end Day 4.
As mentioned, this had occurred during the final level of Day 4. With blinds at 10,000/25,000 (25,000 ante), Timothy Chung, seated in the hijack, raised to 50,000. Nasreddine defended her big blind.
The flop came down K♥ 6♥ 9♠ and saw Chung fire a hefty bet of 105,000. Nasreddine, holding second pair with her 10♦9♦, had a tough decision to make. Folding would keep her tournament life intact but leave her stack severely crippled. Considering that her hand could be good, despite the high card on the flop, she decided to call.
The 4♠ landed on the turn and Chung’s aggression intensified. This time, he fired a bigger bet of 300,000, continuing to apply pressure. Despite not hitting anything on the turn, Nasreddine called once again, perhaps thinking that Chung might be over-representing his holding. The river delivered the 2♣, and Chung moved all-in for over 585,000, putting Nasreddine’s tournament life on the line.
With everything at stake, Nasreddine went into the tank, contemplating the toughest call of the ongoing tournament. Could her second pair really be good against Chung’s aggressive line? After a tense moment, she made the call, showing 10♦9♦. Chung turned over J♦6♦ for the third pair, sixes.
Nasreddine’s hero call on the river not only kept her alive but also catapulted her stack to over 2,000,000, placing her among the top 10 chip stack among 40 survivors by the end of the day.
With newfound momentum, Nasreddine started Day 5 with a bang, eliminating Piero Alioto when her pocket jacks dominated his pocket nines. She followed that up by busting UK’s Jack Sinclair place and Greece’s Panagiotis Mavritsakis, ultimately ending the day as chip leader among the final 16 players.
Currently, Day 6 of the 2024 EPT Barcelona Main Event is underway. At the time of writing, only 14 players remain in the tournament, and Nasreddine holds the second-largest stack. While each of the remaining 14 is guaranteed at least €74,600, all eyes are on the first-place prize of €1,512,000. Could Rania Nasreddine go all the way to clinch her first-ever EPT Main Event title? Given her ongoing form and momentum, she is certainly a favorite to watch. We wish her all the best for the main event!
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Images & Hand Credit: PokerNews/PokerStars/EPT
