Sriharsha Eyes Historic Win at EPT Barcelona Main Event: Can He Be India’s First Champion?

In what could be a monumental moment for Indian poker, Sriharsha Doddapaneni is on the brink of making history at the prestigious €5,300 European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event. With just 16 players remaining from a massive field of 1,975 entries, Doddapaneni is close to becoming the first-ever Indian to capture one of poker’s most coveted titles. He is sitting pretty with the eighth largest stack of 3,210,000 chips among the 16 players heading into Day 6.

Riding high on his 2024 WSOP success and last year’s WPT Vietnam Megastack High Roller win, Doddapaneni has been in stellar form and is now well on his way to making history.  

A Rollercoaster Day 5 For Sriharsha Doddapaneni

Starting Day 5 with the fifth largest stack of 2,730,000 chips, Doddapaneni had his fair share of ups and downs throughout the day. After losing some of his chips in the last few levels, he battled against Daniel Myers in the second last level of the day and went on to win the coveted pot to push his stack past the 3 million mark. Since poker is never a straight path, his stack then dipped to 2.5 million after he lost a key hand to Marius-Catalin Pertea. However, as the day progressed, Sriharsha displayed grit and resilience, fighting back to grow his stack and finally end the day with the eighth largest stack with 3,210,000 chips among the day’s survivors. 

With just 16 remaining, Doddapaneni is eyeing the massive €1.512 million top prize and the chance to etch his name into EPT history. No Indian in EPT’s 20 years history has ever won this prestigious event, and with a strong position going into Day 6, the dream for India is closer than ever.

 The Race to the Final Table: Nasreddine Leads the Pack

While Doddapaneni’s journey is inspiring, the biggest story of the main event captivating the poker world is the USA’s Rania Nasreddine’s meteoric rise in this tournament. As the only female among the final 16, Nasreddine leads the way with 7,200,000 chips. She recently finished third at the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event and is determined to seal the deal this time.

Starting Day 5 tenth in chips, Nasreddine kicked off the day with a bang and eliminated Piero Alioto when her pocket jacks crushed the pocket nines of the Italian player. She then eliminated the UK’s Jack Sinclair (26th) and Greece’s Panagiotis Mavritsakis (24th) whose two pairs fell short to a bigger two pair of the American player. With 90 big blinds in her arsenal, Nasreddine enters Day 6 as the one to watch.

Close behind Nasreddine is Stephen Song who started Day 5 as the chip leader ended the day with the second-biggest stack of 6,725,000. Despite losing some chips in early going, he won a massive hand when his pocket aces crushing the pocket kings of Timothy Chung, which sent the Canadian to the rail in 34th place. He held the chip lead for a majority of the day and relinquished it to Nasreddine in the final stages.

Other big stacks for Day 6 include Boris Kuzmanovic (6,565,000), Fabiano Kovalski (5,550,0000), and China’s Jianwei Lin (5,500,000).  With several seasoned pros in the mix, Day 6 promises high-stakes drama as these heavyweights battle it out for a spot at the final table.

 What’s Next?

Day 6 will begin at 12 p.m. on today (September 7 at Level 28 — 40,000/80,000), with an 80,000 big blind ante. Each of the remaining 16 players have already locked up a payday of at least €62,150, but all eyes will be on the top prize of €1,512,000. The plan for Day 6 is to play until just six players remain, with the final six then returning on September 8, to play down to a winner.

For Sriharsha Doddapaneni and his admirers back home in India, the dream of a historic victory is tantalizingly close. Can he win India its First-Ever Main Event Title? Let us wait and watch!

End of Day 5 – Top Ten Chip Counts

Source: PokerNews/PokerStars