by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Mar 17, 2012 | Updated on Mar 17, 2012
There’s only one local Spaniard still in the hunt at the European Poker Tour Madrid Main Event, but he has a great shot at taking down a major title on Saturday. Ricardo Ibanez may be the only player from Spain alive at the final table, but he’s also the chip leader, having over 3.2 million chips heading into the last stage of EPT Madrid.If you haven’t heard of Ricardo Ibanez, you’re not alone. The amateur player doesn’t have a single cash in the Hendon Mob database, but that doesn’t matter at this point, as he holds a lead of more than 800,000 chips over his nearest competitor.A couple of Ibanez’s toughest opponents were eliminated on Day 4 before the final table was reached. Mike McDonald was the last former EPT champion remaining in the field, and was hoping for a shot at becoming the first ever player to win a second EPT title. But he came up just short of the final table when his pocket tens lost a coin flip against Andrei Stoenescu, who currently sits in 4th position with just under 2 million chips.Another player to watch heading into Friday was Joao Paulo Simao, who was the chip leader with just 24 players remaining. However, Simao’s aggressive play came back to haunt him, as he eventually bluffed a few times too many and found himself eliminated in 15th place.While a few players at the final table have certainly had success in major tournaments before (including Frederik Jensen and Ilan Boujenah), the biggest name left is likely that of Nicolas Levi. The French pro has never won a major tournament, but has reached final tables at major events. However, Levi is on the short stack, so he’ll have a tough time winning his first major on Saturday.Final table play begins at noon local time on Saturday, and can be watched live on PokerStars.tv. The winner of EPT Madrid will win a prize of €545,000. 5qc1l
