EPT Barcelona 2023 coverage archive
All you need to know about EPT Barcelona 2023
Table of Contents
EPT Barcelona ran from August 21 – September 3, 2023.
TODAY’S ACTION
SIMON WICIAK TURNS THREE-DAY CHIP LEAD INTO EPT BARCELONA MAIN EVENT TITLE
Simon Wiciak is the EPT Barcelona Main Event champion, defeating a 2,120-strong field to win €1,134,375 following a three-way deal.
Wiciak becomes the first Frenchman since 2018 to claim an EPT title, overcoming a spirited performance from two Brazilians in particular…
Here’s a full recap from the Main Event.
THE 3 HANDS THAT LED SIMON WICIAK TO THE EPT BARCELONA TITLE
Simon Wiciak dominated at EPT Barcelona, chip-leading for days before capturing the title.
Here are three final table hands that led him to glory.
€10,000 EPT HIGH ROLLER – DAY 3
Entries: 475 | Prize pool: €4,607,500 | First prize: €910,400
Live updates on Poker News
All tournaments come to an end today, and that means we’ll be crowing a High Roller champ too. Just 40 players remain led by Romania’s Vlad Darie, while EPT Paris winner Razvan Belea bagged a top-five stack.
THE NAPT IS BACK!
In non-EPT Barcelona-related news, this week it was announced that the North America Poker Tour (NAPT) is back!
The first stop is in Las Vegas in November 2023. Here are all the details.
QUALIFIER PROFILES
Meet some of the players at the EPT Barcelona festival who have qualified for the event online, invariably paying a lot less than the €5K buy-in for their chance of glory.
Marcin Kacprzak was a €5 satellite winner
Marcin Kacprzak turns €5 into €23,650
He might have been dreaming even bigger, but who wouldn’t want to return from their first EPT with a €23,650 score — which started with a €5 satellite on PokerStars.
The irrepressible Lucas Scafini goes again!
A year ago in Monte Carlo, Lucas Scafini won the FPS Main Event and was joined in his winner’s photo by none other than Neymar Jr. Now Scafini is back, preparing to make more waves (and celebrity friends).
Paul Jurcuta: A golden run with a Power Pass
There were plenty of players in Barcelona this week who had qualified via the PokerStars Power Path. But none is better positioned to turn it into huge riches than Romania’s Paul Jurcuta.
Antoine Stackowiak: The two-time Sunday Million winner in 2023
A Sunday Million win is the pinnacle of most poker careers, but France’s Antoine Stackowiak has won it twice…in 2023 alone. Now he’s looking for a breakthrough result on the live felt.
Matheus de Sousa: From the Mini EPT Online to the real thing
Here’s the story of how the online $5.50 Mini EPT Monte Carlo Main Event brought Matheus de Sousa from Brazil to Barcelona, and saw him play against his hero.
Andy and Jenny Steele: The Power Path power couple
There’s no such thing as empty-nest syndrome for Irish couple Andy and Jenny Steele. They Power Pathed their way to EPT Barcelona and hope it’s the first of many more poker vacations.
Felix Van Beuningen: A rare double qualifier
For Felix Van Beuningen, the thought of a trip to Barcelona was so attractive, he qualified for both the EPT and ESPT on PokerStars.
Salim El Mamouni: A GP on the EPT
Read how personal tragedy fired this French doctor to even greater success.
Liem Huynh: From judo pro to poker pro
Soccer players, tennis players, golfers and even chess grandmasters have all played on the EPT. And in the form of Liem Huynh, we also have a former judo pro.
Magnus Persson: Third time lucky
After two previous attempts at the EPT Barcelona Main Event, Magnus Persson is now here as a PokerStars qualifier.
Manuel Alonso: How a baptism — and €2 — brought him to Barcelona
It’s a crazy story involving a newborn baby, a distant godmother and a €2 online poker spin-up.
Alexandru-Cristian Stoian: A 17-year mission
He had dreamed for almost all his life of one day crossing swords with poker’s elite on the EPT. And then he did it without even knowing.
Fulvio Ferrero and Raffaele Bellapianta: Two Italians living the dream
PokerStars qualifiers come from all walks of life, and here’s the story of two Italians from humble origins hoping to strike the big time at EPT Barcelona
LATEST CONTENT
MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE PLAYER PROFILES
Six players have battled through a mammoth EPT Main Event field all the way to the final table.
Learn more about them in our player profiles
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR TOBY STONE ON TIME BANK CARDS AND STALLING
The EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone opens up about the thorny issue of time banks and stalling.
Find out what’s being done about it here.
WHY NOT CASHING YOUR FIRST BIG LIVE POKER TOURNAMENT ISN’T THE END, BUT THE BEGINNING
Cashing in your first big live poker tournament should only be the icing on the cake. It’s the experience and memories you make that count.
Here’s why not cashing isn’t the end, but the beginning…
EXPLORING THE CREATIVE SIDE AT SIP & PAINT
Why were a load of poker players and their friends wandering around Barcelona with art under their arms and paint on their faces?
Discover the joys of Sip & Paint.
SALUT FROM THE LLOPART VINEYARD TOUR AND TASTING
“Do you know much about wine?”
“Well, I know I like to drink it.”
We take a vineyard tour in the beautiful Catalonian mountains, one of the fantastic free activities for players and guests at EPT Barcelona.
Pour yourself a glass then read all about it.
GREAT DISCOUNTS AND FREE GIFTS AT THE POP-UP STORE!
Grab yourself a bargain at the pop-up store
As a way of celebrating the EPT Barcelona festival, all online customers get 10% off the full range of PokerStars merchandise, while players at Casino Barcelona can also get a roll of exclusive chips when they spend €30 or more.
Read full details about these terrific offers.
WILL THOMAS BOIVIN GIVE ‘THE SHIRT’ ITS EPT DEBUT?
For several years, top Belgian poker players have been wearing a particular shirt to major final tables. As Thomas Boivin goes deep, can it finally make an appearance on the EPT?
Time to find out some more about this magic garment
WHY AN EXTRA DAY MEANS A SHORTER MAIN EVENT
Keen observers will have noticed that the EPT Barcelona Main Event this year is taking a bit longer than usual. That’s not because of stalling or thunder storms or anything like that, it’s a matter of careful design.
Tournament organisers have added an extra day. This year’s Main Event will wrap on Day 7 instead of the usual Day 6.
Let’s unravel the scheduling miracle that is the EPT Barcelona Main Event.
AKKARI MAKING HIS MARK ON BARCELONA YET AGAIN
He earned his first European cash here in 2006, and has been in-the-money at least once every year for a decade.
Here’s a look at Andre Akkari’s incredible EPT Barcelona record.
JUAN MACEIRAS GOES FROM WSOP FINAL TABLE TO EPT BUBBLE
The bubble scrum in Barcelona
A big main event on the European Poker Tour (EPT) means a big bubble. And here in Barcelona, where the field is the second largest ever assembled for a PokerStars tournament of this buy-in, the bubble was always going to be a whopper.
And we were treated to some drama right out of the blocks…
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at this epic bubble.
RATMAN RETURNS! COHEN LANDS TITLE IN BIGGEST EVENT EVER
Lucien Cohen
It was the largest turnout of any PokerStars live event in history, and it was won by one of the game’s biggest personalities.
Lucien Cohen, the former champion of EPT Deauville, laughed and taunted his way through the enormous field to land a €676,230 payday.
Read more about the Ratman’s sensational win.
KAYHAN MOKRI WINS SUPER HIGH ROLLER
Kayhan Mokri: Champion
Kayhan Mokri’s rapid rise through the poker ranks hit a new high point late on Sunday night when the 29 year old from Oslo, Norway, claimed the title in the €100,000 Super High Roller event at EPT Barcelona. Mokri banked €750,960 after converting a huge start-of-day chip lead into the win.
It was not quite plain sailing, however. Mokri maintained that lead for long periods, but yielded it to the volatile Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel when play was three-handed. Mokri had to dig deep to overhaul Thorel heads up and claim a first career title, ending a string of near misses.
Here’s the full recap of the €100K Super High Roller.
EPT BARCELONA 2023 SCHEDULE
RESULTS SO FAR
With 63 events on the official schedule and more side events being added as the festival progresses, we’ll have plenty of results to bring you.
You’ll find them all at the link below, and we’ll be updating them as they flood in.
STREAMING SCHEDULE
Here’s the live stream schedule for the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels:
Sunday September 3
13:00 CEST: €5K MAIN EVENT – FINAL TABLE
ABOUT EPT BARCELONA 2023
Think about it.
The 2022 edition of the European Poker Tour (EPT) stop in Barcelona was the biggest Main Event in the 19-year history of the world’s richest poker tour.
We’re in the midst of a live poker boom producing massive turnouts around the world.
AND it’s going to be August. Summertime. In Barcelona.
All of this leads us to safely conclude:
EPT Barcelona 2023 is going to be absolutely nuts.
So get these dates in your diary ASAP: August 21 – September 3, 2023.
The festival – which begins with the Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) before moving seamlessly into the EPT – takes place at the Casino Barcelona, a stone’s throw from the gorgeous beach.
Join us there, won’t you?
PREVIOUS WINNERS
2004 – Alexander Stevic (Sweden) – €80,000 (RECAP)
2005 – Jan Boubli (France) – €426,000
2006 – Bjørn-Erik Glenne (Norway) – €691,000
2007 – Sander Lylloff (Denmark) – €1,170,700
2008 – Sebastian Ruthenberg (Germany) – €1,361,000 (RECAP)
2009 – Carter Phillips (USA) – €850,000
2010 – Kent Lundmark (Sweden) – €825,000 (RECAP)
2011 – Martin Schleich (Germany) – €850,000 (RECAP)
2012 – Mikalai Pobal (Belarus) – €1,007,550 (RECAP)
2013 – Tom Middleton (UK) – €924,000 (RECAP)
2014 – Andre Lettau (Germany) – €794,058 (RECAP)
2015 – John Juanda (Indonesia) – €1,022,593 (RECAP)
2016 – Sebastian Malec (Poland) – €1,122,800 (RECAP)
2017 – Sebastian Sorensson (Sweden) – €987,043 (RECAP)
2018 – Piotr Nurzynski (Poland) – €1,037,109 (RECAP)
2019 – Simon Brändström (Sweden) – €1,290,166 (RECAP)
2022 – Giuliano Bendinelli (Italy) – €1,491,133 (RECAP)
ACTIVITIES CALENDAR
As ever, the EPT will offer ample opportunity for players and their guests to fill their diaries with numerous activities around Barcelona. These are almost always free to join and give guests the chance to explore the beautiful Catalonia capital.
Check out everything instore for players at this year’s event.
EPT Barcelona 2023 is packed with activities away from the tables
GUIDE TO THE CITY
EPT Barcelona has become a hub for poker, attracting thousands of players year on year. But if this is your first trip to the city, or if you’ve never really had the chance to explore Barcelona on previous trips, then check out our Barcelona City Guide.
In it you’ll find all you need to know about where to go, how to get there, what to see, and how to unwind. Plus some practical information to keep things easy.
A great chance to explore Barcelona
EVERYTHING ELSE
POKER NEWS LIVE UPDATES
Our live reporting partner will offer hand-by-hand updates from a number of tournaments across the series. We’ll link to their updates when the series begins.
EPT BARCELONA OFFICIAL SITE
The PokerStars Live official page, with everything you need to know about the tournament series in Barcelona.
FULL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The full EPT Barcelona schedule is available here.
DOWNLOAD THE POKERSTARS LIVE APP
All the info you need on your mobile device from the Apple iStore or Google Play for Android.
POKERSTARS BLOG ON TWITTER
Follow us on Twitter.
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