European Poker Tour (EPT) from Barcelona sees a record numbers of entries to the main event and goes directly into history books.
Italy’s Giuliano Bendinelli crowned EPT Barcelona Main Event winner, scooping a cool €1.49M
As the lights went down for a final time on Sunday August 21 at PokerStars’ European Poker Tour in Barcelona, it was time to reflect on the event that marked itself in history, with record numbers of entries to the EPT Main Event, and some epic poker action.
The location of the tournament, Casino Barcelona, was filled with an electric atmosphere from start to finish, over 14 days of play from August 8-21, with poker players travelling from across the globe to get involved and try their hand at winning a portion of the impressive prizepools.
Following a three-year hiatus, PokerStars were more than ready to return to Barcelona, to what is always one of its most spectacular events in the calendar, to see players go head-to-head in a range of tournaments.
EPT MAIN EVENT MAKES ITS MARK IN THE HISTORY BOOKS
The €5,300 EPT Main Event undoubtedly stood out as a major tournament highlight, marking itself in history after it became the biggest EPT Main Event ever in terms of entries received, with a total of 2,294 (from 1,686 unique players), a 15% bigger field than the last EPT Main Event in Barcelona in 2019 which received 1,988 entries.
Taking place over seven days from August 15-21, the Main Event Final Table received widespread attention across the casino, with players battling it out for a chunk of the €11,125,900 prize pool.
Ultimately, it was Italy’s Giuliano Bendinelli who came out on top taking the lion’s share of the €1,491,133 prize. The 31-year-old has been playing EPT events for more than a decade, with five Main Event cashes under his belt, all prior preparation for him winning the biggest EPT in history. Second place went to Jimmy Guerrero of France who took home a mighty €1,250,337, followed by Neville Costa of Brazil who scooped up €734,470.
EPT BARCELONA SUPER HIGH ROLLER
The €100,000 buy-in Super High Roller event took place from August 14-16, with 68 entrants (including 16 re-entries) all competing for their shot at the €6,597,360 pot. Belarus’ Mikita Badziakouski came out victorious receiving a huge €1,979,220 pay out, followed by US player Erik Seidel who won a mighty €1,286,490. Third place went to Kevin Paqué from the Netherlands who walked away from the High Roller event with a respectable €913,730.
EPIC PRIZES AWARDED AT MYSTERY BOUNTY TOURNAMENT AND TOMBOLA
The €3,000 no-limit hold‘em Mystery Bounty tournament took place over August 17-19 with 1,132 entries, competing for a €3,074,512 prize pool (inc. €1,132,000 in bounty prize pool). Johannes van Bemmel from the Netherlands came out on top receiving a pay out of €326,792, followed by Brazilian player Paulo Roberto Brombim who took home €204,120.
However, a chunk of the prize pool was not all that was up for grabs in the Mystery Bounty tournament, as on day 2 it was time for the Bounty Tombola. Players who had won bounty tokens over day 1 could now pick up their mystery envelopes for a hope of winning some epic prizes, including sizable cash prizes, a PokerStars Red Spade Pass package to the Brazilian Grand Prix, and notably a PSPC Platinum Pass worth $30,000. Key winners include:
· €250,000 cash prize – Johann Zeitoun
· €100,000 cash prize – Patrick Bruel
· PokerStars Red Spade Pass – Anders Wessman
· PSPC Platinum Pass – Yamato Nakail
Great success at Women’s Platinum Pass event
The Women’s Platinum Pass tournament was a key feature of the EPT Barcelona schedule, which saw seven females go head-to-head in a single table tournament on Monday August 15 for a chance to win a coveted Platinum Pass.
Nominated for the impact they have had as females in the poker community, the seven finalists were selected in 2020 following International Women’s Day, before coming face to face this month to put their skills to the test. After three and a half hours of tense poker action, the ultimate winner was revealed as Italy’s Giada Fang, with the remaining ranking sheet as follows:
Giada Fang – Platinum Pass to PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) in 2023
Aurelie Reard
Daiva Byrne
Lexi Sterne
Meichelle Culhane
Christina Read
Terry Hatcher
“Returning to Barcelona after three years has been beyond anything we had ever imagined. We had a record number of entries to our both EPT and ESPT Main Events, the Woman’s Platinum Pass event, and lots of epic poker action across the schedule,” said Cedric Billot, Head of Global Live Event Operations at PokerStars. “We are pleased to see so many of the PokerStars community return to Barcelona again, and it’s great to be able to step back into the live space and offer our players memorable live experiences that we look forward to continuing throughout the year at EPT London and Prague and into next year with the PCA and the PSPC in the Bahamas”.
Play Responsibly!
Read also the news from HERE.