The action wrapped up recently at the PokerStars European Poker Tour stop in Barcelona that saw record numbers for an EPT Main Event. The series ran from Aug. 8-21 at Casino Barcelona with players from around the globe jumping in the action.
The €5,300 Main Event highlighted the series and saw 2,294 entries with 1,686 unique players. That’s a tour record and a 15% increase from the last EPT Barcelona Main Event in 2019, which received 1,988 entries. The action in Spain follows a three-year hiatus for the series.
“Returning to Barcelona after three years has been beyond anything we had ever imagined,” PokerStars head of global live event operations Cedric Billot said in a news release. “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.
“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”.
PokerStars EPT Main Event scores big
The €5,300 EPT Main Event highlighted the series with many big names grabbing a seat in the tournament. The championship became the biggest EPT Main Event in history in number of entries.
The tournament took place from Aug. 15-21 with players battling it out for their of the €11.1 prize pool. Italy’s Giuliano Bendinelli (pictured in lead image) came out for €1.5 million.
The 31-year-old has played EPT events for more than a decade and his record includes five Main Event cashes. Bendinelli came back from being down to a single big blind at one point and now has $2.5 million in live tournament winnings.
Jimmy Guerrero, of France, finished runner-up for €1.3 million, followed by Brazil’s Neville Costa in third for €734,470.
From a chip and a chair to a champion.
Congratulations to Giuliano Bendinelli, the Italian took down the biggest EPT Main Event in history, winning €1,491,133.
This was a fitting end to a final table for the ages. 👇 #EPTBarcelona pic.twitter.com/mTa91ubmnT
— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 22, 2022
Mikita Badziakouski wins Super High Roller
Plenty of well-heeled pros were out in force for the €100,000 Super High Roller. The event ran from Aug. 14-16 with 68 entries, including 16 re-entries, for a €6.6 million prize pool.
Belarus’s Mikita Badziakouski came out on top for almost €2 million. The win also follows a huge Triton Poker win in May for €1.3 million. The poker superstar now has $38 million in live tournament winnings.
American player and Poker Hall of Fame member Erik Seidel finished runner-up for €1.3 million. Third place went to Kevin Paqué, from the Netherlands, who scored €913,730.
A look at some other events
The €3,000 Mystery Bounty took place Aug. 17-19 and recorded 1,132 entries. That created a €3.1 million prize pool including a €1.1 million bounty prize pool.
Johannes van Bemmel, of the Netherlands, found the winner’s circle for a payout of €326,792. Brazil’s Paulo Roberto Brombim finished runner-up for €204,120.
Day 2 brought the mystery bounty drawings. Players winning bounty tokens over Day 1 selected their mystery envelopes with hopes of winning some epic prizes.
Some of those included: large cash prizes; a PokerStars Red Spade Pass package to the Brazilian Grand Prix; and a PSPC Platinum Pass worth $30,000. Some of the big winners included:
- €250,000 – Johann Zeitoun
- €100,000 – Patrick Bruel
- Red Spade Pass – Anders Wessman
- Platinum Pass – Yamato Nakail
The Women’s Platinum Pass tournament was also a key part of the EPT Barcelona schedule. The tournament saw seven women go head to head in a single-table tournament.
In the end, Italy’s Giada Fang came out on top for the ultimate prize. For a complete look at the event, click here.
* Photos courtesy PokerStars/Danny Maxwell