France’s Simon Wiciak ended up as the chip leader each of the last three days of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event and had no plans of giving up those chips. He wound up with every chip in play after defeating João Sydenstricker heads-up to win the event for €1,134,375.

Wiciak, who is primarily an online grinder but recently switched his focus to live tournaments, bested the field of 2,120 runners for the golden trophy, his first major live poker title, and the career-best seven-figure score.

“I didn’t want to play the second bullet, because it’s my second bullet in this Main Event,” Wiciak told PokerNews in a winner’s interview. “But some of my stakers pushed me to do it again…so I did it again, and obviously, it was good event. I’m going to start playing more and more, live of course.”

The Frenchman struck a three-handed deal with Sydenstricker and Britain’s Carl Shaw that flattened the payouts, then the trio played on for the trophy and an additional €108,975 in prize money.

Also at the final table in the second-largest EPT Main Event (which came up short of surpassing last year’s record-breaking field of 2,294 runners) were Canada’s Santiago Plante (4th - €511,300), Argenina’s Ezequiel Waigel (6th - €302,500) and Brazil’s Andre Akkari, a veteran PokerStars Team Pro who put on a short-stack clinic before bowing out in fifth place for €393,300.

Check Out The EPT Barcelona Hands Of The Week!

2023 EPT Barcelona Main Event Final Table Results

_{*Denotes three-handed deal}

“I Was Ready”

Anything less than a victory for Wiciak would have been unfitting in the EPT Barcelona Main Event. The 30-year-old ended Day 5 with the chip lead over his 15 remaining opponents and maintained the lead the next day as the field dwindled to six with the eliminations of the likes of Van Marcus and 2013 EPT London Champion Robin Ylitalo.

Wiciak kept the chip lead for most of Day 7 but gave it up during four-handed and three-handed play as Shaw and Sydenstricker pulled ahead.

“At three-handed, we were like even,” said Wiciak. “So it was not that easy. And for me, it was a lot of money, that’s why we actually took the deal. If it had been a lower pay jump, maybe I would have refused [in order] to play my edge. But with this amount of money, I didn’t refuse it.”

Once the deal had been made, Wiciak returned his focus to taking home the trophy despite starting to lose some pots when they got three-handed.

“You know that’s it’s not going to be easy, but I was ready,” he said.

With two Brazilians at the final table for the second year in a row, it was a raucous few hours in the main tournament room at Casino Barcelona. Thankfully for Wiciak, he had a deep rail of French supporters to cheer him on as he played with millions on the line.

“Some of my friends were in the club last night, eight hours driving, they just [left] the club, took some stuff with them, and drove eight hours to come here,” Wiciak said. “So, obviously, I’m really, really happy with all of this. And on top of that, I got to [have] a call with my dad, and I heard him crying for the first time. So it was amazing.”

Day 7 Action

As play got underway on Day 7, it wasn’t long before a player was at risk. Waigel three-bet jammed his short stack with ace-seven, only to find himself dominated by the Big Slick of Sydenstricker, and was eliminated amid a choir of Brazilian cheers after failing to get help from the board.

Fan favorite Akkari, who entered the final two days of play as the short stack, finally hit the rail when he got it in with a flopped flush draw and couldn’t improve, to be chopped up by Shaw and his fellow Brazilian.

Plante was the next player at risk as he found his suited queen-ten dominated by the ace-queen of Wiciak before a rivered flush kept him alive. Plante’s luck changed for the worse when he later found himself all in with pocket queens to dominate the queen-nine of Shaw, who flopped an open-ended straight draw before binking it on the turn to drain the life out of Plante.

Shortly after the three remaining players reached a deal, Shaw found his king-queen dominated by Wiciak’s ace-queen to go out in third place and give the Frenchman a formidable chip lead over Sydenstricker.

After a brief heads-up battle, Sydenstricker and Wiciak found themselves in a memorable final hand that began with an open from Sydenstricker with queen-ten offsuit and a three-bet from Wiciak with six-five of clubs. Wiciak continued on the nine-five-deuce rainbow flop as Sydenstricker floated and then took the betting lead on the four of spades turn. With just queen-high, Sydenstricker moved all in when the nine of hearts river paired the board and Wiciak went into the tank before making a big call with just a pair of fives to win the tournament.

“The [bet] sizing [on the turn] was really small,” said Wiciak. “He went like less than one-third of the pot. Pretty [big] sizing tell for me…I think every time seeing his hand, basically he bet big when he has it and he bet small when he does not, if I had to simplify it. So he bet really small on the turn.”

“The last information he gave for me is he didn’t put his hood on. I played with him for the last few days, he always put his hoodie on, he’s really relaxed when he had trips against queens. He was stuck, didn’t move a bit, so everything put together made me make this call.”

That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team’s coverage of the EPT Barcelona Main Event here on the Mediterranean Coast. Be sure to check out the EPT Barcelona live reporting hub for coverage of other events.

The 2023 European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona €5,300 EPT Main Event is nearing its end, but leading up to it there was a week’s worth of side events including the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller, a pair of €25,000 NLH events, and the record-breaking €1,100 Estreallas Poker Tour Main Event.

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team has been on hand at all of them to capture all the action, and during that time they documented some big hands, be they bad beats, sick cools, or just game-changing in nature.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest hands from the EPT Barcelona festival.

Follow live updates from the 2023 EPT Barcelona here!

High Tide Sweeps Away Heimiller

On Day 1a of the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event, reporter Connor Richards caught a big hand in Level 9 (600/1,200/1,200). It happened when Dan Heimiller opened to 3,000 in early position and Rodrigo Noceda called on the button before Ryan Dansie three-bet jammed a stack of around 22,000 from the small blind. Heimiller called and Noceda re-shoved for around 75,000.

Heimiller went deep in the tank and counted his remaining stack of around 50,000 and ultimately found a call. “I apologize in advance,” Heimiller said as he put himself at risk.

Ryan Dansie: A♠5♠
Dan Heimiller: K♠7♠
Rodrigo Noceda: 10♥10♦

“I have a king,” Heimiller said as he evaluated his live outs. The board then ran out 9♣Q♥6♦J♥7♦ to keep Noceda’s tens ahead for a double elimination.

Dias Scores Double Elimination

In Level 3 (100/300/300) of the same tournament, Ben Weiss reported Yucheng Liu opened to 900 from middle position, before Saymon Dias in the cutoff made it 3,200. Marius Lussi called from the small blind, and so too did Liu as it went three ways to the flop.

It came 2♥3♣3♥. Both Lussi and Liu checked, prompting Dias to make it 3,500. Lussi called, but Liu chose to raise to 10,000. Dias, the original raiser, then shoved all in. It didn’t take long for Lussi and Liu to make the call for all of their remaining chips, with Dias having them both covered, and it was a three-way showdown with the turn and river to come.

Marius Lussi: A♠3♠
Yucheng Liu: A♥K♥
Saymon Dias: 10♦10♣

A stunned gasp was heard from the table, as the 10♥ turn completed Liu’s flush draw, but in the process gave Dias a full house. Lussi was then drawing completely dead and Liu had to hit the last remaining three in the deck to survive.

It didn’t come, as the 8♣ landed on the river, sending both Lussi and Liu to the rail in dramatic fashion and seeing Dias emerge as one of the chip leaders.

PN Pod: $20K Mistake, Negreanu Beats Polk, NAPT Returns, & Guest Tom Orpaz EPT Barcelona Heater

Big Swings for Kassouf

In the same flight in Level 7 (400/800/800), Ollie Garland saw a player in middle position open to 1,800,Cillian O’Donnell on the button moved all in for 3,500, Maxim Weingardt shoved all in for his remaining 8,000 from the small blind and Will Kassouf moved all in from the big blind for his last 30,000. The original raiser folded.

Cillian O’Donnell: A♦J♥
Maxim Weingardt: A♣J♠
Will Kassouf: 9♣9♦

Kassouf was in good shape until the flop landed Q♥A♠5♦. The turn and river came the 4♥ and 7♦ respectively and Kassouf had to pay off both his opponents.

The very next hand O’Donnell moved all in from the cutoff for his last 6,100. Kassouf called the bet in the small blind and the hand went to a showdown.

Cillian O’Donnell: 7♠7♥
Will Kassouf: A♥A♦

Kassouf preemptively called that a seven was coming on the flop, and he wasn’t wrong; the dealer spread 7♣6♥10♦.

The 10♥ turned and Kassouf sarcastically announced “Go on! 7♦ on the river!”. However, the dealer placed the A♠, and Kassouf sent O’Donnell to the rail.

Theodoridis Eliminates Alnuaimi in Brutal Cooler

On Day 2 of the tournament, it was Level 20 (6,000/12,000/12,000) players at a table recounted a hand to reporter Ryan Lashmar. At they explained, Aristidis Theodoridis opened to 22,000 and Ali Alnuaimi three-bet to 65,000. Theodoridis made the call.

The flop came A♠Q♦9♥. Alnuaimi checked, Theodoridis bet 36,000 and Alnuaimi called.

Alnuaimi check-called another bet on the 2♣ turn, this time for 75,000.

The river came the Q♠. Alnuaimi checked and Theodoridis moved all in with a covering stack. Alnuaimi snap-called.

Alnuaimi tabled AxAx for top full house while Theodoridis showed down QxQx for quad queens to take down a colossal pot and send Alnuaimi to the rail in horrific fashion.

Set Over Set, Flush Draw Hits, Millions of Chips Change Hands

On Day 2 of the €2,200 Estrellas Poker Tour High Roller, it was Level 29 (50,000/100,000/100,000) when Matt Warburton captured a big hand. It started when Thomas Saminadin raised to 160,000 from the hijack and was called by the button, Sal Al Fakih in the small blind and Frederic Breton called in the big blind.

The flop came 8♦3♦6♠. Action checked to Saminadin, who bet 250,000. Al Fakih called and Breton reraised to 700,000. Saminadin then moved all in for 2,790,000. Al Fakih called with a shorter stack and Breton called to make it a three-way all-in worth millions of chips. Players flipped their cards.

Sal Al Fakih: 6♥6♣
Thomas Saminadin: K♦J♦
Frederic Breton: 3♠3♣

Breton had a set of threes and Al Fakih had a set of sixes. He screamed out in joy. Saminadin had a flush draw. The turn came the 7♦ and the river the 4♣.

Saminadin hit his flush on the turn to win the pot and chip up to 5,700,000. Al Fakih was eliminated from the tournament and Breton was left with around 2,500,000. It was a game-changing pot, one that left Al Fakih unhappy and Saminadin counting what was now one of the biggest stacks.

Click here to see who won the €2,200 Estrellas Poker Tour High Roller!

Simon Wiciak ended Day 4 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event as the chip leader. He was still atop the leaderboard at the end of Day 5. And the Frenchman remains the man to beat as only six players remain to chase the trophy after an action-packed Day 6.

Wiciak ended the night with 22,875,000 and the chip lead for the third consecutive day over the remaining six players who are all that’s left from the once-massive field of 2,120. Wiciak, who had just over $100,000 in total live earnings before the event, is already guaranteed £302,500 but will have his eye on the €1,488,000 top prize when the final table resumes on Sunday.

2023 EPT Barcelona Main Event Final Six Chip Counts

Chasing him is Carl Shaw, who was on the fortunate end of the biggest pot of the tournament on Day 6 that helped propel him to 17,400,000 by the end of the night. Shaw busted Daniyar Aubakirov with the nut straight against a set, then eliminated Curtis Knight in seventh place to end the day. The Englishman already has a WSOP bracelet and made the final table of the Irish Open in April.

Wiciak and Shaw combined hold more than 63 percent of the total chips in play. Santiago Plante (7,500,000), Joao Sydenstricker (6,150,000), and Ezequiel Waigel (5,150,000) will have to try to track them down tomorrow.

Then there’s PokerStars Team pro Andre Akkari, who has been the event’s ultimate survivor over the last three days, winning numerous all-ins and nursing a short stack most of the time. The Brazilian superstar, cheered on by a raucous rail, finds himself at the bottom of the leaderboard once again with 4,500,000.

Day 6 Action

Day 6 began with 16 players looking to secure their spot in the final six. Mircea Flutur, who won his entry into this event in an online qualifier, was the first elimination and took home €63,250 for his 16th-place finish.

Van Marcus, who earlier ran kings into Plante’s aces, busted in 15th. Then came a pot that swung the momentum of the day. Shaw and Aubakirov built a pot of more than 17,000,000 as Aubakirov was all in with a set but Shaw had a flopped straight. The board failed to pair on the river and Shaw raked in the massive pot, boosting his stack past 19,000,000 and into the chip lead.

Oshri Lahmani (13th), Mohamad El Rais (12th), and Markku Koplimaa (11th) followed to the rail. Plante then made trip threes to bust Jose Rodriguez Zurita in 10th place, setting up the nine-handed unofficial final table.

Sydenstricker donned a V for Vendetta mask at the final table, hoping for a miracle to augment his short stack. He found it right away. Sydenstricker was all in with king-jack but ran right into Plante’s pocket kings. The flop gave him flush and straight draws as his Brazilian rail pleaded for help. None arrived on the turn, but a queen on the river gave him a straight and kept him in the tournament (although, after a visit from a tournament official, he was forced to ditch the mask).

Final Nine Underway

The final nine played for nearly three hours until Mihai Niste jammed with ace-ten into the sixes of Shaw and couldn’t win the race. Robin Ylitalo, champion of EPT London nearly a decade ago, then moved all in on the river with just king-high and Wiciak snap-called with a straight to end Ylitalo’s hopes for a second title.

Knight was the last player who couldn’t survive the day, snap-calling from the big blind with tens when Shaw shoved from the small blind with jack-ten. A lucky jack on the flop left Knight looking for a single out to stay alive, but no miracles came on the turn and river to bring Day 6 to a close.

Akkari Chases an Elusive Title

Wiciak and Shaw hold most of the chips, but it’s Akkari who took the spotlight at the final table. Akkari first cashed in an EPT event more than 15 years ago. He’s one spot away from matching his fifth-place finish from EPT Barcelona in 2017. But first, he needed some magic to happen on Day 6.

Akkari had fewer than 10 big blinds at the start of the day. On one of the first hands, he found pocket queens and tripled up against Knight’s tens and Wiciak’s sevens. He then won a race with tens against Niste’s ace-king at the final table.

Akkari showed an incredible survival instinct. Just when it seemed like his run was about to come to an end, he found the cards he needed to stay alive. After Plante hit a flush on the river to double up, Akkari made his own flush to double against Wiciak. He then hit a running flush and blasted Wiciak off the flopped straight.

An EPT title is all that’s missing from Akkari’s career resume which already includes a WSOP bracelet, an EPT final table, and more than $3,000,000 in live earnings. It seemed impossible when Akkari was in 32nd out of 32 to start Day 5, and improbable when he was 16th out of 16 when Day 6 began; but Akkari gave his rail something to celebrate today, and his hopes are still very much alive heading into the final six.

Final Table Payouts

Poker League of Nations (PLON), a prominent women’s poker organization, will host a poker cruise in October out of Miami, and all members of the group are eligible to win a spot for free.

Nadya Magnus, the 2021 GPI Female Player of the Year, and Lena Evans, PLON’s founder, are giving out three packages worth $5,500 total, which includes a cruise aboard Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady Oct. 22-27 and entry into the PLON Main Event, which takes place in the WPT at Sea Poker Room.

The ship will set sail from South Florida and stop in Costa Maya and Bimini Beach. While there will be plenty of opportunity for some relaxation, cocktails, and to soak up the sun, poker will be on the forefront of this excursion.

Cruise and Play Poker for Free?

On Sept. 9, there will be an opportunity for PLON members to win one of three spots on the cruise by competing in an online poker freeroll tournament.

The top three players from that freeroll will receive a travel and poker package worth $1,838. Not only will the winners receive a free spot on the cruise and into the PLON Main Event, they will also eat for free on the ship and get a $150 bar credit. Airfare is about the only thing that isn’t included in what figures to be a memorable vacation.

“Poker cruises are a fun and popular way for players to meet new poker friends. I am looking forward to days of floating under blue skies and night stars, plus breathing clean air with little need for decisions except for which poker game I am playing next! Nadya and Lena’s participation and PLON-sponsored ladies tournaments on board made it an easy decision,” PLON Co-President Janie Maddox said.

Poker League of Nations has members from all around the world. The organization promotes women in poker and often hosts various live and online events that help and encourage more women to play poker.

“Our mission is promoting and supporting women in the poker world,” Evans said.

Generous Poker Player

Magnus, who has nearly $2 million in The Hendon Mob results, has a lengthy history of generosity when it comes to helping women. As such, Evans said she is “pleased to partner with” the talented poker player. On top of donating money to give out free spots on the cruise, Magnus will give award a free entry into the $10,400 buy-in WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December, set to become the largest guaranteed tournament ever with a promised $40 million minimum prize pool. Evans has also donated a ClubWPT Diamond Membership valued at $1,800, and other items to the prize pool.

At the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Magnus awarded a $10,000 Main Event seat via a contest to a lucky woman. She also awarded a 2024 WSOP Main Event seat to the woman who busted closest to the bubble in this year’s world championship event and has run similar contests to help promote women in poker.

During the same WSOP, Evans and PLON awarded a number of WSOP $1,000 Mini Main event seats, partnered with notables Kristen Foxen, Maria Ho, Victoria Livschitz, Lara Eisenberg, Chris Moneymaker, and Phil Hellmuth. Over its six year history, PLON has done many giveaways to women, including multiple $10,000 WSOP Main Event and Poker Masters $10k High Roller seats, and seats to many international series.

The October poker cruise will take place among a gorgeous Virgin Voyages cruise ship. Inside that ship is a WPT at Sea Poker Room, which hosts cash games and special events, including World Poker Tour-sponsored tournaments.

Nadya Magnus Wins GPI Player of the Year