The 20th anniversary European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona was marked for success from the early days, with top players from all corners of the world eagerly expecting the most prestigious European tournament series on the calendar.
The event drew some of the biggest names in the world of poker, including the likes of Patrik Antonius and Erik Seidel, young tournament pros like Aram Zobian, and PokerStars Ambassadors like Parker Talbot, along with hundreds of other hopefuls from all walks of life.
In the end, it was accomplished tournament poker professional Stephen Song who defeated Andrew Hulme heads up to take home the first place prize of €1.29 million and the prestigious EPT Barcelona trophy.
As usual, the event drew players from all corners of the world, with 82 different countries represented in Barcelona, including 205 players from France, 144 from Italy, and 124 from Spain.
Yet, in the end it was an American who took the EPT trophy overseas after demonstrating incredible survival skills throughout the event, and admittedly getting hit by the deck in a few key spots along the way.
US Players Dominate the Final Table
Over its 20 years, EPT Barcelona has hosted players from well over 100 different countries and has given away tens of millions in prize money, as it gradually grew into one of the most prestigious poker tournaments in the world.
This year’s special 20th anniversary edition was no different, as players from all over Europe and beyond flocked to the Catalonian capital to play for a massive total prize pool of €9,578,750 after each of them paid €5,300 to play or found a way to qualify for the event for a more affordable price.
By the time the final table was set, three Americans were surprisingly left in the field, with the other three players representing the UK, Romania, and Croatia respectively.
Surprisingly, not a single player from either Spain, France, or Italy made the final table or even the top 10, despite these three countries bringing about a quarter of all entries.
Song entered the final table as a slight chip leader with 15,150,000, while Romanian Marius Pertea followed with 14,575,000, and David Coleman entered the day in third place with 10,425,000 in chips.
They were followed by Rania Nasreddine from the US with 8,300,000, Andrew Hulme from the UK with 5,525,000, and Boris Kuzmanovic from Croatia who brought 5,275,000 chips to the final table.
There were no dramatic upsets throughout the day, as Song was able to retain his chip lead and eventually win it all, after making a heads up deal with Andrew Hulme which saw both players win well over one million Euros.
Here is a look at all the final table payouts:
- 1st — Stephen Song (USA) €1,290,386
- 2nd — Andrew Hulme (UK) €1,165,614
- 3rd — Marius Pertea (Romania) €674,150
- 4th — Rania Nasreddine (USA) €518,600
- 5th — David Coleman (USA) €398,950
- 6th — Boris Kuzmanovic (Croatia) €306,900
Qualifiers Galore at EPT Barcelona 2024
PokerStars events are traditionally marked by a significant number of qualifiers, and the anniversary edition of EPT Barcelona was no exception, as 172 players in total managed to win their seat in the Main Event through various online qualifying paths.
Of those, 142 won their EPT Barcelona tickets via traditional qualifiers, while 30 traded in their PokerStars Power Path Gold Passes for a chance to play at EPT Barcelona without on a full package.
It is worth noting that the overall number of online qualifiers in this year’s EPT Barcelona went up by just one, but the number of Power Path Gold Passes went up from 7 to 30, showing a significant interest in the new qualifying path PokerStars introduced last year.
ESPT Barcelona, which was played alongside the EPT, saw a total of 366 players win their seats online, 146 of whom traded in their Silver Passes for an ESPT package, compared to just 45 who did the same last season.
One player in particular who has made the most of the PokerStars Power Path over the last year is Montreal’s Alexandre Fournier, who has won as many as seven $2,500 Silver Passes from $11 Step 3 tournaments, and qualified for this year’s EPT Barcelona starting from a €27 traditional satellite.
The qualifier made a massive return on that investment this time around, taking home €236,100 after busting out in 7th place and just narrowly missing out on a spot at the final table.
The success will no doubt give Fournier even more incentive to grind out the qualifiers in the coming months and show up to more PokerStars events with the hopes of turning tiny investments into huge tournament scores.
Power Path Continues with NAPT on the Horizon
Ever since being introduced last year, the PokerStars Power Path has been a huge success, with players using the promotion to win their way to various PokerStars events starting from as little as $0.50 or playing with their free daily Power Path tickets.
Free Daily Online Entries
- Additional qualifiers start at just $0.50
- $1 Million in NAPT packages up for grabs
- NAPT Returns to Las Vegas Nov 1 – 10 2024
With the return of NAPT Las Vegas now imminent, the operator is heavily focused on the event, and giving plenty of opportunities for players to win their NAPT Gold Passes and qualify for the event for a fraction of the usual price.
NAPT Gold Passes are now available via PokerStars platforms in all the markets it operates in, and you could win your by simply logging into your PokerStars client and receiving a free $0.50 Power Path Spin & Go ticket each day.
Log into PokerStars today for your chance to join the dozens of other lucky Gold Pass holders and play for your share of at least $3,000,000 in this year’s NAPT Las Vegas.
