Simon Wiciak Brings PokerStars EPT Barcelona Title to France

The 2023 edition of PokerStars' European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Barcelona stop is now complete with action on the final events finishing September 3. With 63 scheduled events, the series ended up shelling out well over €40 million in total prizes across the board, with one prize pool in the eight-digit range and eight games that cracked the €1 million mark.

Two weeks of poker in Barcelona are now complete and it was a pretty big deal for PokerStars. That said, Barcelona is usually a pretty big deal in the PokerStars LIVE tour: the stop at the Catalonian capital routinely sets records in various events.

This year was no exception with a new record set for field size in the companion Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT) Main Event which usually kicks off the EPT Barcelona festival.

While the EPT Main Event ended up just shy of another record, the 2023 game took over second place on the all-time field size list for EPT Main Events, behind only the 2022 edition of this very tournament. This year marked the second time an EPT Main Event field capped 2000 runners.

It was France’s Simon Wiciak who came out on top of the Main Event this year and he did it in pretty dramatic fashion. Not only did he carry the chip lead through the final three days of play, but the Frenchman also made a massive hero call on the final hand to capture the title.

While the final three players cut a deal, Wiciak still secured the biggest payday with €1,134,375 compared to just over €1 million for runner-up João Sydenstricker from Brazil.

Wiciak Rides Three-Day Lead to the Title

It was quite the ride for Frenchman Simon Wiciak in the EPT Barcelona Main Event this year. Not only did he book the win in the second-biggest EPT Main Event ever, but he did it after holding the chip lead to end Day 4, 5, and 6 before ending up with all the chips at the end of the final Day 7.

As if that were not enough to make this a storied win for the player from neighboring France, Wiciak also won the tournament with a sick hero call that meant a win if he was right, but a crippling defeat to leave him nearly felted if he was wrong.

He had to burn through some timebank chips before finally putting in the call, but his flopped pair of fives was good against a bluff on a board that showed an overpair to Wiciak’s pair as well as some baby straight potential.

Big Decision

It was a huge decision point for the Frenchman as he only had the Brazilian runner-up covered by about 3 million, less than 10 big blinds at that stage. The wrong decision would leave him nearly felted, needing an epic comeback to take down the title.

It was a fairly gross board for his flopped pair. He had turned straight outs as well, but the river paired the board while bricking his outs. With a fold, he’d still have 22 million, a healthy stack to attack his rival with about 40 million after the fold, whereas a call pretty much meant all the marbles, regardless of how it turned out.

He was clearly emotional when he finally put in the call and saw that his pair of fives was the best hand and he was somewhat overwhelmed after the game.

“It’s everything at the same time,” he said, adding, “I’m thinking about my parents, I’m thinking about this tournament. My life is changing with this money. All the three last days, the camera didn’t catch me, but I was crying some times, hiding in the halls. There is too much emotion. Even if I look in control, confident in my plays, there is still a big part, you are human.”

That puts a wrap on EPT Barcelona for 2023. Once again, the city was the home of record fields and eight-figure prize pools on the EPT, leaving us with big expectations for the 2024 event.

2023 EPT Barcelona Selected Results