EPT Barcelona 2025: Thomas Eychenne Triumphs in the Main Event!

Thomas Eychenne Wins His First Tournament at the EPT Barcelona Main Event
 

French poker pro Thomas Eychenne has finally broken a string of near-finish finales and secured a career-defining victory. In Casino Barcelona, he defeated Romania's Sebastian Ionita in heads-up play to claim the title of EPT Barcelona 2025 Main Event champion. The win earned him the prestigious Golden Shard trophy and a prize of €1,217,175 (after a heads-up deal). His name now joins the ranks of legends who have lifted the trophy in Barcelona, the place where the European Poker Tour began more than two decades ago.

For the 35-year-old Eychenne, this was his first tournament win. Though he'd amassed over $2.7 million in live tournament earnings and several deep runs, he had yet to close a tournament as the winner. This success not only marks a personal milestone but also alleviates the longstanding pressure of high expectations. 

"It's an incredible feeling. For years, I imagined winning a trophy and answering questions like these. I knew this day would come — it was only a matter of time," Eychenne said after his victory.

The path to the title was not an easy one. Eychenne first took out the experienced Anton Suarez at the final table and gained an advantage. However, he continued to face strong challenges from both Zaffagnini and Ionita. This trio traded places in the lead until only Eychenne and Ionita remained in the game for the title.

The heads-up lineup was decided in a hand where Zaffagnini 5 s 5 h went all-in, and Eychenne called with A h J c, which led to Ionita folding A c 8 d. The board K h T c 8 h 7 s Q d created a dramatic moment as the river Queen completed Eychenne's straight, sending the Italian player home in 3rd place with €641,200.

In heads-up, Eychenne demonstrated his experience, dominating crucial moments. The decisive hand came when Eychenne’s A c K c matched Ionita's all-in with A h 6 c. The flop 3 d 5 h 9 d and turn Q h were no help to Ionita, and a crucial river King K d sealed Eychenne's victory, crowning him the new EPT Barcelona champion.

Brazil's Guilherme Kleist Wins the Inaugural Spin & Go Championship Live
 

This year's EPT Barcelona festival introduced a brand new format — the Spin & Go Championship Live. This tournament, bridging online and live poker, was won by Brazilian Guilherme Kleist, a long-standing specialist who has played hundreds of thousands of Spin & Go tournaments online.

He leaves Barcelona with over €80,000 (including Spin wins during the tournament), but the memory of being the first-ever Spin & Go Championship Live winner will be even more cherished. "I feel amazing. I'm incredibly lucky. Of course, the money is important, but the symbolism of this tournament means even more to me," Kleist said after his victory. 

In the final, Kleist faced fellow Brazilian Joao Nascimento and Poland's Krystian Lisowski. For all three, it was a relatively new experience, as live tournaments are not their forte.

Initially, Nascimento dominated by winning the first two series. But Kleist fought back, leveling the score at 2-2 and completing the comeback in the next series with a pivotal hand breaking Nascimento's aces A d A c. Kleist's K d Q c flopped two pairs on K s Q s 4 h 8 h 2 c.

In the final series, Kleist went all-in with K s 8 c against Nascimento's A d Q d. A flop Q s 6 c 2 d gave Nascimento hope, but he lost it on the turn K h. The river 5 d changed nothing, and Kleist could celebrate the historic victory.

* The players agreed to a three-handed deal that guaranteed each at least €25,000.

Bernardo Neves Clinches the €10K High Roller Title
 

Portuguese poker pro Bernardo Neves scored a milestone victory by winning the prestigious €10,300 No Limit Hold'em High Roller (Event #55) with a total of 500 entries competing for a prize pool of €4,850,000.

In the final, Neves defeated Lithuania's experienced Vladas Tamasauskas, taking home €845,200 after a heads-up deal - his largest career payout. 

Endrit Geci Wins the Deep Stack

Event #60: €2,200 Deep Stack concluded with England's Endrit Geci conquering a field of 343 entries to defeat Australia’s Campbell Ashton in the final, earning €111,860 (heads-up deal). 

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