Fascinating New Tournament Adds Fresh Twist to EPT Barcelona Return

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Aug 11, 2026 10 min read

The European Poker Tour (EPT) returns to Barcelona on Sunday, with thousands of players set to pass through the halls of Casino Barcelona for one of the biggest stops on the poker calendar.

Running from August 16-29, EPT Barcelona will feature a packed slate of tournaments, headlined, as usual, by the €5,300 EPT Main Event. But perhaps the most intriguing addition is PokerStars' brand-new €2,200 ‘In the Money at 180,000’ tournament, which offers players a very different route to securing a trip to the cash desk.

Players who build their stack to 180,000 chips will automatically secure a Day 2 seat and lock up a cash, removing the traditional money bubble from the equation.

“If you love our qualifiers, you'll love In the Money at 180,000,” said EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone. “Hit 180,000 chips, instantly bag your stack and lock up a Day 2 cash. No bubble sweat. Just pure poker and action.”

And that's just one of the many highlights on a fantastic schedule, with the €1,650 PokerStars Open Main Event, €100,000 Super High Roller and €10,300 EPT High Roller all to look forward to along with the late summer sun, sea and sangria. Check out some of the schedule highlights below:

EPT Barcelona Schedule Highlights

Year after year, Barcelona remains one of the EPT's most popular destinations, with the 2025 edition proving particularly memorable as Thomas Eychenne claimed more than €1.2 million after emerging victorious from the third-largest Main Event field in EPT history.

“EPT Barcelona is where the poker world comes together. It’s the stage where legends defend their status, new stars emerge, and unforgettable moments become part of poker history,” said Cedric Billot, Associate Director of Live Events at PokerStars.

“Few destinations can match Barcelona in August. The city’s energy, atmosphere and international appeal make it the perfect host for one of poker’s premier events. But what truly sets EPT Barcelona apart is the opportunity it offers. Every year, online qualifiers and recreational players take their seats alongside the game's biggest stars, all chasing their own place in poker history,” continued Billot.

PokerNews will be on the ground throughout the festival, bringing readers live updates, news, interviews, videos and results from the floor of Casino Barcelona.

The In the Money at 180,000 event is one of the things I’m most interested to see this year.

Once you get close to 180,000, the whole dynamic changes. Do you keep playing and try to build an even bigger stack, or do you take the cash and your Day 2 seat? That’s a very different decision from anything you normally get in a tournament.

And then, of course, there’s the €5,300 EPT Main Event, which is always one of the highlights of the schedule. It should be a great couple of weeks.

Off-the-Felt Fun

As you'd expect from an EPT, there's much more to do than just poker, and organizers PokerStars have laid on a full schedule of brilliant activities to help players unwind and relax throughout the festival.

The off-the-felt schedule includes karaoke, quiz and games nights, welcome drinks, a sports matchup and a Guess the Hand competition, with prizes and Mini Spades also up for grabs.

Moreover, if you're looking to stay active in the Catalan capital, the EPT Wellness Community will host daily yoga and Pilates sessions from August 18-27.

Poker fans or players unable to make the trip to Barcelona will still be able to follow the action online, with seven days of live streaming scheduled from August 23 across PokerStars' Twitch and Facebook channels.

The broadcasts will be available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and German, with a Portuguese-language stream being added for the first time this year.

Off-the-Felt Activities Full Schedule

PokerStars Live League Points Up for Grabs

EPT Barcelona will also provide another opportunity for players to climb the PokerStars Live League tables, with the 2026 competition reaching its halfway stage with EPT Prague in December, marking the fourth and final EPT of 2026 after Barcelona.

Danilo Donnini currently leads the Low leaderboard, ahead of Andrew Hulme and Conor O'Driscoll, while Hulme tops the Medium standings with O'Driscoll in second.

Spain's Juan Pardo leads the High leaderboard, with Austria's Klemens Roiter, last year's High runner-up, sitting second.

A total of €157,500 in PokerStars LIVE credit will be distributed among the top three players in each of the three tiers. The top 30 players in every tier will also qualify for a special €100,000 live freeroll at the first EPT stop of 2027.

With the world's biggest names, online qualifiers and recreational players all heading to Casino Barcelona, EPT Barcelona is once again set to be one of the busiest fortnights on the European poker calendar.

2026 EPT Barcelona Full Schedule

Here’s the full EPT Barcelona schedule, including all events, dates, times and buy-ins:

Eliot Thomas is an Editor at PokerNews, specializing in casino and poker coverage. He is currently on the ground in Las Vegas covering the 2026 World Series of Poker and has previously worked at the European Poker Tour and Triton Super High Roller Series.

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