button in SafariFabiano Kovalski Improves His Incredible EPT Barcelona Results With €385K Win
There is something about the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona festival that brings out the best in Fabiano Kovalski. Four of the Brazilian's five largest scores stem from EPT Barcelona events. After taking down the €3,250 EPT Mystery Bounty on August 27, five of Kovalski's six biggest live cashes have come in the Catalonian capital.
Kovalski banked €385,430, including bounties, for his victory in the mystery bounty. Only his fourth-place finish in the 2022 EPT Barcelona, which came with a €565,280 prize, reigns over this. The talented Brazilian's largest hauls are listed below.
- 4th place in the 2022 EPT €5,300 Barcelona Main Event worth €565,280
- 1st place in the 2026 EPT €3,250 Mystery Bounty worth €385,430
- 2nd place in the 2022 WSOP $10,000 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty worth $363,116
- 9th place in the 2024 EPT €5,300 Barcelona Main Event worth €139,750
- 11th place in the 2018 EPT €5,300 Barcelona Main Event worth €98,900
- 1st place in the 2017 EPT €2,200 Barcelona Deep Stack worth €93,701
With re-entries included, 1,027 players took to the PokerStars-branded tables and created a €2,988,570 prize pool, with more than €1 million of that being awarded as mystery bounties.
Several household names made it into the money places or bagged a mystery bounty before busting. Martins Adeniya, Cherish Andrews, Dara O'Kearney, Michel Molenaar, Alexandre Reard, Endrit Geci, and Nick Palma were among those in-the-money finishers.
Italy's Candido Cappiello busted in 21st place yet took home the fifth-largest prize of the tournament. This was made possible by Cappiello opening mystery bounty envelopes containing €113,000, bringing his total to €124,250.
€3,250 EPT Mystery Bounty Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Bountied | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabiano Kovalski | Brazil | €54,000 | €331,430 | €385,430 |
| 2 | Brandon Harris | United Kingdom | €10,000 | €206,820 | €216,820 |
| 3 | Ai Tsuchiya | Japan | €12,000 | €147,720 | €159,720 |
| 4 | Edgard Moreau | Chile | €3,000 | €113,640 | €116,640 |
| 5 | Paawan Bansal | India | €92,000 | €87,420 | €179,420 |
| 6 | Longmao Fan | China | €2,000 | €67,230 | €69,230 |
| 7 | Andre Moreira | Portugal | €76,000 | €51,720 | €127,720 |
| 8 | Viacheslav Goryachev | Russia | €1,000 | €39,780 | €40,780 |
| 9 | Philip Corion | United Kingdom | €16,000 | €30,600 | €46,600 |
Philip Corion, one of two British players at the final table, saw his deep run end in a ninth-place finish worth €46,600.
Russia's Viacheslav Goryachev, who won this event at EPT Monte Carlo earlier in the year, fell in eighth for €40,870 before Andre Moreira bowed out in seventh and collected €127,720 in total.
The remaining players were guaranteed a six-figure payout when Longmao Fan (€69,230) was sent packing in sixth place.
There was a very much a career-high prize for Indian player Paawan Bansal. According to The Hendon Mob Database, there are no cashes on Bansal's profile. He now has one weighing in at €179,420.
Chilean Edgard Moreau also collected a career-best payout when he was eliminated in fourth. Moreau's previous best score was worth $22,398, his reward for winning a Kings Series of Poker Mini High Roller in Brazil last June. With bounty prizes included, Moreau padded his bankroll with €116,640 in this mystery bounty tournament.
After three cashes at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP), including a $16,000 career-high in the $500 Colossus, Japan's Ai Tsuchiya helped herself to a €159,720 payday in Barcelona.
Heads-up pitted Kovalski against the United Kingdom's Brandon Harris, who has enjoyed three cashes during the current EPT Barcelona series. Harris was guaranteed to reel in more than the $100,000 he banked for a sixth-place finish in the 2025 Irish Open Main Event, wherever he finished. He ultimately fell at the final hurdle, received €216,820, while Kovalski became a live poker champion for the third time, and scooped €385,430.
