2022 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 6
Event Info

2022 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
88
Prize
€1,491,133
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€11,125,900
Entries
2,294
Level Info
Level
40
Blinds
600,000 / 1,200,000
Ante
1,200,000
Players Info - Day 6
Entries
6
Players Left
1

Seat 6: Neville Costa, 30, Brazil – 10,550,000

Neville Mateus
Neville Mateus

Brazilian player Neville Costa lives in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. From home games through poker clubs, he made the steps to turn pro several years ago.

Costa has amassed around $60,000 in reported live cashes, with the best deep run dating back to the 2014 WSOP Monsterstack event (47th for $26,534).

At PokerStars, Costa uses the moniker "NevilleWeeee“. He has already banked a six-figure prize in the online arena. He finished sixth in the 2020 WSOP Online Millionaire Maker for $288,356.

With his first EPT Main Event cash, Costa is guaranteed to best that online result. He (or Kovalski) can become the second Brazilian champion, following Marcelo Mesqueu‘s title at the tour‘s previous stop in Monte Carlo.

Neville Costa's Main Event Run

EnteringChipsPosition
Day 2104,000248/780
Day 3301,00093/210
Day 41,595,00010/64
Day 53,825,0007/16
Day 610,550,0005/6
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Neville Costa br
Neville Costa
10,550,000

Tags: Neville Costa

Seat 5: Giuliano Bendinelli, 31, Italy – 10,700,000

Giuliano Bendinelli
Giuliano Bendinelli

Giuliano Bendinelli has been playing the EPT events for more than a decade. He had cashed in five Main Event before the record-breaking EPT Barcelona tournament, but none were big deep runs.

Bendinelli's resume, however, includes a lot of side event results. Until this trip, Bendinelli's top score had stood at €100,000 for nine years. Back then, he won a €1,100 event at EPT Monte Carlo.

Now guaranteed to eclipse $1 million in live cashes, Bendinelli will set a new career-high with his EPT Barcelona payday. He can join Salvatore Bonavena and Antonio Buonanno as the third EPT Main Event champion from Italy and end an eight-year drought for the country.

Giuliano Bendinelli's Main Event run

EnteringChipsPosition
Day 284,500344/780
Day 3274,000104/210
Day 41,155,00024/64
Day 55,885,0005/16
Day 610,700,0004/6
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Giuliano Bendinelli it
Giuliano Bendinelli
10,700,000
EPT 1X Winner

Tags: Giuliano Bendinelli

Seat 4: Fabiano Kovalski, 34, Brazil – 12,925,000

Fabiano Kovalski
Fabiano Kovalski

Fabiano Kovalski might be called the EPT Barcelona Main Event specialist. This is the fourth time he will be cashing in this tournament, adding to his ITM finishes from 2016, 2018, and 2019.
The second cash was the biggest as Kovalski came close to making the final table. At the time, he would bow out in 11th place for €98,900.

With over $1 million in cashes and experience with such a deep run, Kovalski is in a great spot to make the most of his first EPT Main Event final table appearance. And it's not just Barcelona where Kovalski thrives. The Brazilian boasts nearly $5 million in online winnings at PokerStars, where he plays as "kovalski1".

Fabiano Kovalski's Main Event run

EnteringChipsPosition
Day 283,500350/780
Day 3291,00099/210
Day 41,600,0009/64
Day 54,540,0006/16
Day 612,925,0003/6
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Fabiano Kovalski br
Fabiano Kovalski
12,925,000

Tags: Fabiano Kovalski

Seat 3: Patrik Jaros, 29, Czech Republic – 14,975,000

Patrik Jaros
Patrik Jaros

Patrik Jaros likes to play computer games – mainly World of Warcraft. "I'm not that good at sports," he said. But he's very solid at poker.

Jaros played the game for fun with friends in high school. When he turned 18, he started to look for live action. Jaros initially considered poker only as a part-time source of income. But after a year, he quit his regular job to focus fully on poker.

Although mainly a cash game player, Jaros has racked up more than $220,000 in tournament cashes. Gradually moving from smaller to higher stakes, Jaros has improved his career-best score several times this year.

He will do that again here in Barcelona, turning his second-ever EPT Main Event appearance into at least a six-figure score. He can become the Czech Republic's second EPT winner, following Jan Skampa's win at EPT Prague 2009.

Patrick Jaros' Main Event run

EnteringChipsPosition
Day 277,500384/780
Day 3497,00047/210
Day 42,200,0006/64
Day 510,350,0003/16
Day 614,975,0001/6
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Patrik Jaros cz
Patrik Jaros
14,975,000
Day 5 Chip Leader

Tags: Patrik Jaros

Seat 2: Jimmy Guerrero, 40, France – 5,100,000

Jimmy Guerrero
Jimmy Guerrero

When Jimmy Guerrero first made the EPT Main Event final table, he was engaged to Thi Xoa Nguyen. Now married, the poker couple has a one-year-old child. Both Guerrero and Nguyen are professional players, and they continue to frequently compete on the live felt – thanks to grandma’s help.

Guerrero has racked up more than $1.7 million in live tournament cashes. The third-place finish and €406,850 payday from EPT Monte Carlo 2016 remains his best result, but he only needs to ladder one more position here to set his new career-high.

Getting to the final table took Guerrero only four days. He was busy playing cash games, so he entered straight into Day 2. He’s spun the 20 big-blind stack into his fourth EPT Main Event cash and a chance to become the 11th champion from France (first since Nicholas Dumont at EPT Monte Carlo 2018.

While short-stacked, Guerrero is excited about his second final-table appearance. "I thrive when the table is fun. Silent tables, no one likes them! All in all, I think it might one of the most entertaining tables in EPT history," he said.

Jimmy Guerrero's Main Event run

EnteringChipsPosition
Day 230,000651/780
Day 3740,00011/210
Day 41,350,00019/64
Day 51,160,00014/16
Day 65,100,0006/6
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Jimmy Guerrero fr
Jimmy Guerrero
5,100,000

Tags: Jimmy Guerrero

Seat 1: Kayhan Mokri, 28, Norway – 14,575,000

Kayhan Mokri
Kayhan Mokri

Kayhan Mokri picked up poker six or seven years ago. Around 2018, he turned professional. While his forte is cash games, Mokri has already had some success at tournament tables.

He has racked up over $200,000 in live cashes, but, more importantly, Mokri's biggest MTT success came online at PokerStars. Known as "KayhanMok", he finished third in last year's $10k SCOOP Main Event for a massive $791,074 payday.

"Maybe I'll start playing some more tournaments now," he said, considering that he's already notched outstanding results despite a low tournament volume.

Mokri can emerge as the fourth player from Norway to capture the EPT Main Event title and the first in 12 years. While representing Norway, he hasn't spent much time at home lately. This year, he's been nearly always on the road. Traveling and playing padel are Mokri's favorite activities.

Kayhan Mokri's Main Event run

EnteringChipsPosition
Day 2178,00064/780
Day 31,303,0001/210
Day 43,000,0003/64
Day 510,620,0002/16
Day 614,575,0002/6
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Kayhan Mokri no
Kayhan Mokri
14,575,000
Day 2 Chip Leader

Tags: Kayhan Mokri

The Final Table of the €5,300 Main Event Starts Soon

Fabiano Kovalski
Fabiano Kovalski

Welcome to the final day of the €5,300 2022 PokerStars and Barcelona©Casino European Poker Tour Main Event.

Out of a 2,294 entry strong field, only 6 players will return at 12:30 p.m. local time to their seats on the feature stage to continue to battle it out until a winner is crowned.

Patrik Jaros will begin the day as the chip leader with a stack of 14,975,000. Jaros was steadily building throughout Day 5 and will be looking to continue to do so today in order to try and close it out.

Jaros's closest competitor is Kayhan Mokri with 14,575,000. Mokri, who finished second after a penultimate day that saw him move from the bottom to the top, will have his eyes on his first live title through this record-breaking Main Event.

Brazil's established player Fabiano Kovalski will return in third place and a win would almost triple his total career live earnings. Kovalski, whose fourth time it is cashing in this tournament, will try to be the last one standing this time.

They are joined at the final table by Giuliano Bendinelli (10,700,000), Neville Costa (10,550,000), and Jimmy Guerrero (5,100,000).

Final Table Chip Counts

SeatPlayerCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Kayhan MokriNorway14,575,00058
2Jimmy GuerreroFrance5,100,00020
3Patrik JarosCzech Republic14,975,00060
4Fabiano KovalskiBrazil12,925,00052
5Giuliano BendinelliItaly10,700,00043
6Neville CostaBrazil10,550,00042

The action is scheduled to recommence with 19:28 minutes remaining in Level 33 at blinds of 125,000/250,000 and with a big blind ante of 250,000. Levels will last 90 minutes each with a 20-minute break after each level and with a dinner break at the discretion of the tournament directors.

The biggest slice of the €11,125,900 prize pool is still up for grabs and the six finalists have locked up a payday of €334,480. However, the prestigious Main Event title and the top prize of €1,714,000 are reserved for the winner.

Remaining Final Table Payouts

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1  €1,714,000
2  €1,027,470
3  €734,470
4  €565,280
5  €434,850
6  €334,480
7Michael PintoNetherlands€257,330
8Scott MargeresonUnited Kingdom€198,000

The final showdown will be broadcasted on a security delay of 30 minutes on the PokerStars YouTube and Twitch channels. All PokerNews live updates will be published according to the delayed cards-up coverage.

Tags: Fabian KovalskiGiuliano BendinelliJimmy GuerreroKayhan MokriMichael PintoNeville CostaPatrik JarosScott Margereson

Could YOU Make This Hero Call at an EPT Main Event Final Table?

Level 34 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Fabiano Kovalski
Fabiano Kovalski

Seven players left and €1,700,000 for the winner - Fabiano Kovalski found himself in a position to potentially knock out Michael Pinto in seventh place and bring Day 5 to a close.

Could you do it? Could you pull the trigger?

Check out the article and read the hand history before deciding for yourself!

Guerrero Rivers Superior Straight

Level 34 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Jimmy Guerrero
Jimmy Guerrero

Kayhan Mokri limped the small blind with {q-Clubs}{3-Clubs} and Jimmy Guerrero checked his option with {8-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds}.

The duo checked to the river on the {k-Spades}{7-Diamonds}{4-Spades}{5-Clubs}{6-Clubs} board. Mokri bet 550,000 and Guerrero used a time extension before raising to 1,300,000.

"Aye, aye, aye," Mokri said as he suspected an eight, but ultimately still called.

Guerrero tabled his hand and claimed the pot with his higher straight.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Kayhan Mokri no
Kayhan Mokri
13,380,000
-1,450,000
-1,450,000
Day 2 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Jimmy Guerrero fr
Jimmy Guerrero
7,230,000
1,600,000
1,600,000

Tags: Jimmy GuerreroKayhan Mokri