Seat 6: Umberto Zaffagnini, 36, Lugo, Italy (9,525,000)
Umberto Zaffagnini started playing poker about 10 years ago, and although he is still just a recreational player, he says he is always eager to improve, especially in his favored live cash games.
His previous tournament results are modest – before this, €12,000 is his biggest prize – but he has played them only very occasionally for about five years. But he is very proud of the game he has played this week and is happy that it has paid dividends with an appearance at the final in such an enormous event.
Unlike many of his adversaries in Barcelona, Zaffagnini says he doesn't like online poker; for him, the most beautiful form of poker is live.
He owns a company in Italy that manufactures peristaltic pumps (for liquids), and poker is his hobby, along with football. He is an ardent supporter of Juventus.
Player profiles courtesy of Jan Kores/PokerStars
Tournament Progression
Day 1: 94,000 (153/424, 1b)
Day 2: 131,000 (193/313)
Day 3: 782,000 (32/103)
Day 4: 2,925,000 (5/29)
Day 5: 4,410,000 (7/11)
Day 6: 9,525,000 (4/6)
Career Statistics
Career earnings: $80,031
EPT cashes: 1
Best EPT result: 201st, 2023 EPT Barcelona
Key Hands
On Day 4, Zaffagnini turned a straight against Michael Uguccioni and called a bet of 500,000 on the river as Uguccioni was bluffing with just ace-high.
At the final table, Zaffagnini got creative and bluffed Anton Suarez off a straight draw by raising to 1,800,000 on the flop with just king-high.