Jorge Alberdi completed from the small blind, and Benjamin Spragg made it 7,000 out of the big blind. Alberdi called to a see a flop.
Alberdi knuckled the action over to Spragg on the 4♠J♣3♠ flop, and Spragg put out a continuation-bet of 6,000. Alberdi chose to check-raise to 14,000, and Spragg continued in the form of a call.
When an A♠ landed on the turn, the remaining 20,000 of Alberdi got into the middle, and Spragg had a chance to send him home.
Jorge Alberdi: J♠10♦
Benjamin Spragg: A♥10♣
Spragg had taken the lead with a pair of aces on the turn, and only a spade or jack would keep Alberdi in his seat.
The dealer burned a card and then delivered the 10♠ on the river, to give both players two pair. However, Alberdi also improved to a flush to win the pot.
Alberdi doubled up and Spragg was left with around 60,000.
The final numbers for the 2025 EPT Barcelona Main Event are in and show 2,045 entries, making it the third-largest EPT Main Event in history in terms of total entries. That includes 1,490 unique players representing 82 countries to generate a prize pool of €9,918,250.
This year saw a 3.5% increase in the number of total entries from 2024, according to PokerStars, and a 1.4% increase in unique participants.
More than a tenth of the field is flying the French flag, with 191 French players representing 12.82% of unique entrants. The next most represented country is Italy with 135 players (9.06%) and Spain with 129 players (8.66%). Meanwhile, the EPT Barcelona Main Event drew 92 British players (6.17%) and two fewer Americans (6.04%).
EPT Barcelona player nationalities (courtesy PokerStars)
Also among the 82 countries represented in the field are Iran, Peru, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates, all of which produced two players to make up less than a percentage of the field. Countries with just one player representing them include Vietname, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Take a look at the full nationality breakdown of the 2025 EPT Barcelona Main Event in the table below.
A huge all-in pot worth over 300,000 was about to have its board ran between Paul Gunness and Youssef Zereg, with the latter being at risk for his stack of 151,500.
Youssef Zereg: K♦K♣
Paul Gunness: A♠K♠
Zereg had the goods with pocket kings, but they are always vulnerable when a player holds an ace. However, Zereg didn't need to worry as no ace appeared on the J♥9♦7♦8♦8♠ runout, which sent his stack soaring.
Gunness would have been among the chip leaders if his big slick got there, but he still sits with a healthy stack of around 100,000.
Julien "Jbzz" Dupré opened to 4,000 from early position and was only called by John Woods in the cutoff.
The dealer fanned a flop of 4♠8♣7♥ and Jbzz check then called a bet of 2,500 by Woods.
On the Q♣ turn, Dupré led out for 5,000 but Woods raised to 21,000. Dupré called.
The French streamer checked the 8♠ river and saw Woods bet 47,000. Dupré put a blue chip in front of him to call but lost to Woods full house with 7♣7♠ to be back at the starting stack.
The 2025 EPT Barcelona Main Event has officially locked in a massive €9,918,250 prize pool after drawing 2,045 entries, making it the third-largest EPT Main Event in history. A total of 1,490 unique players took part, with 555 reentries helping to push the numbers past last year’s 1,975 total.
This is the 20th edition of the EPT Barcelona Main Event, cementing its reputation as the crown jewel of the tour. The top prize stands at €1,436,000, while a min-cash is worth €8,550. In total, 303 players will make the money.
Barcelona once again proved to be the most popular stop on the EPT, with players from 82 countries represented in the field. France led the way with 191 players, followed by Italy (135), Spain (129), the UK (92), and the United States (90).
With this year’s numbers, the EPT Barcelona Main Event has now produced more than €128 million in prize money across its 20-year history, continuing its legacy as one of poker’s most iconic tournaments.
Matthew McEwan raised from early position, Benjamin Spragg in the big blind moved all-in for 9,500 and McEwen immediately made the call.
Benjamin Spragg: 9♠9♦
Matthew McEwan: 6♦6♠
Spragg was in the lead, but after a flop of Q♣10♦10♠, McEwen hit a full house with the 6♥ turn. However the 9♥ river saved Spragg and he secured a double up.
Both starting flights of the €5,300 Main Event of the 2025 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona have played out inside Casino Barcelona and it's now time for Day 2, which kicks off at noon local time.
Leading both starting flights is Day 1A chip leader Daiki Shingae, followed by France's Marc Bougare, Day 1B chip leader Anton Kraous of Bulgaria and Italty's Demis Mariani. Rounding out the top-ten chip counts heading into Day 2 are Jerry Odeen, Volodymyr Pashchetnyk, Cesar Garcia, Olivier Fazio, high-stakes pro Steve O'Dwyer and Jakub Sterba, who is just a few days removed from a career-best finish in the PokerStars Open Main Event.
EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 2 Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
1
Daiki Shingae
Japan
444,000
2
Marc Bougaret
France
339,000
3
Anton Kraous
Bulgaria
330,000
4
Demis Mariani
Italy
309,500
5
Jerry Odeen
Sweden
302,500
6
Jakub Sterba
Czechia
291,000
7
Volodymyr Pashchetnyk
Ukraine
278,500
8
Cesar Garcia
Spain
277,500
9
Olivier Fazio
France
276,000
10
Steve O'Dwyer
Ireland
266,000
O'Dwyer is hardly the only big name in the Day 2 field. Defending champion and 2022 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song is looking to go back-to-back after making the most of a second bullet, while the same is true for his predecessor, 2023 winner Simon Wiciak.
Other notables in the Day 2 field include poker villain Martin Kabrhel, recent the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller champion Leon Sturm, Rania Nasreddine, Kasey Lyn Mills, Jessica Vierling, Eugene Katchalov and Niklas Astedt.
Leon Sturm
Representing the PokerStars brand are team pros Kenny Hallaert, Alejandro Lococo, and the poker power couple of Marle Spragg and Benjamin Spragg.
Day 2 will consist of four 90-minute levels with 20-minute breaks at the end of each level. Late registration will remain until the start of the day as the field gets closer to surpassing its 2024 total and reaching a 2,000-entry milestone.
The prize pool will be formalized after the close of late registration, but it is unlikely the money will be reached on Day 2.
Stick around as the PokerNews live reporting team is on-site and ready to provide updates as the EPT Barcelona Main Event gets closer to the money.
