2025 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

From a field of 81, and after two rounds of play on Saturday, just nine players remain in the Spin & Go Championship Live in Barcelona.

While PokerStars Ambassadors and Team Pros such as Andre Akkari, Jason Koon, Alejandro “Papo MC” Lococo and Nick Walsh missed out on Day 2, Spain's AndyPSX will be flying the PokerStars flag as the remaining players all chase the €100,000 first prize.

The Spanish PokerStars Team Pro had a long day, battling hard in the very first heat to secure victory in Round 1 before returning later that evening for Round 2. Two more rounds, and eight other players, are all that is separating him from the €100,000 first prize.

Spin & Go Championship Live Day 2 Qualifiers

Here are the final nine players who will play Round 3 at 13:00 local time in Barcelona. The seat draw for Round 3 is yet to be made.

• AndyPSX: PokerStars Team Pro
• Claudiu Moraru: Romanian who beat Alejandro “Papo MC” Lococo to advance from Round 1
• Cendoya Ruiz: Former blacksmith turned poker pro who played in the first Spin & Go Championship Live in Prague
• Krystian Lisowski: Polish player who will battle AndyPSX in Round 3.
• David Xarau: Semi-professional Spaniard who started playing poker in 2007.
• Guilherme Kleist: An accountant who also played in the first Spin & Go Championship Live in Prague
• Ilari Tiainen: Got into poker through a Finnish YouTuber. Plays ice hockey and tennis.
• Axel Piñeiro: Argentinian whose father and older brother played poker. Plays football and writes songs in his spare time
• Joao Nascimento: Started playing in 2018 and freerolled into this year's Spin & Go Championship

Spin & Go Championship Live Round 3 Draw

Table 1

• David Xarau (Spain)
• Claudiu Moraru (Romania)
• Guilherme Kleist (Brazil)

Table 2

• Axel Piñeiro (Argentina)
• Joao Nascimento (Brazil)
• Ilari Tiainen (Finland)

Table 3

• AndyPSX (Spain)
• Cendoya Ruiz (Spain)
• Krystian Lisowski (Poland)

Day 1 Action

Round 1 kicked off at 1 p.m. at Casino Barcelona with three heats of 27 hopefuls. The first heat featured Scott Hobson, who rescheduled his bachelor party after qualifying for the Spin & Go Championship Live. However, he unfortunately exited in Round 1.

Also exiting in Round 1 was PokerStars Ambassador Adam McKola who looked all set to secure victory. With two victories to his name, and three required for victory, he got it in with ace-ten against the ace-deuce of Axel Piñeiro. However, a deuce on the river extended play, and he was also ultimately eliminated.

AndyPSX was also involved in Round 1, and he spoke with PokerNews after advancing.

"I don't have much experience with Spins," he admitted. "But I've got a lot of experience with tournaments so I just had to adjust a bit. I really enjoyed it."

His Round 1 match was the very last to conclude, on the feature table after a tough battle, which could have resulted in any of the three competitors advancing.

"It's an amazing format. It was tense with the score 2-2-2 and any one of us could have won, under the cameras with the lights and everything."

In the second heat, Andre Akkari and defending champion Carlos Gurdiel were both eliminated, but Akkari was effusive in his praise for the format, telling the PokerStars Blog "This format is definitely going to spread."

Lastly, in the third heat PokerStars Team Pros Nick Walsh and Alejandro “Papo MC” Lococo were joined by the high stakes poker juggernaut that is Jason Koon. However, neither of the three were successful in making it through to Round 2.

Round 2 kicked off later in the evening, with all players in action simultaneously for the first time in the tournament. Italian recreational player Skye Pace missed out as Jokin Ruiz secured victory at his table. AndyPSX was up against Iván Cousillas and Bartosz Dziewierzynski, the latter of whom was one of the first to win his Round 1 match. However, the Spaniard came out on top.

David Xarau was the first player to advance from the third heat in Round 1, and he defeated Gerardo Gomez and Michal Resz in Round 2 to make it through to Round 3. Also through to Day 2 is Adam McKola's vanquisher from Round 1 Axel Piñeiro, along with Joao Nascimento who qualified for this event from a Step 1 freeroll, and Guilherme Kleist who played in the inaugural Spin & Go Championship Live in Prague last December.

All nine will return on Sunday looking to become the Spin & Go Championship Live overall champion here in Barcelona. Coverage including the live stream resumes at 13:30 local time.

Tags: Adam McKolaBartosz DziewierzynskiCarlos GurdielClaudio MoraruDavid XarauGerardo GomezGuilherme KleistIlari TiainenIván CousillasJason KoonJoao NascimentoJokin RuizKrystian LisowskiMichal ReszNick WalshScott HobsonSkye Pace

The field has been narrowed down to the final 27 players in the Spin & Go Championship Live Barcelona. Each table is set for three-handed play, with only the winners advancing. The nine who emerge victorious will return tomorrow at 13:00 for Round 3 and a shot at the Grand Final.

Table 1: Bartosz Dziewierzyński, AndyPSX, Iván Cousillas
Table 2: Matthew Arlow, Claudio Morano, Mateusz Zerko
Table 3: Skye Pace, Jokin Ruiz, Davide Bianchini
Table 4: Claudio Locci, Krystian Lisowski, Quentin Krug-Basse
Table 5: Gerardo Gómez, Michal Resz, David Xarau
Table 6: Guilherme Kleist, Danilo Carvalho, Javier Cruz
Table 7: João Nascimento, Demian Gómez, Alejandro España
Table 8: Imre Jankó, Rodolfo Alvarado, Ilari Tiainen
Table 9: Giuseppe Greco, Christopher Runas, Axel Piñeiro

All nine matches in Round 1a of the Spin & Go Championship Live have now been completed, and the players advancing to Round 2 are Quentin Krug-Basse, Bartosz Dziewierzyński, Giuseppe Greco, Axel Piñeiro, Imre Jankó, Skye Pace, João Nascimento, AndyPSX and César Arcos. They will return later today to continue their run toward Sunday’s finale, where €100,000 awaits the champion.