button in SafariManuel Ferrari Shifts Into Top Gear to Take Pole Position in EPT Barcelona Main Event
Day 5 of the €5,300 Main Event at the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona has come to an end inside Casino Barcelona, with the field whittled down to just 13 players. They have all locked up at least €81,350 from the €8,841,550 prize pool, but with the €1,370,050 top prize and the EPT Barcelona Main Event title getting closer, there is still plenty left to play for.
Sitting pretty at the top heading into Day 6 is Italy's Manuel Ferrari, who bagged 10,625,000 and is the only player to break into eight-figure territory. Ferrari will return with 106 big blinds and quite the lead at the top after leapfrogging the two Spanish players who had occupied the top spots at the start of the day.
Online qualifier Jose Criado is still more than comfortable in second with 8,950,000, and his good friend and fellow Spaniard Gerard Carbo rounds out the podium on 8,325,000. The pair lingered around the top of the counts for much of the day and remain firmly in the mix as the Main Event heads into its penultimate day.
End of Day 5 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manuel Ferrari | Italy | 10,625,000 | 106 |
| 2 | Jose Criado | Spain | 8,950,000 | 90 |
| 3 | Gerard Carbo | Spain | 8,325,000 | 83 |
| 4 | Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | 5,950,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Xiaosheng Zheng | China | 4,225,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Michael Dwyer | Ireland | 3,475,000 | 35 |
| 7 | Barbara Akemi | Brazil | 3,300,000 | 33 |
| 8 | Matas Cimbolas | Lithuania | 2,675,000 | 27 |
| 9 | Nicolas Chouity | Lebanon | 2,000,000 | 20 |
| 10 | Edward Pak | United States | 1,850,000 | 19 |
| 11 | Vasyl Pidhrusnyi | Ukraine | 1,475,000 | 15 |
| 12 | Lukas van Eeden | Netherlands | 1,175,000 | 12 |
| 13 | Toni Kaukua | Finland | 650,000 | 7 |
Day 5 Action
With 28 players returning for Day 5, there was little time for anyone to settle in before the eliminations started coming at a rapid rate. Eight players were shown the door during the opening level, quickly reducing the Main Event field to 20.
Luigi Minolfi was the first to go, with Albert Grane, Gabriel Tavares, and Henok Tekle Mariam soon following. A brutal river saw the Day 2 chip leader Grzegorz Kozieja bust, while Mitch Garshofsky, and Romain Lewis were also sent packing before the first break.
One of the biggest stories just before the break was the felting of 2016 EPT Barcelona Main Event champion Sebastian Malec. Malec had been looking to repeat his famous victory ten years on, but his quest ended in 21st place at the hands of Matas Cimbolas. Malec check-jammed the river with blockers, only for Cimbolas to make the right call with trips, bringing Malec's hunt for a second Barcelona title to an end.
The eliminations kept coming after the first break. Alexandru Toderita, who had started the day inside the top ten, departed in 20th place, before Day 3 chip leader Fabricio Nociolini and Vinicius Goncalves followed him out the door. Jonas ten Cate in a flush-over-flush confrontation, and Eduardo Kalil were next to go, collecting €56,600 for finishing 17th and 16th, respectively.
That left 15 players, with two former EPT Main Event champions still among them: John Juanda and Nicolas Chouity. Juanda's stack had taken several hits throughout the day, and a rivered flush for Lukas van Eeden eventually left the poker great with just crumbs and the big blind approaching in a few hands.
It didn't take much longer for Juanda's remaining chips to be sent flying into the middle, especially when the poker Hall of Famer was holding suited Broadway cards, but qualifier Criado called with pocket fives and held to send Juanda to the rail in 15th place for €67,800. With his exit, Chouity was left as the only former EPT Main Event champion still with a shot at becoming a two-time winner.
The final representative of France, Arnaud Enselme, was the last player to hit the rail for the day, getting his ace-ten in against the ace-king of Cimbolas. Enselme couldn't find the help he needed on the runout, ending his Main Event and leaving 13 players and the clock ticking down toward the end of the night.
There was still time for one last big pot, though, and it was Ferrari who sped further away from the rest. Cimbolas attempted a huge river check-raise bluff against the Italian, but Ferrari zoned in and thought it over before finding the hero-call with just second pair. It proved to be spot on, sending Ferrari over the ten million mark and making him the man to catch when cards hit the felt on Day 6.
Focus now shifts to Friday, August 28, when the 13 remaining players return to Casino Barcelona at noon local time for Day 6, with play resuming on Level 29 with blinds of 50,000/100,000 and a 100,000 big blind ante. The schedule calls for play to continue until just six players remain, with those who survive securing their place on the final day of the EPT Barcelona Main Event.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | €1,370,050 |
| 2 | €857,800 |
| 3 | €612,700 |
| 4 | €471,250 |
| 5 | €362,500 |
| 6 | €278,950 |
| 7 | €214,600 |
| 8 | €165,050 |
| 9 | €126,950 |
| 10-11 | €97,700 |
| 12-13 | €81,350 |
The action will be streamed on a delay on the PokerStars YouTube channel, while the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor inside Casino Barcelona to bring you all the action as the final 13 battle for a place at the final table.