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Seat 6: Manuel Ferrari, 34, Caldonazzo, Italy – 16,100,000
“I really want an EPT title,” said Manuel Ferrari back in June 2025. That was when he topped the PokerStars Open Malaga Main Event and captured his first Shard trophy.
That dream may come true here in Barcelona. If he manages it, Ferrari will actually be collecting a third Shard, having also won the PokerStars Open High Roller in Campione in January. It has been a spectacular year and a half for the Italian.
“I love PokerStars festivals and Barcelona is my favorite stop,” said Ferrari, who hails from Caldonazzo, a small village near the Dolomites.
This is only his third EPT Main Event appearance. He played here last year and then tried his luck in Paris, but busted two bullets on both occasions. His first attempt at EPT Barcelona 2026 didn’t work out either, but this time Ferrari turned his re-entry into a very long adventure.
“The only PokerStars trophy missing in my collection is the EPT Main Event title!” Ferrari said.
Ferrari set himself up for the hat-trick after storming into a big chip lead after making a great hero call against Matas Cimbolas on Day 5.
Ferrari has been playing poker since 2010 but only became interested in the technical approach and studying in the post-Covid years. He also credited the other members of his study group, who have helped him improve as a player. One of them, Luca Bernardi, has been on his rail here in Barcelona.
It has been four years since his countryman Giuliano Bendinelli won the largest ever EPT Main Event in Barcelona, and Ferrari is now in pole position to ascend to the same throne.
Player bios courtesy of Jan Kores/Florence Mazet/PokerStars
Career statistics
The Hendon Mob Earnings: $579,671
EPT Main Event cashes: 0
Best result: n/a
Tournament progression
Day 1: n/a
Day 2: 172,000 (128/205)
Day 3: 1,080,000 (21/67)
Day 4: 2,805,000 (6/28)
Day 5: 10,625,000 (1/13)
Day 6: 16,100,000 (1/6)
Key hands
During the final few hands of Day 5, Ferrari was put in a spot by Matas Cimbolas. Cimbolas had check-raised Ferrari's bet on the river, and Ferrari found a call with second pair. It was the correct call, as Cimbolas had turned his third pair into a bluff. Ferrari won the pot and became the first player to obtain an eight-figure stack.
One day later, Ferrari proved to be the final nail in Cimbolas' coffin. Ferrari eliminated his nemesis in 11th place when the latter called off with top pair against Ferrari's kings.
"I don't bluff", Ferrari told Cimbolas. "I'm a Ferrari that don't speed."