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Day 3 of the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona €5,300 Main Event is in the books. At the start of the day, 205 players out of the starting field of 1,823 entries returned to Casino Barcelona, all having secured a piece of the massive €8,841,550 prize pool. After five levels of play, only 67 of them still have a shot at becoming the newest EPT champion and banking the top prize of €1,370,050.
At the end of the night, Fabricio Nociolini bagged 2,510,000, worth 167 big blinds when play resumes on Day 4. Nociolini got the majority of his chips during the final phases of the night, starting the final level inside the top ten before hitting a two-outer to eliminate Oleg Vasylchenko and catching Jacek Skiscim with a huge bluff to end the evening with the chip lead.
Second in chips is Joris Ruijs, who was the only other player to cross the two-million mark. With 2,185,000, the Dutchman is eyeing a second deep run in an EPT Main Event this year, having finished ninth at EPT Paris. Romania's Alexandru Toderita completes the top three with 1,970,000.
Sebastian Malec, looking to recreate the magic on the 10th anniversary of his iconic EPT Barcelona Main Event victory, bagged 1,950,000, in large part due to Alexander Ivarsson six-betting all in with pocket eights into Malec's pocket kings during the final hands of Day 3.
Day 3 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabricio Nociolini | Brazil | 2,510,000 | 167 |
| 2 | Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | 2,185,000 | 146 |
| 3 | Alexandru Toderita | Romania | 1,970,000 | 131 |
| 4 | Sebastian Malec | Poland | 1,950,000 | 130 |
| 5 | Eduardo Kalil | Brazil | 1,950,000 | 130 |
| 6 | Edward Pak | United States | 1,505,000 | 100 |
| 7 | Grzegorz Kozieja | Poland | 1,475,000 | 98 |
| 8 | Xiaosheng Zheng | China | 1,465,000 | 98 |
| 9 | Gerard Carbo | Spain | 1,455,000 | 97 |
| 10 | Jose Criado | Spain | 1,355,000 | 90 |
One year before Malec, Hall of Famer John Juanda was the one to hoist the trophy at EPT Barcelona. He too remains in contention for a historic double, bagging 990,000 for an above-average stack. Similarly, 2023 EPT Barcelona champion Simon Wiciak remains in contention, although with 415,000, he is among the shorter stacks of the field. Two other EPT winners still have a shot at claiming their second titles: 2010 EPT Grand Final champion Nicolas Chouity (1,050,000), and Mark Teltscher (695,000), who won EPT London all the way back in 2005.
On the flip side, EPT champions Anton Wigg (189th - €9,900) and Barny Boatman (182nd - €11,400) saw their runs come to an end during the early stages of Day 3. They were joined on the rail by the likes of Leo Worthington-Leese (134th - €13,100), Parker Talbot (128th - €13,100), Andrea Dato (101st - €15,050), Alexandre Reard (99th - €15,050), Ankit Ahuja (98th - €15,050), and Nacho Barbero (69th - €19,900).
Meanwhile, one of the many interesting storylines reached its conclusion on Day 3, as Ireland's John Dwyer finished 105th for €15,050 for his first-ever EPT cash. Dwyer was one of two brothers taking their seats on Day 3, with Day 1 chip leader Michael Dwyer remaining in contention with a stack of 615,000.
Day 4 of the EPT Barcelona Main Event will begin on Wednesday, August 26, at noon local time. The blinds will be 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 big blind ante, and the provisional schedule calls for four 90-minute levels to be played. A short break will take place after every level, with the day scheduled to finish around 7 p.m. local time, although this may be subject to change.
The 67 remaining players have all locked up €19,900 for making it this far, with a pay jump to €22,900 some ways away at 55th place. Six-figure payouts await when the field is reduced to a final table of nine players, while the top three finishers will all take home more than half a million.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,370,050 | 10-11 | €97,700 | |
| 2 | €857,800 | 12-13 | €81,350 | |
| 3 | €612,700 | 14-15 | €67,800 | |
| 4 | €471,250 | 16-17 | €56,600 | |
| 5 | €362,500 | 18-20 | €47,150 | |
| 6 | €278,950 | 21-23 | €40,050 | |
| 7 | €214,600 | 24-31 | €34,850 | |
| 8 | €165,050 | 32-39 | €26,350 | |
| 9 | €126,950 | 40-55 | €22,900 | |
| 56-67 | €19,900 |
PokerNews will be back on the tournament floor in Barcelona for Day 4, so make sure to tune back in to get all the latest updates from the 2026 EPT Barcelona Main Event.
