Seat 1: Felix Schneiders, 44, Cologne, Germany (1,950,000)
Already one of the best-known players in the German poker community, Felix Schneiders has made all the right moves here in Paris to put himself in the global spotlight. Schneiders is a former math student and Magic: The Gathering player who followed many of his fellow Magic players into the more profitable world of poker, starting with low-stakes games online. He was immediately taken by the idea of building a community through poker, and worked with the German online training site Intellipoker to introduce new players to the game.
Schneiders, known as “xflixx” online, first partnered with PokerStars in 2013 to help build the community for recreational players, and he was also able to combine his love for content creation and became an early Twitch streamer, showcasing his poker skills. He switched from cash games to tournaments to make the streams more accessible, and the community continued to grow. Countless players now credit Schneiders with first introducing them to poker via his stream, something that continues to give him immense pleasure.
Gradually, Schneiders began to migrate to the live circuit as well, thanks in no small part to his association with PokerStars, and he is now a familiar sight at the EPT. His GRND on Tour team follows his every move in the big events, streaming all the action with dedicated live commentary and exclusive interviews with the man himself.
In recent years, he has committed himself to improving his game significantly, hiring a poker coach and studying more and more. It has been of significant and dramatic benefit, with Schneiders picking up five EPT Main Event cashes in the past two years, including this first appearance at a final table.
“I'm hungry,” Schneiders said. “I want a trophy.”
Final table bios courtesy of Jan Kores/PokerStars
Career statistics
Earnings: $251,446
EPT cashes: 3
Best result: 48th, 2025 EPT Malta
Tournament progression
Day 1: 157,000 (36/284, 1B)
Day 2: 311,000 (48/179)
Day 3: 1,725,000 (5/49)
Day 4: 2,735,000 (8/16)
Day 5: 1,950,000 (7/7)
Key hands
Schneiders first crossed the 1,000,000-chip mark on Day 3 when he four-bet shoved all in on the flop in a pot against Olivier Fazio.
On Day 5, Schneiders picked up two tens and called when Julien Mariani shoved for 900,000 with ace-seven. As their two rails shouted for cards, Schneiders' pair held on to earn him the knockout. He then flopped top pair holding ace-jack in a pot against Nazar Buhaiov at the final table. Schneiders committed most of his stack with a bet of 875,000 on the river, but Buhaiov managed to get away from ace-nine.