Seat 2: Jorge Abreu, 35, Guimaraes, Portugal (22,425,000)
Jorge Abreu has been playing poker professionally since he turned 18. A member of the Polarize Poker community, he last year picked up a huge $750,000 online score, but is now having the best run of his long career in a live event, which will mean his highest live score.
His previous EPT track record included four Main Event cashes, all in Barcelona and all far from the final table. But he has already had a sensational start to 2026, during which Abreu, playing as “Jorginho88” at PokerStars, captured two SCOOP Warm-Up titles just before he arrived at EPT Paris.
Abreu is a typical online grinder who likes his standard routine. Part of the reason why he doesn’t seek live action very often is his strict diet, which consists only of fruit and vegetables. It is easier to keep up with the diet when he’s in his home environment.
That doesn’t mean Abreu doesn’t travel, though. The Polarize Poker community usually spends the SCOOP and WCOOP weeks at a grindhouse. In the past, Brazil’s Florianopolis had been the home base, but for the last two years, the group opted for the Austrian mountains.
They don’t know where they’ll settle this year yet, even though the PokerStars SCOOP 2026 kicks off tomorrow. Abreu, though, will be busy in Paris, hoping to become Portugal’s fourth EPT Main Event winner, following Joao Barbosa, Antonio Matias, and Pedro Marques.
Final table bios courtesy of Jan Kores/PokerStars
Career statistics
Earnings: $164,176
EPT cashes: 4
Best result: 148th, 2016 EPT Barcelona
Tournament progression
Day 1: 174,000 (27/284, 1B)
Day 2: 366,000 (34/179)
Day 3: 2,250,000 (1/49)
Day 4: 2,745,000 (7/16)
Day 5: 22,425,000 (1/7)
Key hands
Abreu took the chip lead late on Day 3 when he shoved the river in a big pot against Cesar Garcia. Garcia eventually called for 700,000 with a flush, but Abreu had flopped quads to earn the knockout.
Abreu won a flip on Day 5 by hitting a pair of kings on the river to beat Raphael Bilger's pocket fives and send Bilger out in 14th place. Hen then picked up two jacks and called Jessica Teusl's shove for 810,000. Teusl could only show pocket tens and received no help on the board as she was eliminated in 13th.
Abreu began the final table as the chip leader and quickly pulled further ahead when he and Joris Ruijs got all their chips in the middle on the flop. Ruijs had flopped a set of fives, while Abreu had straight and flush draws. Abreu hit his straight on the turn, and Ruijs couldn't improve on the river and busted in ninth place. Sami Bechahed then shoved for 4,325,000 with two nines, but Abreu was lying in wait with two kings to earn yet another bustout and climb past 20,000,000.