João Sydenstricker raised to 1,100,000 on the button and Simon Wiciak used a time bank before three-betting to 4,000,000. Sydenstricker called as the flop came 9♣5♦2♥.
Wiciak continued for 3,000,000 and Sydenstricker called. The turn came the 4♠ and Wiciak slowed down and checked.
Sydenstricker then bet 3,500,000 and Wiciak called to the 9♥ river, checking over to Sydenstricker again. Sydenstricker counted out his remaining stack before moving all in for 19,375,000.
Wiciak ripped off his sunglasses and stood up from his seat as he asked for a count. He had Sydenstricker covered by just 3,000,000 and used a time bank as he sat back down in his chair. Another 30 seconds elapsed as Wiciak burned through another time bank.
He eventually called and Sydenstricker showed Q♥10♣ for a bluff. Wiciak slammed down 6♣5♣ for two pair, nines and fives, and ran over to his rail to celebrate.
Simon Wiciak
Sydenstricker was forced to walk over into the consoling arms of his passionate supporters as he finished as the runner-up, while Wiciak took home the EPT trophy and €1,134,375 top prize.
The K♥ turn gave Shaw the lead with a straight and Plante couldn't win or chop as the J♥ bricked out on the river to mark Plante's elimination in fourth place.
Joao Sydenstricker opened to 525,000 from the button before Ezequiel Waigel moved all in for 4,750,000 in the big blind. Sydenstricker confirmed the amount before he called.
Ezequiel Waigel: A♥7♠
Joao Sydenstricker: A♦K♣
Sydenstricker had Waigel dominated and ran over to his rail, who began chanting "Hey!" as the dealer turned over the 9♦8♥3♥ flop.
Waigel found no help on the 4♠ turn, while the 2♣ river sent the Brazilian rail into delirious celebration and made Waigel the first casualty of the day, taking home €302,500 for his sixth-place finish.
The gold-plated PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event trophy has been standing sentinel in its case for the past week, just waiting for one lucky player to emerge from among a field of 2,120 and hoist it in the air. That wait will finally come to an end today when the final table resumes at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Simon Wiciak is the player everyone is hoping to catch at the final table. The 30-year-old Frenchman has dominated the tournament for the better part of three days and holds the chip lead with 22,875,000. Wiciak is a former professional soccer player and engineer who only took up live tournaments over the past year; all of his live cashes have come since April 2022. With just over $100,000 in earnings, he’s already guaranteed to triple that total but will be looking for much more today.
Final Table Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Simon Wiciak
France
22,875,000
92
2
Carl Shaw
United Kingdom
17,400,000
70
3
Santiago Plante
Canada
7,500,000
30
4
Joao Sydenstricker
Brazil
6,150,000
25
5
Ezequiel Waigel
Argentina
5,150,000
21
6
Andre Akkari
Brazil
4,500,000
18
Carl Shaw follows behind him in second place with 17,400,000. The Englishman is no stranger to navigating through massive tournament fields. He made a deep run in the 2019 WSOP Main Event, then followed that up by winning a WSOP bracelet a few days later. He also made the final table of the Irish Open back in April. Shaw was on the right side of the biggest pot of the tournament yesterday to briefly take the chip lead away from Wiciak as the two players hold more than 63 percent of the total chips in play between them.
Carl Shaw
The four players playing catch up at the final table are led by Canadian Santiago Plante. The 27-year-old from Montreal was already enjoying an incredible trip to Barcelona before entering the Main Event. He had cashed in each of the three events he played in, including a final table in a €2,100 No-Limit Hold’em event and 45th place in the record-breaking Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event. He’s now navigated his way through this field and wound up at another final table in third place with 7,500,000.
Joao Sydenstricker is one of two Brazilians remaining in the field and will be supported by a raucous rail today. He comes into the final table in fourth place with 6,150,000. He cashed in the ESPT but otherwise had no live cashes outside his native Brazil before coming to Barcelona. His best results have come online, where, playing under the name “sydens,” he won the Sunday Million in June for $86,099.
Ezequiel Waigel of Argentina has 5,150,000 to begin the day and is the one player at the final table who can’t eclipse his largest career cash even with the €1,488,000 top prize. Known as “eze8888” online, he won the WCOOP Main Event in 2018 for more than $1,500,000. He only came to Barcelona after qualifying for the ESPT online, then earned his seat in the Main Event in a live qualifier. Waigel’s previous best EPT result was 32nd in Prague in 2022.
Then there is the Brazilian legend and Team PokerStars Ambassador Andre Akkari, who once again finds himself at the bottom of the leaderboard for the third straight day with 4,500,000. Akkari has been nursing a short stack for days, consistently finding ways to stay alive and double up just when his chances appeared the most bleak. He’s been cashing in EPT events for more than 15 years and first cashed at EPT Barcelona in 2011. He’s one spot away from matching his fifth-place finish from EPT Barcelona in 2017 but will have to work some magic once again. Akkari can take some optimism from last year’s final table, where Giuliano Bendinelli found himself in an even more dire situation, down to just one big blind, but battled back to take the trophy.
Final Table payouts
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
€1,488,000
2
€931,250
3
€664,750
4
€511,300
5
€393,300
6
€302,500
7
Curtis Knight
Canada
€232,700
8
Robin Ylitalo
Sweden
€179,000
The remaining six players will come back with 65 minutes remaining on Level 33, with blinds of 125,000-250,000 and a 250,000 big blind ante. The final table will be streamed on a 30-minute delay by PokerStars TV on YouTube and Twitch. They are all guaranteed at least €302,500, but by the end of the day one player will take home €1,488,000 and the right to forever be known as an EPT champion.
The trophy has been waiting. The day has finally arrived. A new EPT Barcelona champion will be crowned today, and Pokernews will be providing all the updates as the six survivors from a once-massive field battle throughout the night until only one is left standing.
