The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) festivities in Barcelona have come to a close following two weeks of frantic, action-packed tournaments. Over the last 20 years, the EPT has crowned all manner of champions and this year was no exception to the rule.
Stephen Song triumphed over the field in the €5,300 Main Event, taking home the coveted PokerStars trophy and €1,290,386 for his efforts. While all eyes may have been on Song and his final table opponents for the tail end of the series, a number of notable winners were crowned in side events.
Other winners at EPT Barcelona
Just hours after the Main Event concluded, Canada's Mike Watson added a victory to his impressive run at the series. With third and second place finishes in events already under his belt, Watson entered the €10,300 EPT High Roller with his sights firmly set on the only podium finish he had yet to secure.
In a 431-entrant field saturated with high roller crushers, Watson rose to the top to claim victory after agreeing to an ICM deal with heads up opponent Enrico Camosci. While Watson eventually walked away with the EPT title and €595,000, Camosci's big lead at the time of the deal - he had a 4:1 chip advantage - means the Italian took home the lion's share of the remaining prize pool (€734,100) in the agreed-upon deal.
Spain's Soraya Estrada maneuvered her way to the top spot in the €550 Women's Event, taking home the trophy and €11,350 for her efforts. The Women's Event drew a field of 84 entrants and Estrada was joined at the final table by Game of Gold star Olga Iermolcheva and Argentinian crusher Maria Lampropulos.
Estrada defeated Joycelyn Lam Ho Yin heads up to notch the first tournament victory of her career.
The United Kingdom's own Will Kassouf snagged some silverware on the festival's closing day, winning €18,040 in the €550 Deep Stack event. From a field of 213 players, Kassouf emerged as the victor.
The same day, Erik Bauer took his seat at the final table of the €10,200 No-Limit Hold'em event and, hours later, emerged victorious to collect his first-ever PokerStars spade, along with a €151,400 score.
After finding himself on the short stack at the final table, Bauer clawed his way back to defeat David Dongwoo Ko, winner of the 8-Game Mix, in the heads-up portion of play.
Jeremie Zouari claimed his second EPT title with a win in the €10,200 Turbo 6-Max. It took less than eight hours for the Frenchman to secure the top spot from a field of 32 entrants.
Zouari defeated fellow countryman Thomas Eychenne heads-up to take home the trophy and €107,200.
Ottomar Ladva added a third EPT title to his already-impressive career accomplishments with victory in the second $25K NLHE event of the series. The Estonian rose above a field of 60 entrants, replete with well-known crushers like Nick Petrangelo, Patrik Antonius, Jesse Lonis, Sean Winter, and Sam Greenwood.
After a lengthy final day of play, Ladva stood alone as the victor, defeating Artsiom Lasouki heads-up to claim the trophy and €439,400 in prize money.
And so ends the 20th anniversary edition of the EPT, right in the very place where it all began in 2004. The next chance to win some silverware on the EPT will come in Cyprus, when the continent's biggest poker circus pitches up at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa from October 9-20.
Images Courtesy of PokerStars/Rational Intellectual Holdings Limited
