Name: EPT Barcelona Open, then EPT Barcelona, then PokerStars Championship Barcelona, then EPT Barcelona again.
Age: 21.
Appearance: A major poker series in a major European city.
Why all the different names? Unclear. Barcelona was the very first series held in the history of the European Poker Tour, and the naming conventions were a little less uniform back then. There was the EPT Barcelona Open, the EPT Scandinavian Open, the EPT Baden Classic, among others. By 2009 it was the regular ‘EPT Barcelona’, then in 2017 all EPTs became ‘PokerStars Championships’.
They did? Why? Again, unclear. The rebranding lasted just one season, and by 2018 the old ‘EPT Barcelona’ name was back. Nowadays all EPT stops are simply named for their location. EPT Barcelona will be followed in 2025 by EPT Malta and EPT Prague.
The Mediterranean in August sounds hot. Ain’t that the truth. The opening event — the PokerStars Open — drew a massive field of over 5,000 players, the €100K Super High Roller awarded a first prize of €1.4M, and the Main Event itself has seen more than 2,000 entries create a prizepool of close to €10 million.
I meant the weather. Since when was poker played outside? EPT Barcelona takes place at the appropriately named Casino Barcelona, a large property near the center of the city with a poker room, table games, slots, entertainment and more. Like most large casinos, it’s all too easy to forget the weather, the time, or even the day of the week when you’re inside.
Sounds a little like Las Vegas. Did I mention there’s an actual beach right outside?
OK then, not exactly like Las Vegas. There’s also a wonderfully cosmopolitan and historic city to explore, featuring the iconic Camp Nou, home to Barcelona FC, as well as the awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia church (under construction).
‘Under construction’? I thought you said this place was historic? It is — they’ve been building it since 1882. It’s currently scheduled to be completed in 2034.
I suspect they used the same construction firm I used for my place. So, how’s the poker out there? Many players love Barcelona as a poker destination — it’s always attracted big fields and big names. The Main Event is running this week and has attracted participants from all over the world, including WSOP Main Event finalists like Adam Hendrix and Kenny Hallaert, and super high rollers of the caliber of Steve O’Dwyer and Jesse Lonis.
And some big prize money too, I bet? You’re not wrong. The Barcelona Main Event almost always has the biggest prizepool of the EPT season; last year’s winner, Stephen Song, won over €1.2M.
With all the money to be won I guess players are hyper-focused on the game? That depends who you ask; the padel tournaments, stand-up comedy, wine-tasting evenings and karaoke nights will be more of a distraction for some than others.
Okay, as someone who’s better at karaoke than poker, I’m in! Then you’d better hurry up; the last tournaments of this year’s festival will run this Sunday. If that’s unrealistic, you can follow the action now at the PokerStars YouTube channel (fair warning: they don’t stream the karaoke nights).
Do say: ‘Yo levanto!” (‘I raise’ in Spanish)
Also say: “Jo crio!” (‘I raise’ in Catalan, the other official language of Barcelona)
