Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) is in full swing at the iconic Casino Barcelona. Kicking off on August 26, the festival has already seen multiple champions crowned, including Steve O’Dwyer from the USA, Bulgaria’s Boris Angelov, and fellow American pro Byron Kaverman. Most recently, France’s Sylvain Berthelot took home the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event title for €499,224, while Brazil’s Diego Beirigo secured his first-ever live title by winning Event #18: €550 Estrellas Cup. Here is a quick recap of the recent victories from the ongoing series.
Brazil’s Diego Beirigo Wins 2024 EPT Barcelona Event #18: €550 Estrellas Cup
Diego Beirigo overcame a massive field of 2,175 entries and eventually bested Denmark’s Jacob Witt (runner-up for €97,170), taking home the coveted trophy and the first-place prize of €155,840. The victory marked his second biggest score, following his runner-up finish for $ 197,945 in the 2019 Brazilian Series of Poker Millions Main Event. He now has $377,473 in live earnings after the win.
The final hand was a thrilling one with Beirigo making a hero call on the river. With the flop Jd 9c 8d, Beirigo check-raised to 4 million against Witt’s 1.5 million bet. Witt called and the 5c landed on the turn. Beirigo, who started the heads-up with a massive chip lead, fired a hefty 7.5 million bet. Witt called again. The river brought 2s where Beirigo and Witt moved all-in for 18 million. Beirigo tanked for a while before finally making a hero call with Qh 5s, which was enough to beat his opponent’s Qd 4d.
The strong turnout for this event resulted in a €1,044,000 prize pool, which was finally shared by the top 328 finishers. Several notables made the money, including PokerStars Ambassador Kenny Hallaert (106th for €1,680) and Day 1 chip leader Edgar Ishida (118th for €1,680).
Team India Performance
The two-time POY winner Ankit Ahuja also competed in this event but exited early on Day 2, falling in 214th for €1,110. Another Indian who made his mark was Shyam Chhabria finishing 101st for €1,680), his third cash of the series following his € 3,200 for 309th place finish Estrellas High Roller.
2024 EPT Barcelona €550 Estrellas Cup Final Table Results (EURO)
1-Diego Beirigo – €155,840
2-Jacob Witt – €97,170
3-Mohamed Aissaoui – €69,410
4-Carlos Egea – €53,390
5-Samy Khaled – €41,070
6-Joao Sydenstricker – €31,590
7-Ahmed Ibrahimi – €24,300
8-Jorge Pereira – €18,700
9-Piotr Druzba – €14,390
Jean-Noel Thorel Wins 2024 EPT Barcelona Super High Roller Warm Up
Also running as part of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) was Event #17: €30,000 Super High Roller Warm Up, which drew a field of 54 entries and generated a massive €1,577,070 prize pool. Following a full day’s play, the French veteran Jean-Noel Thorel came out on top, claiming his third EPT title and an impressive €512,370 in top prize money. This was the first title and seventh final table score of 2024 for Jean-Noel Thorel who now has $20,389,946 in live earnings after the victory.
Event #17: €30,000 Super High Roller Warm Up Quick Recap
The tournament paid out the top seven finishers out of the €1,577,070. The recent Mystery Bounty winner of the series, Boris Angelov of Bulgaria, was the first to finish in the money after he lost out to Thorel’s straight for most of his chips. He was followed by the poker hall of famer Patrik Antonius, who ran his queens into Thorel’s kings and was sent to the exit. A few hands later, Estonia’s Ottomar Ladva exited when his pocket nines failed to hold up against the ace-queen Saliba.
Up next, recent PGT 2024 Super High Roller Series Event #3 winner Maher Nouira won two all-ins against Wilson, the first giving him the double-up and the second sending Wilson to the rail in fourth place. In his bustout hand, Wilson shoved with queen-ten and lost to eight-seven of Nouira who won it with straight.
Later, Thorel eliminated Nouira to move into the heads-up for the title with a massive chip lead. The latter held ace-seven, which lost to the king-ten of Thorel on a king-high board.
Heads-up
The heads-up saw Jean-Noel Thorel (9.60 Million) holding a commanding over 2:1 chip lead over Justin Saliba (3.90 Million). While the latter doubled up once, it was not enough for him to gain the momentum. On the final hand, Saliba shoved his king-queen in against Thorel’s ace-five suited. Thorel’s hand held on the 9-6-5-3-J board to win the event, the top prize, and the PokerStars trophy.
2024 EPT Barcelona Event #17: €30,000 Super High Roller Warm Up Results (EURO)
1-Jean Noel Thorel – €512,370
2-Justin Saliba – €339,100
3-Maher Nouira – €228,700
4-Brock Wilson – €173,500
5-Ottomar Ladva – €134,100
6-Patrik Antonius – €106,500
7-Boris Angelov – €82,800
Keep following PokerProNews for the latest updates and results from the ongoing EPT Barcelona!
Images & Hands Courtesy: PokerNews & PokerStars
