€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day 6 Completed
2019 PokerStars.es EPT Barcelona
€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 6
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 PokerStars.es EPT Barcelona
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€9,641,800
Entries
1,988
Level
35
Blinds
200,000 / 400,000
Ante
400,000
Level 35
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
The 2019 PokerStars European Poker Tour €5,300 Main Event has crowned a new champion at Casino Barcelona and it was Simon Brandstrom that came out on top of a record-breaking field of 1,988 entries to lift one of the most coveted trophies on the international poker circuit.
Brandstrom is the 11th Swede and first since Robin Ylitalo at EPT10 London in October 2013 to become an EPT Main Event champion. In the process, he denied Marton Czuczor a maiden title that would have also been the first for Hungary. Both cut a deal before heads-up kicked off and chopped up the lion's share of the huge €9,641,800 prize pool: Brandstrom takes home the trophy and €1,290,166, while the second runner-up finish of Czuczor is sweetened with a payday of €1,253,234.
While his name may not immediately ring a bell, the 37-year-old Swede had already racked up more than $800,000 in cashes on the live circuit, formerly playing under his maiden name of Persson. He was railed on the final table by fellow countrymen Anton Siden (44th place in the Main Event; 19th place in the €10k EPT High Roller) and Alexander Ivarsson (winner of the €2,200 EPT National High Roller; 10th place in the Main Event).
Final Result 2019 EPT Barcelona €5,300 Main Event
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in EUR) | Deal (in EUR) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Brandstrom | Sweden | €1,659,000 | €1,290,166* | $1,417,899 |
| 2 | Marton Czuczor | Hungary | €884,400 | €1,253,234* | $1,377,310 |
| 3 | Rui Sousa | Portugal | €607,400 | $667,536 | |
| 4 | Diego Falcone | Brazil | €436,760 | $480,001 | |
| 5 | Giovani Torre | Portugal | €364,660 | $400,763 | |
| 6 | Yunye Lu | China | €295,520 | $324,778 | |
| 7 | Johan Storakers | Sweden | €226,490 | $248,914 | |
| 8 | Pasquale Braco | Italy | €159,580 | $175,379 | |
| 9 | Kully Sidhu | United Kingdom | €121,760 | $133,815 |
*reflects deal of the last two players
Yeah for sure,” Brandstrom replied with a big smile on the face when Joe Stapleton asked him if he was ready to become a legend.
He has engraved his name into the history books of the EPT after taking down the biggest-ever Main Event field and it was a mere coincidence that it took place where it all began back in September 2004 when fellow Swede Alexander Stevic became the first-ever champion right here in Barcelona.
It was certainly not smooth sailing for Brandstrom throughout the tournament even though he came into the final day as the chip leader, and he mentioned that fact in the interview after his victory.
“I made a comeback on Day 1 and was down to 12k and spun it up a bit. And last night I was down to nine bigs with 15 players left and made a big rush from there, ended up as the chip leader.”
Another comeback was required in the heads-up duel with Czuczor, as the early momentum in the battle certainly belonged to the Hungarian who quickly pulled into a 3-1 lead.
“Marton played very good. I probably didn't play my A-Game but the cards came my way," Brandstrom added.
It was the second runner-up finish for Czuczor in an EPT Main Event, a fate he shares with fellow countryman Denes Kalo. However, the biggest score of his career lifts Czuczor into the top spot of Hungary's all-time money list.
The final day also featured Yunye Lu, Giovani Torre, Diego Falcone, and Rui Sousa, who were all sent to the rail in the first hour of play.
In One Hour From Six to Two
Some 50 minutes had passed on the final day before Brandstrom was sitting heads up with Marton Czuczor. At that point, both looked at ICM numbers and shook hands, each guaranteed to take home a seven-figure payday for their efforts. The whole speedy ordeal was reminiscent of the rapid-fire 2008 EPT San Remo when a then 21-year-old online qualifier Jason Mercier came out on top of an eight-handed final table in a mere two hours and 40 minutes.
Czuczor steam-rolled through the first half an hour and sent Lu, Torre and Falcone to the rail in quick succession. In the first hand of the day, Lu flopped top pair on a four-way flop and Czuczor got there with the nut flush draw.
Two hands later, Torre was drawing dead with king-jack suited against the ace-king of the Hungarian and Czuczor also won a flip with pocket eights against the ace-queen of Falcone soon after. It was in equally dramatic fashion, as Falcone flopped a queen only to see his hopes destroyed when an eight followed right after on the turn.
With a massive pay jump between first and second place, deal negotiations broke out the first time with three players remaining and no agreement could be reached just yet.
It was Brandstrom that took over control when he first counterfeited Sousa's pocket pair with ace-ten and knocked out the Portuguese a few minutes later with jacks versus ten-eight when the chips went in on an eight-high flop.
While the previous deal negotiations were not crowned by success, Czuczor and Brandstrom agreed on heads-up numbers to guarantee themselves more than €1.2 million each. They left €77,460 and the elusive EPT Main Event trophy to play for.
The duel for the title lasted three hours of effective play and it was Brandstrom that overcame an early rush of Czuczor to double in a key hand in which both players hit a full house. Denied a double soon after, Czuczor saw his hopes to finish one spot better vanish in a coin flip and that ensured yet another Swedish victory in Barcelona.
A record-Breaking Festival in Barcelona and the Return of the PokerStars Players Championship
It was a record-breaking festival at Casino Barcelona with new attendance records and big fields in the build-up of the flagship tournament. The Campeonato Espa?a de Poker that preceded it reached new heights and the €1,100 EPT National drew a massive field of 4,682 entries.
The Salon Gaudi was bursting with poker action in the €2,200 EPT National High Roller, which attracted a field of 1,491 entries and it was Brandstrom's friend Alexander Ivarsson that emerged victoriously. A big field of 64 entries were tallied in the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller and the Single-Day High Roller events attracted decent numbers, too. Juan Pardo won two of them and final-tabled another with FC Barcelona stars Gerard Piqué and Arturo Vidal making an appearance in the money spots.
During Day 1b of the Main Event and the “Chase your Dream” promotion, the return of the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) was announced to take place in Barcelona from August 20 to 24, 2020. Clement Eloy won the competition and first Platinum Pass but Adrian Garcia, Danielle Summer, Christoph Walkenhorst, and Daryl Inglis were called upon the stage too and presented a Platinum Pass of their own.
It has paved the way for poker dreams in the 12 months to come with poker enthusiasts from all over the world hoping to win a Platinum Pass and turn it into a life-changing result just like Ramon Colillas did during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in January 2019.
That wraps up the PokerNews updates from the €5,300 Main Event in Barcelona. The next EPT Main Event will take place in December 2019 in Prague and Platinum Passes will be up for grabs at several PokerStars-sponsored live events from now on.
Level 35
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Marton Czuczor raised to 900,000 and Simon Brandstrom moved all in from the big blind. Czuczor double-checked his stack and called all in for 8,775,000 in total.
Marton Czuczor: 
Simon Brandstrom: 
It was a classic flip and Czuczor needed to hit in order to get back into contention. Nothing changed on the 
flop and the 
turn reduced the outs of Czuczor to six.
The river was a blank 
and the Swedish rail celebrated while Czuczor had to settle for a runner-up finish in an EPT Main Event for the second time. Czuczor claimed the biggest payday of his career with €1,253,234 and will take over the top spot in Hungary's all-time money list.
Brandstrom becomes the 11th EPT Main Event champion from Sweden and earns the trophy, top prize of €1,290,166 and the bragging rights that come along with it.
A full recap of today's action are to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
59,625,000
8,775,000
|
8,775,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 35
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Marton Czuczor raised to 900,000 with 
and Simon Brandstrom three-bet to 2,800,000 with 
. Czuczor looked at his cards once more and then made the call. The flop came 
for Brandstrom to flop a full house again. Brandstrom continued with a bet of 1,600,000. Czuczor confirmed the amount with the dealer, tanked using a time bank card, and then folded.
Brandstrom raised to 900,000 from the button with 
and Czuczor called with 
. The flop came 
for Brandstrom to hit two pair. Czuczor check-folded to the 800,000 continuation-bet of Brandstrom.
Czuczor found on the button and raised to 900,000 and got no action.
Brandstrom raised to 900000 from the button with 
. Czuczor called with 
. the flop came 
, Czuczor check-folded to Brandstrom's continuation-bet.
Brandstrom found 
on the button and raised to 900,000 and Czuczor folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
50,850,000
5,600,000
|
5,600,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
8,775,000
-5,600,000
|
-5,600,000 |
Level 35
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Simon Brandstrom raised to 900,000 with the 
and Marton Czuczor called with the 
. The 
flop was checked by Czuczor and he called a bet of 800,000 by Brandstrom to see the 
appear on the turn.
Czuczor checked once more and Brandstrom fired a second barrel to force a fold from Czuczor.
Czuczor opened to 900,000 with 
and Brandstrom defended the , which brought a flop of . Both opted to check and did so again on the 
turn. After the river, Brandstrom checked once more and Czuczor bet 700,000 to win the pot without showdown.
Brandstrom made it 900,000 to go with the 
and Czuczor called with 
. The 
flop was checked through and neither player was interested in betting the turn either. On the river, both checked once more and Czuczor dragged in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
45,250,000
-100,000
|
-100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
14,375,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Level 35
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Simon Brandstrom raised to 900,000 from the button with and Marton Czuczor called with . The flop came 
for Czuczor to hit top pair. Czuczor check-called the 1,000,000 continuation-bet of Brandstrom. The turn brought them the to give Brandstrom a pair too. They both checked through to the on the river. They both checked for Czuczor to take the pot.
Czuczor raised to 900,000 from the button with and Brandstrom three-bet to 2,700,000 with which was enough for Czuczor to fold.
Brandstrom raised to 900,000 with on the button and Czuczor called with 
. The flop came , they both checked through to the on the turn. Czuczor bet 1,600,000 and picked up the pot.
Czuczor raised to 900,000 from the button with and Brandstrom called with .
The flop came for Czuczor to hit the straight, Brandstrom check-called the 1,400,000 bet of Czuczor.
The turn was the , Brandstrom checked again. Czuczor bet 3,200,000 and Brandstrom used a time bank card before deciding to shove. Czuczor looked at his cards and again and quickly called for the 11,775,000 he had behind.
The river completed the board with the for them to chop the pot as they now both held the straight.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
45,350,000
-2,100,000
|
-2,100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
14,275,000
2,100,000
|
2,100,000 |
Level 35
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Simon Brandstrom raised to 900,000 with the and Marton Czuczor called with . On the flop, Czuczor checked and folded when facing a bet worth 600,000.
Czuczor raised to 900,000 with the and Brandstrom three-bet to 2,800,000 holding the , no call by Czuczor followed.
Brandstrom opened to 900,000 with 
and Czuczor let go of .
Czuczor then opened to 900,000 with and Brandstrom folded .
Czuczor raised to 900,000 with 
and Brandstrom came along with the . On the flop, Brandstrom checked and Czuczor continued for 700,000 to receive a call.
The turn was checked through and Brandstrom bet the river to force a fold from Czuczor.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
47,450,000
4,600,000
|
4,600,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
12,175,000
-4,600,000
|
-4,600,000 |
Level 35
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
In the first hand after the break, Marton Czuczor raised to 900,000 from the button with and Simon Brandstrom called with .
The flop came for Czuczor to hit trips but for Brandstrom to hit the full house. Brandstrom checked and Czuczor continued with a bet of 700,000. Brandstrom took a few seconds and then made the call.
The turn was the for Czuczor to hit a full house too but the lower one. Brandstrom checked again. Czuczor fired another bet over the line, this time one of 1,700,000. Brandstrom stared at the board and then decided to make the call.
The river completed the board with the to not change things. Brandstrom checked for the last time and now Czuczor bet 6,000,000. Brandstrom shoved for 17,925,000 after using a time bank card. Czuczor looked at his cards once more before making the snap-call but then saw the bad news to leave himself behind with just under 17 million.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
42,850,000
21,100,000
|
21,100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
16,775,000
-21,175,000
|
-21,175,000 |
Level: 35
Blinds: 200,000/400,000
Ante: 400,000
Level 34
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Simon Brandstrom opened to 600,000 with the 
and Marton Czuczor three-bet to 2,000,000 with the , which Brandstrom forced a fold from Brandstrom.
Up next it was Czuczor with the and his raise to700,000 won the big blind and big blind ante.
Brandstrom raised to 600,000 with and Czuczor three-bet to 2,000,000 once more, holding the . No call followed and the pot was pushed to Czuczor.
Czuczor opened to 700,000 with the and Brandstrom three-bet to 2,200,000 with the . The aggression won the pot again as Czuczor opted to fold.
Brandstrom raised the 
to 600,000 and Czuczor called with 
. The flop was checked by Czuczor and Brandstrom bet 500,000, a call by Czuczor followed.
On the turn, both players checked and Czuczor bet the river for 2,000,000 with his ace-high to win the pot at the end of the level.
Right after the players went on a scheduled 20-minute break.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
37,950,000
2,050,000
|
2,050,000 |
|
|
21,750,000
-2,050,000
|
-2,050,000 |
|
|
||