The first European Poker Tour (EPT) stop of 2026 has wrapped up in the city of love. Last two weeks, prominent poker players and excited amateurs all gathered in Paris, competing for eternal poker glory at one of the most prestigious live poker events out there. A lot went down during the 12-day festival, including a €5,300 Main Event win from a certain player who bulldozed his way through the 6-day tournament. Without further ado, let’s recap all that went down during the 2026 EPT Paris.
A Popular Affair
It’s an educated guess that players were bummed to hear that the 2025 EPT Paris was cancelled due to turbulence around the gambling laws in the French capital. Paris hosted the EPT for the first time in 2023, and it quickly became a favorite stop amongst the EPT regulars. The 2024 edition cemented the event’s status even further, as Barny Boatman won a record-breaking €5,300 Main Event in beautiful fashion.
- Read more: PokerStars Live Confirms EPT Paris Return, Releases First Wave of 2026 Schedule
- Read more: PokerStars Cancels 2025 EPT Paris Due To Regulatory Reasons
Luckily, it would only be a short, temporary break, as PokerStars announced back in August last year that the 2026 EPT Paris to be the first stop of the 2026 EPT calendar. Just like was the case in 2024, Le Palais des Congrès de Paris would be the venue to roll out the red carpet for the much-appreciated live poker event, and it’s safe to say the 2026 EPT Paris lived up to its expectations.
The festival was a 12-day affair held from February 18-March 1. Naturally, the €5,300 Main Event was the tournament that was on most players’ lips. Just as expected, the turnout was vast: 1,474 entries translated to a €7,705,200 prize pool, with a staggering €1,148,600 first-place payout awaiting the eventual winner. With 30 minutes left in Day 2, Carlos Ribeiro and Daniel Custodio busted simultaneously, guaranteeing the remaining 215 players a min-cash of €8,550. Bruno Fuentes ended Day 2 as the chip leader, and together with 178 competitors, he returned on Thursday, March 26, for Day 3.
Day 3 was a 12-hour session, seeing 49 players advancing to Day 4, keeping their dreams alive to capture a legendary EPT Main Event title. Portugal’s Jorge Abreu held the chip lead at this point, but there was still a long way to the title. Day 4 kicked off at noon, and the field was reduced to 16 players during this session. Nazar Buhaiov was the new chip leader going into Day 5, while Abreu had maintained a decent stack, placing himself at seventh in the rankings. Day 5 wrapped up with seven players remaining, and it was during this day that Abreu reclaimed the driver’s seat – by some margin. He took his seat at the final table as the chip leader, and after sending both Joris Ruijs (ninth, €106,150) and Sami Bechahed (eighth, €137,950) to the rail, he extended his chip lead considerably. In fact, when the seven players returned to battle it out for the title the next day, March 1, Abreu played 22,425,000 on Blinds 100,000/150,000, while Finland’s Casimir Seire (second in chips) had 6,400,000. In other words, Abreu had a commanding lead when the final table resumed with seven players remaining.
Final Table Bonanza
Things had been going Abreu’s way so far, and the stars kept aligning in his favor during the final day. Roughly 20 minutes into the session, an early contender for “Craziest Poker Hand of 2026” played out. Ukraine’s Nazar Buhaiov min-raised to 300,000 with J♦10♦ UTG. Finland’s Casimir Seire then three-bet to 750,000 from UTG+1 with Q♥Q♣, before Abreu made it 1,400,000 from the Cut-off holding A♠8♠. As if things weren’t already crazy enough, short-stacked Thierry Gogniat from France moved all in for 600,000 with A♦J♥. The whole scene resembled something from Hollywood as Lithuania’s Tomas Jozonis woke up with K♠K♥ in the Big Blind. He re-shoved for 2,750,000. Buhaiov and Seire both folded, while Abreu decided he was priced in and made the call. The 8♦J♠9♠ was appreciated by Abreu, and as he wasted little time before improving to the nut flush on the 3♠, he scored an early double-knockout, eliminating Gogniat in seventh place (€179,350) and Jozonis in sixth (€233,200). Just 30 minutes into the day, Abreu now played 26,275,000, which translated to 175 Big Blinds. Enrico Coppola was second in chips with 5,200,000, which says something about the mile-long lead Abreu now had.
Buhaiov would be the next one to go. Coppola made it 450,000 with 8♦8♣ from the Small Blind, and Buhaiov defended his Big Blind with 8♠7♦. The 8♥6♣4♥ flop wasn’t the good news that Buhaiov initially interpreted it as; after a 350,000 continuation bet from Coppola, Buhaiov moved all in for 3,175,000, and was naturally snap-called by his Italian opponent. No case five for Buhaiov as the board completed with K♣10♦, and he was sent to the rail in fifth place for €357,505.
A while later, Seire opened to 500,000 UTG with 10♠10♣, and Abreu fancied a three-bet to 1,000,000 with A♠Q♠ from the Small Blind. When action came back to Seire, he moved all in for 3,375,000, and Abreu made the call. It was a classic coin flip confrontation, and the Poker Gods were once again on Abreu’s side as he took a solid lead on the 4♥A♣7♣ flop. The J♣ turn saw Seire picking up a flush draw, but the A♦ river ultimately sealed his fate. He bid farewell in fourth place for €394,150, and the tournament was down to its final three players.
Abreu utilized his chip lead according to the books, putting a lot of pressure on his remaining two opponents. Seated in the Small Blind holding Q♥10♦, he forced Coppola all in for 4,450,000 from the Big Blind. Coppola woke up with J♥J♦ and made the call for his tournament life. Even though Abreu improved to a pair of tens on the 5♠6♥10♠ flop, Coppola was still ahead. He maintained his lead on the 2♥ turn, but, perhaps, this was always going to be Abreu’s tournament. The brutal 10♥ river ended Coppola’s impressive run, and he headed for the payout desk to collect €512,400 for his third-place finish. As such, the stage was now set for a heads-up showdown between Abreu and Germany’s Felix Schneiders.
One Last Dance
Schneiders had made it to the final stage of the tournament, and his celebratory reaction as Coppola went out could not be mistaken for anything other than pure joy. Schneiders is not a new face to the poker community; he began a partnership with PokerStars in 2013 and was very successful in his mission to build a community for recreational players. He is a prominent player who’s elevated his game even further in recent years, thanks to hiring a poker coach and hitting the books. He had already secured a new best live cash making it this far in Paris, and now, he’d do his best to end Abreu’s sun run.
Abreu, who’s been a professional poker player ever since he turned 18, commenced the heads-up with roughly 40,000,000 in chips compared to Schneiders’ 3,650,000. Considering the 300,000 Big Blind, Schneiders didn’t have much wiggle room. He got some shoves through and picked up a Big Blind here and there, but Abreu managed to snag them back. Perhaps 30 minutes into the tango, Abreu limped on the Button with J♠8♣ and then called a 900,000 three-bet from Schneiders. Holding Q♦Q♣, Schneiders fired a 450,000 continuation bet on the J♣3♠6♣ flop. Abreu had a good feeling with top pair and made it 950,000. Schneiders decided to only go for the call, and the dealer revealed the 7♠ turn. After a check from Schneiders, Abreu bet 700,000, and Schneiders then pulled the trigger. He moved all in for 2,100,000, and after doing the maths, Abreu made the call. Schneiders was an 89 % favorite, on the verge of doubling up and extending the heads-up. “Hold, hold, hold!” Schneiders’ GRND on Tour rail chanted, urging his ladies to hold. Much to their displease, that would not be the case; the 2026 EPT Paris Main Event had been Abreu’s ever since Day 3, and as he improved to two-pair on the 8♦ river, Schneiders’ tournament came to an end. He received €717,350, while Abreu was crowned the 2026 EPT Main Event champion and claimed the €1,148,600 first-place payout.
2026 EPT Paris – €5,300 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jorge Abreu | Portugal | €1,148,600 |
| 2 |  Felix Schneiders | Germany | €717,350 |
| 3 |  Enrico Coppola | Italy | €512,400 |
| 4 |  Casimir Seire | Finland | €394,150 |
| 5 |  Nazar Buhaiov | Ukraine | €303,150 |
| 6 |  Tomas Jozonis | Lithuania | €233,200 |
| 7 |  Thierry Gogniat | France | €179,350 |
| 8 |  Sami Bechahed | United States of America | €137,950 |
| 9 |  Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | €106,150 |
Abreu, who was in good form coming into the 2026 EPT Paris (considering he won two SCOOP Warm-Up titles days before traveling to France), was very humble after claiming his biggest-ever live poker cash. After his win, he told PokerNews that immense focus and being present were the keys to victory:
“It’s an interesting choice of words. I don’t see myself as an EPT champion. I mean, I think there’s a lot of luck involved in this event, obviously. And for you to get to the final table, for you to win, you have to be really lucky. I really want to focus myself on being the best I can. Not just with my work, poker, but with the people around me. It means a lot to me to be able to be here, and I’m enjoying it, but I really try to not focus on the luck I had because I’m not taking full responsibility for this win.”
Even though coming up short, Schneiders told PokerNews he was over the moon. The astonishing result means a lot to him, and is a receipt that hard work pays off. That being said, he won’t be done until he has a big trophy to his name:
“It’s insane. I’m just exhausted. Super happy, super relieved. I got a monkey off my back. We started this journey, like, three years ago, with the stream going on live events, and dreaming of one day playing the EPT. Then I qualified for the EPT. Then I started to get my first cash, then my deeper runs, then Malta was my best run. And I wouldn’t have believed if you told me that Paris would be the one that I would finish second. I just still can’t believe what happened.”
While Abreu’s Main Event win wrapped up the 2026 EPT Paris, it won’t be long until the next major PokerStars Event. They’ve been a main partner of the Irish Poker Open for some time now, and this year’s edition won’t be any different. The 2026 Irish Poker Open will be played March 26-April 6 at the Royal Dublin Society, and being a regular at the joyful event, Schneiders will definitely be there, perhaps determined to take another shot at glory.
