The inaugural PokerStars Championship Barcelona continues today with its premier event: the €5,300 Main Event. At noon local time (in about 90 minutes), play kicks off in Casino Barcelona. PokerNews will be your one-stop shop for all the live updates, photos, and videos from the Catalonian capital.
The sunny festival in Spain is always a very popular stop with the players, and 2017 is no different. Attendance records have been shattered over the weekend, with a massive 4,557 entries in the €1,100 National Championship, the Estrellas Main Event successor.
Last year, Sebastian Malec bested a field of 1,785 players, taking home €1,122,800. John Juanda, Tim Middleton, Carter Philips and Sebastian Ruthenberg are just some of the other legends that triomphed here in Barcelona.
Day 1A will see eight 75-minute levels on the schedule, with players beginning with 30,000 in tournament chips and the blinds kicking off at 50/100. There will be a 75-minute dinner break at the end of Level 6, and play should wrap up around 11:55 p.m. tonight.
The cards will be in the air shortly, so be sure to keep it locked right here to PokerNews.com all day long.
PokerStars EPT Barcelona Main Event Champions
| # | Month | Year | Players | Buy-in | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September | 2004 | 229 | €1,000 | Alexander Stevic | Sweden | €80,000 |
| 2 | September | 2005 | 327 | €4,000 | Jan Boubli | France | €416,000 |
| 3 | September | 2006 | 480 | €5,000 | Bjørn-Erik Glenne | Norway | €691,000 |
| 4 | August | 2007 | 543 | €8,000 | Sander Lyloff | Denmark | €1,170,700 |
| 5 | September | 2008 | 619 | €8,000 | Sebastian Ruthenberg | Germany | €1,361,000 |
| 6 | September | 2009 | 478 | €8,000 | Carter Phillips | United States | €850,000 |
| 7 | November | 2010 | 757 | €5,000 | Kent Lundmark | Sweden | €825,000 |
| 8 | August | 2011 | 811 | €5,000 | Martin Schleich | Germany | €850,000 |
| 9 | August | 2012 | 1,082 | €5,000 | Mikalai Pobal | Belarus | €1,007,550 |
| 10 | September | 2013 | 1,234 | €5,000 | Tom Middleton | United Kingdom | €942,000 |
| 11 | August | 2014 | 1,496 | €5,000 | Andre Lettau | Germany | €794,058 |
| 12 | August | 2015 | 1,694 | €5,000 | John Juanda | Indonesia | €1,022,593 |
| 13 | August | 2016 | 1,785 | €5,000 | Sebastian Malec | Poland | €1,122,800 |