Fernando Santa Maria Wins EAPT Barcelona Main Event
After Rozvadov and Milan, Barcelona became the third European city to welcome the relaunched EAPT. The series took place from the 29th of September to the 8th of October and during these days, 18 unique EA Poker Tour Championship trophies found their new owners. The top prize was won by Dominican player Fernando Santa Maria, who was the winner of the €560 buy-in Main Event.
Despite the modest buy-in, the guaranteed prize pool for the EAPT Barcelona Main Event was €200,000 plus €20,000 in packages.
The guarantee was not met with 354 entries during the four starting flights, plus three more qualified online via the GGPoker network. They arrived in Barcelona already in the money and just in time for the start of day two. Each of these players received added value from the organizers in the form of an overlay.
Each of the four starting flights played down to the money. The minimum payout was €850 and was claimed by 53 players. By the end of the second day of play, the field had been reduced to two tables with the top 18 earning a minimum of €1,900. A live TV broadcast from Barcelona began at this stage and lasted more than nine hours thanks to the smooth structure of the game.
The tournament ended with a deal between the final four. The players agreed to split the prize pool according to ICM. After a short discussion, they agreed to split as follows
- Carlos Escudero – €27,400
- Ariel Galactico – €20,880
- Fernando Santa Maria – €20,625
- Jose Rodriguez – €19,275
There was €9,795 left to play for, with €6,000 being reserved for the winner. In addition, each of the final four players received a package to the EAPT Grand Final, which is scheduled to take place in Cyprus from September 5th to 15th, 2024.
Santa Maria became the EAPT Main Event champion in Barcelona, winning the first championship title of his career. For an operations engineer, which is Fernando’s profession, the reward for his efforts was more than substantial – €26,625 + a trip to the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond for the EAPT Grand Final with an incredible $5,000,000 guarantee.
EAPT Grand Final
The EAPT Grand Final will take place from the 5th to the 15th of September at the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond Casino-Hotel on Cyprus, in partnership with the local Mediterranean Poker Party series. Over 11 days of play, dozens of trophies and millions of dollars in prize pools will be up for grabs. Some of the EAPT events have truly remarkable guarantees.
For example, the $1,100 buy-in EAPT Cyprus (similar to the popular EAPT Cup) has a guaranteed prize pool of $1,000,000. The $3,300 buy-in EAPT Grand Final guarantees at least $5,000,000. In the decade-long history of the EAPT, these are the highest guarantees ever announced. A Grand Final deserves grand prize pools!
During the year you can win trips to the Grand Final at the Main Events of the EAPT.
The entry package includes a $3,300 buy-in + accommodation at the five-star Merit Royal Diamond. In addition, online qualifiers for the series will be available on the GGPoker Network, with satellite information appearing a few months prior to the start of the festival.
The EAPT won’t be the only tournament with a $5,000,000 guarantee. The Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event has the same prize pool, but the buy-in is much higher- $10,300. The MPP also features High Roller tournaments with $31,000 buy-in and Super High Roller events with $103,000 buy-in.
Major EAPT Grand Final tournaments
The full festival schedule will be available in early 2024.
The EAPT Grand Final will take place at the brand-new Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & SPA, located on the Mediterranean coast. The hotel opened a year ago and has since hosted major series from the Merit Poker Tour to the Triton Series. The massive Royal Diamond gaming room can easily accommodate up to two hundred tables and a few thousand people. The ultra all-inclusive system, swimming pools, spa, wellness services and one of the best (if not the best) sandy beaches in Northern Cyprus are all part of the five-star hotel package.
