Gerard Pique and Artura Vidal win big in Barcelona

The two soccer stars took to a different green felt this time.

The EPT Barcelona is going at full speed with several high-rollers already crowning champions. This year's stop at Barcelona offered the first-ever Six+ Hold'em tournament, in form of a €25,000 High Roller. It was Russia's Mikhail Rudoy, who became the first-ever champion, taking home €213,210 after outlasting a field of 24 entries.

Final Results

Place Name Country Prize (EUR)
1 Mikhail Rudoy Russia € 213,210
2 Chin Wei Lim Malaysia € 146,940
3 Yake Wu China € 93,640
4 Isaac Haxton United States € 67,710
5 Mike Watson Canada € 54,740

The €100,000 Super High Roller event generated 64 entries, creating a prize pool of €6,209,280, with €1,816,210 for the winner. With 9 places paid, it was Belarus Mikalai Vaskaboinikau, who received the €180,070 min-cash.

He was followed by several high-roller regulars, with the likes of Rui Ferreira, Steve O'Dwyer and Luc Greenwood, who took home €235,950; €304,250 and €384,980 respectively. Japan's Tsugunari Toma exited in 5th place, good for €496,740 this time.

At one point, Kahle Burns expressed his feelings, stating he had a pretty rough day, being card dead for a long time. However, he managed to latter up on the final table, as several of his peers had busted.

His strategy paid off, as he got 4th for €639,560. No stranger to high-stakes, Malaysia's Danny Tang but he wasn't able to make a miraculous come back after having only 10% of the chips in play in the three-handed period. He eventually had to settle for 3rd place, increasing his bankroll by €847,570.

The heads-up started between Sergio Reixach and Sam Grafton, and it was a lengthy match which lasted for 160 hands. The latter amassed a huge chip lead in the first half of the match, but the Spaniard eventually managed to make a comeback and took down the title for €1,816,210.

olspan;width:158pt" width="211" height="21">Final Table Results    
       
Place Player Country Prize (EUR)
1st Sergi Reixach Spain € 1,816,210
2nd Sam Grafton United Kingdom € 1,303,950
3rd Danny Tang Malaysia € 847,570
4th Kahle Burns Australia € 639,560
5th Tsugunari Toma Japan € 496,740
6th Luc Greenwood Canada € 384,980
7th Steve O'Dwyer Ireland € 304,250
8th Rui Ferreira Portugal € 235,950
9th Mikalai Vaskaboinikau Belarus € 180,070

The €25,000 Single-Day High Roller created a 70-entry strong field, meaning a €1,680,700 prize pool with the top 9 spots paid. In addition to the usual suspects, with the likes of Mike Watson (9th; €48,740) or Joao Vieira (8th; €63,870), there were other top players in the field - but they used to a completely different arena.

FC Barcelona stars, Gerard Pique and Arturo Vidal both cashed in the event, with the former marching to 2nd place, which made him €352,950.


Juan Pardo

Fellow Spaniard, Juan Pardo eventually beat the defender and walked away with a €491,600 score in addition to the trophy.

Final Result €25,000 Single-Day High Roller

Place Winner Country Prize (in EUR) Prize (in USD)
1 Juan Pardo Spain €491,600 $545,672
2 Gerard Pique Spain €352,950 $391,772
3 Michael Addamo Australia €229,420 $254,654
4 Hirokazu Kobayashi Japan €173,110 $192,140
5 Arturo Vidal Chile €134,460 $149,241
6 Kazuhiko Yotsushika Japan €104,200 $115,655
7 Ramin Hajiyev Azerbaijan €82,350 $91,403
8 Joao Vieira Portugal €63,870 $70,893
9 Mike Watson Canada €48,740 $63,870

Juan Pardo took no rest and went on to take down the €50,000 Single-Day High Roller as well for €1,013,860!

Final results

Place Name Country Payout (EUR) Payout (USD)
1 Juan Pardo Spain € 1,013,860 $1,124,584
2 Seth Davies United States € 720,760 $799,474
3 Chin Wei Lim Malaysia € 471,910 $523,447
4 Luc Greenwood Canada € 363,150 $402,810
5 Ali Imsirovic United States € 287,570 $318,976
6 Timothy Adams Canada € 224,890 $249,450
7 Steve O'Dwyer Ireland € 176,960 $196,286
8 Laurynas Levinskas Lithuania € 138,250 $153,348
9 Rui Ferreira Portugal € 105,070 $116,545
         
10 Matthew Moss United Kingdom € 92,070 $102,125
11 Kahle Burns Australia € 92,070 $102,125