The 5,300 euro EPT Barcelona 2026 Main Event pulled 1,823 entries and built an 8,841,550 euro prize pool with a 1,370,050 euro top prize, and by Wednesday night it had a Hall of Famer and a two-time EPT winner still chasing history. Late registration closed on Monday, August 24, at Casino Barcelona.
Day 4 landscape
Twenty-eight players bagged for Day 5 on August 26. Spain's Jose Criado and Gerard Carbo led the counts, both eyeing the honor of becoming the country's second EPT champion after Adrian Mateos. Three past EPT winners were still in the field: Sebastian Malec, Nicholas Chouity, and 2015 Barcelona champion John Juanda, in the ten-year anniversary of his previous title.
The Juanda and Malec plotlines
Juanda brought 1,855,000 chips into Day 5, or 46 big blinds, hunting a second Barcelona win a decade after his first. Malec sat with 1,485,000 chasing an unprecedented second Main Event title in the same EPT stop. Poland's Grzegorz Kozieja bagged the Day 3 overnight lead with 1,475,000 chips, saying he was 'super happy' to finish as the frontrunner heading into a tough Day 4.
I feel great, but this is Barcelona. Every day someone new becomes chip leader.
Grzegorz Kozieja to PokerNews
Where the money is
All Day 5 survivors had already locked up a 19,900 euro minimum cash. By the August 27 live blog, PokerStars Blog confirmed that Malec had been eliminated and Criado led the final 20 heading into Day 6, with Barcelona's Main Event set to conclude before EPT's crown moves to the next stop on the schedule. Sources: PokerStars Blog, PokerNews Day 2 recap, PokerNews live blog.
