EPT Barcelona: Validation for Jason Wheeler with thumping EPT Open win
Long-time EPT stalwart Jason Wheeler hit a new career high in Barcelona on Saturday when he outlasted a field of 4,333 entries to claim victory in the €1,650 PokerStars Open Main Event.
Wheeler, 49, who first cashed in an EPT tournament in 2010, has now amassed more than $6 million in tournament winnings through his indefatigable career, with the €731,000 he won at Casino Barcelona representing a new best. His previous high mark was the €570,000 that came with a runner-up finish against Kalidou Sow in the PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event in 2017.
Describing the success as “amazing”, Wheeler told Poker News: “I’ve been chasing this for a while.”
He continued: “To win on PokerStars, on the biggest stage, against the toughest competition just validates everything that I’ve been doing.”
HIGH POINT IN A LONG CAREER
Originally from Chicago, Wheeler has essentially been travelling the world to play poker for two decades and has documented tournament wins in no fewer than eight countries. Six of those have come in side events on the EPT, with Wheeler sitting near the top of the charts for in-the-money finishes on the tour.
Victory sinks in for Jason Wheeler
He also has one World Series of Poker bracelet, from an $800 buy-in event in 2021, but described his latest win as “right up there with the bracelet”.
Referencing a string of close calls in other major events, Wheeler added: “”I’ve been knocking and knocking for like two and a half, three years…It just feels good to almost go wire to wire in this. I felt I was in control of the entire tournament and felt like I was the one to beat.”
HIGH QUALITY FINAL TABLE
Despite the enormous field, the cream of the crop rose to the top to set a final table of immense repute. Top-ranked Brazilian Felipe Boianovsky, previously a SCOOP Main Event winner on PokerStars, fell in eighth. Soon after, American Han Feng, who recently dazzled en route to fifth in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas, hit the rail in sixth.
Wheeler ultimately squared off against Swedish pro, and comparable EPT fixture, Alexander Ivarsson, heads up.
Ivarsson had the chance to complete a unique treble, having previously won the PokerStars Open Cup and High Roller tournaments in Barcelona. But Wheeler, with a marginally smaller stack, doubled up on the first hand of heads-up, and then survived multiple double backs from Ivarsson.
Wheeler faced Alexander Ivarsson heads up
However, Wheeler’s 6♠5♥ turned a straight on a board of Q♠4♣8♥7♥7♦ and he called when Ivarsson shoved the river, with A♣Q♥. Wheeler punched the air in jubilation. Ivarsson earned €457,000 for second, and takes his own live tournament winnings past $2.5 million.
RESULTS
€1,650 PokerStars Open Main Event
Dates: August 16-22, 2026
Entries: 4,333 (inc. 2,375 re-entries)
Prize pool: €6,239,520
1st – Jason Wheeler, USA, €731,000
2nd – Alexander Ivarsson, Sweden, €457,000
3rd – Darko Svesko, Serbia, €326,200
4th – Bogdan Petrascu, Romania, €251,120
5th – Selvakumaran Mahersh, Netherlands, €193,190
6th – Han Feng, USA, €148,610
7th – Gregoire Jarry, France, €114,290
8th – Felipe Boianovsky, Brazil, €87,910
See results page for full payouts
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