Thomas Eychenne makes good on enormous promise to land EPT Barcelona Main Event
It’s not always easy to identify the next serious poker superstar. But people who watch this game closely, particularly in France, have been talking up Thomas Eychenne for a long time.
He is the man who entertained thousands on Twitch with a series of bankroll challenges that he made seem easy. And he made his way to the final table of the monstrous PokerStars Players Championship in the Bahamas in 2023, underlining his serious skills.
Tonight in Catalonia, Eychenne completed his inevitable rise to the very top of the game when he took down the €5,300 Main Event at EPT Barcelona, beating a field of 2,045 entries to bank a career-best €1,217,175.
His time has truly arrived. What a way to mark a first outright tournament win.
“It’s amazing, I’m struggling to come down from the cloud I’m on right now,” Eychenne, 35, told reporters as he began the celebrations. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
He continued, referencing his string of runner-up finishes but no previous title, “I know how difficult it is [to win]. I’ve been playing for 10 years and this is my first one.”
Thomas Eychenne prays for his hand to hold
Eychenne came into the final day second in chips behind only the Romanian semi-pro Stefan-Sebastian Ionita. And it was those two left at the end as well, with the pair agreeing a heads-up deal and leaving €100,000 and the trophy to play for.
Ionita burnished his reputation too, locking up €1,117,175 from the deal. But Eychenne made short work of the heads-up duel, quickly racing into a lead and then finding A♣K♣ to beat A♥6♣ to finish it off.
Originally from Lyon, Eychenne moved to Malta a few years ago to continue playing poker, and results continued to follow, including a very deep run in the WSOP Main Event this summer. But EPT Barcelona, and that “W” finally beside his name, will feel very sweet indeed.
And now the dam has broken, the flood will likely begin…
TOURNAMENT ACTION
The field of 2,045 entries slimmed down to its last six mid-way through Day 6. But it was deep, and tournament officials opted to play another couple of levels last night to allow the structure to catch up with the stacks.
That worked, to a degree, but when they returned for the finale, the stacks were remarkably even and no one was in the danger zone. It was still too close to call as they lined up as follows.
Stefan-Sebastian Ionita – 14,725,000 (59 BBs)
Thomas Eychenne – 11,375,000 (46 BBs)
Julian Pineda – 9,700,000 (39 BBs)
Umberto Zaffagnini – 9,525,000 (38 BBs)
Anton Suarez – 8,400,000 (34 BBs)
Tomasz Brzezinski – 7,625,000 (31 BBs)
Final table players (l-r): Tomasz Brzezinski, Anton Suarez, Julian Pineda, Thomas Eychenne, Umberto Zaffagnini, Stefan-Sebastian Ionita
Though no player at the final table was exactly a household name, seasoned poker watchers, particularly in France, have been raving about the abilities of Thomas Eychenne for quite a while. His PSPC final table appearance brought him to wider attention, and now here he was at an EPT final with the chance to go even better.
He quickly showed what he was all about, picking off a bluff from Julian Pineda to edge into the chip lead, and then seeing arguably other most highly rated player in the pack, Anton Suarez, take a nosedive.
SUAREZ CAN’T FOLLOW NEIGHBOUR BRANDSTROM
Suarez, who lists Niklas Astedt, Simon Mattsson and Simon Brandstrom as close friends, was a runaway chip leader at the end of Day 5, but was fifth of six coming back today. And he then lost a big pot to Sebastian Ionita with K♦J♦ getting outflopped Ionita’s Q♥J♣. It was cruel because the two queens on the flop were accompanied by a king.
Suarez found the fold on the river, but left him with fewer than 20 big blinds. And a second cooler moments later lost him all of those. This time, Suarez had A♥Q♣ on a board of 3♠5♦10♥Q♥5♣. He made what he initially thought was a value bet on the end. But when Eychenne responded with a check-raise all-in, Suarez seemed to know he was now behind.
However, he couldn’t fold and leave himself only four big blinds this time. He called and saw Eychenne’s 5♥4♥, which sent Suarez out the door. He won €291,800 for sixth.
Eychenne therefore took a decent chip lead into the first break, but found his momentum halted quickly after as both Ionita and then Zaffagnini assumed top spot. It was nip and tuck with chip stacks all so bunched up, but a failed bluff from Tomasz Brzezinski this time got Eychenne back to the summit.
But on the subject of failed bluffs, it was soon Eychenne’s turn to get picked off. In a fascinating blind-versus-blind hand against Ionita, Eychenne fired a near pot-sized bet on the river, looking at the board of Q♣Q♦Q♥Q♠2♠. Ionita, with K♦4♦ had risk nearly three-quarters of his chips to call.
Ionita breathed deeply and backed his judgment. Eychenne showed him 5♥4♣ and Ionita regained the chip lead.
QUICKFIRE ELIMINATIONS BREATHES LIFE INTO FT
As is very common in tetchy ICM-dominated battles like this, action can suddenly explode as if from nowhere. Brezezinski was shortest, but he doubled up through Eychenne after shoving from the small blind with K♦5♣ and staying good against Eychenne’s J♣7♣.
Brezezinski’s double left Julian Pineda at the bottom of the counts, and he found what looked like a decent spot to get his chips in. The leader, Ionita, opened his button and Pineda found K♦4♦ in the big blind. With 12 blinds, Pineda decided to jam and hope, but Ionita had pocket eights, made the call, and held.
That sent Pineda to the rail in fifth for €379,350.
Julian Pineda makes his way out of the arena
Despite the earlier double, Brezezinski was now short stack again in Pineda’s absence, and he soon found another chance to get his 15 blinds in. He was holding A♣9♠ in the under-the-gun seat and shoved. But Zaffagnini, in the big blind, snapped him off with pocket 10s.
The flop of 10♠8♦J♥ brought intrigue, but the J♦ turn left Brezezinski drawing dead. He earned a payday of €493,250 and headed out in fourth. All of a sudden, there were three left. Ionita led Zaffagnini, then Eychenne as they continued to hunt for a champion.
Tomasz Brzezinski doubled but then bust
EYCHENNE IS FORCED TO DIG DEEP
As a veteran of bankroll challenges, where it’s very much a marathon rather than a sprint, Eychenne knew that this wasn’t necessarily beyond him, even though his two opponents both had around double his stack. He chipped up slowly, pushing Zaffagnini off a small pair with a well-timed river bluff. The board was all high and Zaffagnini reasoned pocket threes were no good, even though Eychenne had only queen high.
Ionita then took another big chunk from Zaffagnini in another tremendously-exciting pot. It was blind-on-blind again and they got 5.1 million in the middle by the time the turn was out, with the board reading 2♣5♣3♦4♦.
Ionita bet 2.3 million. With good reason. He had 10♠6♥ and had a straight. Zaffagnini dug deep though and raised to 5.5 million, even though he had only Q♦10♣. Ionita’s hand could only be beaten by six-seven, and he put out a three-bet to 8.5 million. Zaffagnini realised he had been caught out and folded. After Eychenne won the next pot, Zaffagnini was now third of three.
This was crucial because of what happened shortly after. Ionita, with the big stack, opened his button holding A♣8♦. Zaffagnini, with 23 big blinds, looked down at pocket fives in the small blind and figured a shove was in order. However, Eychenne was in the big blind holding A♥J♣ and now had a covering stack.
Eychenne decided this was his time too and called the shove.
Ionita shied away, but it now left a huge flip — even if Zaffagnini had greater equity thanks to the folded ace in Ionita’s hand. It didn’t matter. After a flop of 8♥10♣K♥ gave Eychenne extra outs, the Q♦ on the river completed his Broadway straight. It put Zaffagnini on the highway to the payouts desk.
He took €641,300 for third.
Umberto Zaffagnini lost a crucial flip
With Zaffagnini gone, the remaining two glanced at one another’s stack and quickly asked to see the numbers. After a brief discussion, they arranged to chop, with Eychenne pushing for something slightly different than a strict ICM agreement. Ionita had 32.3 million chips and Eychenne 29.05 million, but they signed for an even chop. Each locked up €1,117,175 with €100K to play for.
And the trophy, of course.
Toby Stone, right, helps Eychenne and Ionita agree a deal
ONE-WAY HEADS-UP TRAFFIC
Eychenne did not mess around in the heads-up battle. He was quickly into the lead after successfully forcing Ionita to lay down A♦7♥ after a flop of 6♣2♦2♠. Eychenne had only 10♦3♦, but that didn’t matter.
Eyechenne then rivered a straight with K♠9♦ to beat Ionita out of another sizeable pot. Ionita flopped two pair but was soundly beaten by the end.
Sebastian Ionita was powerless to halt Eychenne
Ultimately, it was a tale of two aces to finish things off, with Eyechenne’s A♣K♣ staying best through a board of 3♦5♥9♦Q♥K♦ to beat Ionita’s A♥6♣. Ionita stuck around to celebrate with Eychenne and posed for a selfie with the new champion. He is a very worthy millionaire too.
But few can deny that Thomas Eychenne is a wholly deserved champion of this one. He’s an immense talent.
EPT Barcelona €5,300 Main Event
Dates: August 24-31, 2025
Entries: 2,045 (inc. 55 re-entries)
Prize pool: €9,918,250
1 – Thomas Eychenne, France – €1,217,175*
2 – Stefan-Sebastian Ionita, Romania – €1,117,175*
3 – Umberto Zaffagnini, Italy – €641,200
4 – Tomasz Brzezinski, Poland – €493,250
5 – Julian Pineda, Colombia – €379,350
6 – Anton Suarez, Sweden – €291,800
*denotes heads up deal
See results page for full payouts list
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