Thomas Eychenne has added another major Barcelona title to his résumé, winning the €2,700 PokerStars Open High Roller for €589,395.
The Frenchman came through a huge field of 1,551 entries at Casino Barcelona before defeating compatriot Virgile Turchi heads-up.
It continues Eychenne’s remarkable relationship with the Spanish city. Less than a year ago, he won the 2025 EPT Barcelona Main Event for €1,217,175, which remains the biggest tournament score of his career.
His latest victory arrived during another enormous EPT Barcelona festival. Just a day earlier, Jason Wheeler defeated a 4,333-entry field to win the PokerStars Open Main Event for €731,000.
Eychenne Leads Strong Barcelona Final Table
The €2,700 PokerStars Open High Roller attracted 1,551 entries, including 632 re-entries, to create a €3,761,175 prize pool.
Eychenne reached the final table with the chip lead and immediately strengthened his position.
Zdenek Zizka was among the first players to fall. The WSOP bracelet winner got ace-ten in against Eychenne’s pocket nines, but failed to improve.
David Djian followed before Hak-Hyun Lee was eliminated in seventh.
Turchi was responsible for Lee’s departure after his pocket queens held against ace-king, moving him into contention for the chip lead.
Former EPT Cyprus Main Event champion Gilles Simon then suffered a remarkably similar fate. Simon also held ace-king against Turchi’s queens and could not find the cards he needed, sending him out in sixth for €120,040.
PokerStars Open Barcelona €2,700 High Roller Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Eychenne | France | €589,395 |
| 2 | Virgile Turchi | France | €371,000 |
| 3 | Lars Tungel | Sweden | €265,440 |
| 4 | Marwan Salamoun | Lebanon | €204,120 |
| 5 | Christian Kaufmann | Switzerland | €156,700 |
| 6 | Gilles Simon | Netherlands | €120,040 |
| 7 | Hak-Hyun Lee | Sweden | €92,540 |
| 8 | David Djian | France | €70,400 |
Eychenne Retakes Control
Turchi’s surge briefly threatened Eychenne’s position at the top of the counts, but the defending EPT Barcelona Main Event champion soon regained control.
Christian Kaufmann was eliminated in fifth after Eychenne called his shove and paired his four on the river.
Marwan Salamoun then ran ace-jack into Eychenne’s pocket queens. A queen on the flop gave the Frenchman a set and reduced the tournament to three players.
Lars Tungel was next.
The Swedish player moved all-in with ace-six and found himself racing against Eychenne’s pocket eights. An eight on the flop effectively ended Tungel’s hopes, sending him to the rail in third for €265,440.
That left two French players competing for the title.
One Hand Decides All-French Heads-Up
Eychenne began heads-up with a commanding chip advantage over Turchi.
He needed just one hand to finish the job.
Turchi moved all-in holding ten-nine and Eychenne woke up with pocket queens. A ten on the flop gave Turchi some hope, but neither the turn nor river produced the card he needed.
Eychenne’s queens held, securing another Barcelona trophy and €589,395.
Turchi collected a career-best €371,000 for finishing second.
The result adds another major winner to what has already been a busy high roller schedule at Casino Barcelona. Earlier in the festival, Brock Wilson and Klemens Roiter claimed two of the opening EPT Barcelona high roller titles.
Barcelona Becoming Eychenne’s Territory
Eychenne’s latest result is particularly notable because outright tournament victories have been rare during an otherwise highly successful career.
His first major live title came at this venue in 2025.
Eychenne outlasted 1,489 opponents to win the EPT Barcelona Main Event, collecting more than €1.2 million after defeating Sebastian Ionita heads-up.
He has continued producing major results since then, including deep runs at WSOP Europe and EPT Monte Carlo.
Now Barcelona has delivered again.
Eychenne described the city as one of his favorite stops even before his Main Event victory. Two major titles in consecutive years have made that connection considerably stronger.
There was little time to celebrate this one.
After collecting the PokerStars Open High Roller trophy, Eychenne headed almost immediately into the €5,300 EPT Barcelona Main Event to begin the defense of the title he won last year.
The Main Event follows an opening week that has already produced several enormous fields. Han Feng reached another major final table just weeks after his WSOP Main Event run, while Wheeler ultimately emerged from the 4,333-entry PokerStars Open field with the title.
Eychenne now has the chance to produce something even more unusual.
Winning consecutive EPT Barcelona Main Events would be an extraordinary achievement. Whatever happens from here, he has already ensured his 2026 visit to Barcelona ends with another trophy and another seven-figure sum in career earnings.
