Barcelona Crowns Trio of High Roller Winners as Mokri Finally Takes Red Spade Trophy

Two High Rollers and a Super High Roller have taken place in Barcelona as a packed European Poker Tour stop has seen big names and big fields dominate the action. With two daily €25,000-entry High Roller events in the can, the €100,000-entry Super High Roller title was taken by a player who had come oh so close in the past.

Ketzer the King in First High Roller

Felipe Ketzer of Brazil was the first winner of a High Roller event at this year’s EPT Barcelona festival, conquering Eduard Barsegyan heads up for the win. Ketzer, who also outlasted players such as the eventual Super High Roller winner Mokri at the final table, won a top prize of €255,480 ($276,000) as he dominated matters five-handed to take the title.

With nine players making the final day, only five of that number would make the money places. Barsegyan from Russia was the main aggressor at this stage, as stars of the felt such recent big winner Tom Orpaz, Daniel Rezaei and Timothy Adams all departed. Erik Seidel was also a victim of the period before the final five, with the nine-time WSOP winner crashing out to Estonian Ottomar Ladva.

Ladva’s luck lasted precisely into the money places and no further as he was sent home in fifth place for a min-cash of €63,900, a decent improvement on his stake of less than half that amount. After he bid a farewell, so too did Kayhan Mokri from Norway (4^th for €79,000), which left Lei Yu on the rail in third place for €109,200. Heads-up, Ketzer had only a slim lead, but a nut flush soon after the final duel began gave him the momentum he needed and minutes later his got there against Barsegyan’s as the board fell and Brazil celebrated.

David Yan Continues In-Form 2023 in Second High Roller

New Zealand player David Yan bagged the next €25,000-entry High Roller as he got the better of two Brazilians who joined him in the final three. This time, a field of 34 entries generated a prizepool of €816,340 and that meant a top prize of well over a quarter of a million dollars, even after a deal was agreed between the final two.

Only six players were paid this time out, with Biao Ding (6^th for €57,100), Jean-Noel Thorel (5^th for €73,500) and Hyun Kim (4^th for €93,900) all missing out on the podium places. After Yan took out Kim, he did the same to the first high Roller winner, eliminating Felipe Ketzer when the Brazilian’s couldn’t hold against Yan’s , a ten on the turn sending play heads-up.

With two remaining, Yan had a better than 3:1 chip lead, but he and Pablo Brito still agreed a deal and when Brito’s saw him pick up a straight draw on the flop and bluff-shove the river of a board showing , Yan made an excellent call with given the amount of scary cards out there on the board.

Afterwards, Yan told PokerNews: “I just feel grateful and fortunate I was so lucky to run good in the right situations. I won the all-ins that I needed to. I won some hands from the beginning, but at one point, I lost a pretty big pot, actually to Pablo, when there were two tables left. Then I just ran good, so it’s mostly because of luck.”

Yan is a modest soul and this latest win, added to his victory in the $50,000-entry Six-Max PCA side event in The Bahamas at the start of 2023, coupled with his third place in the Main Event of that festival for over $1.47 million, make him a player to be feared right now.

Mokri Finally Makes It

After getting so close a year ago and missing out, Norwegian Kayan Mokri finally won an EPT event, getting his hands on a famous Red ‘Spadie’ trophy in the Catalan capital. Mokri, who won €750,960 for taking down the tournament, beat French player Jean-Noel Thorel heads-up, denying the French player victory just three weeks after he came a very painful second in London as Timothy Adams got outrageously lucky to prevent him winning a Triton event.

Only four players cashed in this event, with 18 entries meaning over $1.8 million was on the line and would be divided between a quartet. Players such as Patrik Antonius and David Yan all missed out on profit, as Team PokerStars’ Alejandro Lococo also whiffed the money.

Bubbling the event was Belarussian Mikalai Vaskaboinikau, whose couldn’t hold against Mokri’s as an ace landed on the flop. On such vagaries are tournaments such as this decided. After Sam Grafton busted in fourth for €209,600, the British player was left to bemoan a hand where pocket kings could only chop the pot against ace-three when committed, before Thorel’s kings full of nines on the river beat Grafton’s turned straight.

Steve O’Dwyer crashed out in third for €314,300 when was dominated and defeated by Mokri’s and that pot going the Norwegian’s way gave the eventual winner a foothold with 1.3 million chips. Thorel (3.1m) still had a formidable lead which grew to over 5:1, but once again the French player couldn’t close it out, a couple of crucial ‘no showdown’ hands going Mokri’s way.

With the pair agreeing to shorten the blinds, Thorel shipped with on a board showing and Mokri called with . He had to fade both a straight and flush draw, but managed to do so, surviving the river to win the title and his first-ever EPT victory. Thorel, €471,500 after another bridesmaid run, will have to try again.