After years of close calls and runner-up finishes, French poker professional Thomas Eychenne finally stood at the top of the podium in Barcelona. Outlasting a record-breaking field of 2,045 players, the 35-year-old secured his first live tournament title at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event, pocketing €1,217,175 along with the prestigious Golden Shard trophy.
A Dream Long Imagined Finally Realized
Eychenne has spent countless nights visualizing a moment like this—standing under the spotlight, holding a major title above his head. “It’s hard to put into words,” he admitted shortly after his win. “I always pictured myself in this position, but actually living it is something else entirely.”
He revealed that the ritual of imagining himself lifting a trophy kept his motivation alive. “Every night before sleep, I thought of this exact scenario. I knew if I kept working, the day would come. Today, the work and a bit of good fortune aligned.”
Breaking the Runner-Up Curse
Although this is his first tournament victory, Eychenne was no stranger to the poker spotlight. His rise began with online bankroll challenges where he famously turned €50 into €50,000 in just 50 days, and later spun €10 into more than €1 million. On the live circuit, he accumulated over $2.7 million in earnings, including a 47th-place finish at the 2024 WSOP Main Event and a seventh-place showing at the 2023 PSPC in the Bahamas.
Still, the Frenchman had built an unfortunate reputation as a perennial runner-up. Four separate times he reached heads-up play, only to fall short—including high-profile second-place finishes at EPT Monte Carlo and Barcelona in 2023. “When you keep finishing second, the mental pressure builds,” he admitted. “This time I finally broke through, and I think I can now play with less weight on my shoulders.”
The Road to Victory in Barcelona
The final day at Casino Barcelona began with six hopefuls eyeing the title. Romania’s Sebastian Ionita entered with the chip lead, but momentum shifted when Eychenne picked off Julian Pineda Lozano with two pair against a failed straight draw.
Italian amateur Umberto Zaffagnini put up a spirited fight before bowing out in third place, leaving Eychenne and Ionita to battle heads-up. Starting with nearly even stacks, Eychenne’s extensive heads-up experience proved decisive. In the final hand, Ionita’s ace-six fell behind Eychenne’s ace-king, and a king on the river sealed the Frenchman’s long-awaited triumph.
A New Name Etched in EPT History
Despite falling short, Ionita handled the loss with grace, calling the event “a life-changing experience” and posing with Eychenne for a celebratory photo.
For Eychenne, the victory carries special meaning in Barcelona, where the EPT first began 20 years ago. “My friend Simon Wiciak won this event a few years back, and now I get to join him on that wall of champions,” he said. “I love this stop—the atmosphere, the city, everything about it. I’ll be back to defend my title.”
With his long-awaited breakthrough, Eychenne is no longer defined by second-place finishes. Instead, he begins a new chapter as a champion firmly embedded in EPT history.
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