Antonio Puntas wins EA Poker Tour Madrid Main Event (€28,732)

After four starting flights, the total number of players in the Main Event was 305, 46 of whom made it till ITM and took home at least €850 each.

The EAPT is a festival for poker fans and enthusiasts. That is why our tournaments are focused on weekends and relatively fast paced play. This year's Main Event was played over three days, with the second day being the busiest - 46 title contenders started play, but after 8 hours only nine of the strongest remained.

The majority of EAPT Madrid finalists were predictably Spanish, with three representatives from Romania, one German and one Tunisian also making it to the Final Day. They all secured at least €3,500 each, but the big prizes were still to come. 

EAPT Madrid Main Event Finalists

With 4 players remaining, the players decided to split the prize pool according to ICM. Here are the resulting payouts:

- Antonio Puntas - €23,732;

- Marius Moldoveanu - €20,446;

- Fernando Celdran - €18,662;

- Ionut Dragomir - €16,735.

In addition, each of the four players received a package to the EAPT Grand Final, which will be held on Cyprus from May 2-12. The $2,200 buy-in tournament will have a minimum prize pool of $2,000,000!

After the deal was made, players walked away with an additional €3,700 for second place and €5,000 for first + the championship trophy, of course. After the deal, the game usually goes wild. But this was not the case. More than two hours passed before the next elimination and Ionut Dragomir finished fourth.

On board K 7 3 J Q  in a limp pot against Antonio Puntas, he bet all streets and went all-in on the river with 7 4 , Puntas called with K 10 . "Good call," Dragomir said and headed to the cashier's office.

Third was Marius Moldoveanu, who went all-in pre-flop with A 4 but was dominated by Fernando Celdran with A K - a four on the board was never found.

Finally, Antonio Puntas was stronger in heads-up play. In the final hand of the tournament, he and Fernando Celdran went all-in on the pre-flop with K Q  and Q 10 . Puntas had the better hand. The board came up J 7 4 4 3 .

Fernando Celdran started this final table as the chip leader and eventually finished in second place for a solid €22,362. 

And the new EA Poker Tour champion, Antonio Puntas, walked away with €28,732 - his first major live poker success and a best live cash. Congratulations Antonio!

"I still can't believe it," Puntas told PokerNews immediately after his win. "Too many emotions, but I'm happy! I started this final table in 8th place with 20 blinds, so it was tough at first. But I quickly doubled up and it just worked out.

In addition to his €28,732 first-place prize, Puntas received a €5,000 EAPT Grand Final package and will now travel to Cyprus: "This will be my first visit to Cyprus. And I'm happy because I don't usually play such expensive tournaments [EAPT Grand Final buy-in is $2,200, $2,000,000 GTD]. I'm happy that poker gives me the opportunity to travel, this will be my first trip abroad, I've only played in Spain before," said the newly crowned EAPT champion.

Check out the special EAPT Madrid Series page on our website to see all the results.

The next stop on the EA Poker Tour is scheduled for April 5-10 in Malta. Featured tournaments in the series:

- Flights to Mediterranean Poker Party - €120 buy-in, €50,000 guarantee + 1 EAPT Grand Final package worth €5,000;

- PLO Bounty [50Ko] - €120 buy-in;

- Main Event - €560 buy-in, €200,000 prize pool guarantee + 5 EAPT Grand Final entry packages worth €5,000 each;

- High Roller - €1,100 buy-in, €25,000 guaranteed;

- Closer Event - €120 buy-in, €10,000 guaranteed.

To view the full EAPT Malta schedule and to book a discounted entry package, please visit our website: