Manuel Ferrari became a million-dollar winner for the first time in his poker career this weekend at the European Poker Tour in Barcelona, turning the €5,300 entry into a life-altering cash.
“I have a new trophy in my collection now,” Ferrari told the event’s sponsor, PokerStars, after coming out on top. “I’ve worked towards this goal and finally it happened, so I’m super happy.”
That’s what a walk to the cage with a ticket worth $1,170,857 will do to a man.
Ferrari is on a roll at European events sponsored by PokerStars. This is his third title in their events in a little over a year. He won the PokerStars Open Malaga in June 2025 for $243,434 and the €2,200 event at PokerStars Open Campione this January for$102,424.
The 34-year-old is now a quarter-million dollars from hitting the $2 million lifetime mark.
The €5,300 championship event at Casino Barcelona saw 1,297 entries and 526 rebuys who created. prize pool of €8,841,550 ($10,326,501). It was the seventh-largest EPT event in its 22-year history. The top 271 cashed at least $10,000.
Once Ferrari, Lukas van Eeden and Jose Criado were the last three punters left, they made a deal that would pay each of them at least $1 million. They played for an extra $100,000 and the PokerStars Golden Shard trophy.
Although Ferrari is fairly new to finding the winner’s circle, that doesn’t damper the confidence that comes with a last name that seems to move at the speed of light.
“I’m pretty confident in my chances, and I’m really optimistic usually in my life, so I think at the moment I register, I just thought, yeah, why not just win it? And [my friends] just supported me so much. I felt all the strength from the rail, and I guess that made me even more confident in my chances.”
Final Table Results of the 2026 EPT Barcelona Main Event
| Place | Player | Payout |
| 1 | Manuel Ferrari | $1,162,886 |
| 2 | Lukas van Eeden | $1,075,807 |
| 3 | Jose Criado | $1,056,345 |
| 4 | Xiaosheng Zheng | $546,650 |
| 5 | Michael Dwyer | $420,500 |
| 6 | Nicolas Chouity | $323,582 |
| 7 | Gerard Carbo | $248,936 |
| 8 | Edward Pak | $191,458 |
| 9 | Joris Ruijs | $147,262 |
