Jorge Abreu took down the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris Main Event in dominant style and earned his career's biggest payday.
The 35-year-old player from Portugal entered the final day as the chip leader and had almost half of the chips on the table.
Abreu did not give up his lead and was the last man standing after the final card was dealt at Le Palais des Congrès in Paris.
He took home the title and earned a whopping $1,355,348 for his win.
This win is a big deal for someone who has spent his career playing online poker for almost 20 years.
The last time he won this much cash in real life was when he came in third place in a $1,000 six-max event on the World Series of Poker Online and earned $161,042.
After this win, his lifetime earnings have jumped over $1.7 million.
It's all over in Paris.
— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) March 1, 2026
Congratulations to Jorge Abreu 🇵🇹 on winning the #EPTParis Main Event.
He dominated the final table and takes home €1,148,600.
Congratudolences to @xflixx, he started the day as the short stack, and ends it as the runner-up, winning €717,350. 👏 pic.twitter.com/vot2w06I3N
A Massive Field
The no-limit hold'em tournament with a €5,300 buy-in attracted 1,474 players, generating a prize pool of $8,348,736.
This was not an easy win for Abreu. The tournament had a massive number of entries, and it took 6 days to cut the field to seven players on the final day, and only 215 cashed.
Some big names got pretty far, but not all the way to the final table. Online sensation Niklas Astedt was eliminated in 200th position.
Antoine Saout, who has been to the finals of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event twice, came in 176th.
Timur Margolin, who has already won three bracelets tournament life came to an end in 91st place.
Neil Channing, Mathew Frankland, Kayhan Mokri, Alex Keating, and Boris Kolev, who has won two bracelets, were also among those who finished in the money.
Early Final Table Drama
By late Day 5, the final table of eight had taken shape. American poker player Bechahed was the first player to be eliminated
He has won the WSOP Circuit three times and the NAPT Las Vegas in 2023. He came in eighth place and took home $162,781 after his pocket nines lost to Abreu's pocket kings.
Felix Schneiders was the shortest stack at the table when the event reached its final day.
However, he had a quick double-up that boosted his stack when he made two pair holding 
against his opponent's pocket tens.
This double-up kept his hopes alive; Schneider leads the GRND on Tour streaming team and has more than 100,000 YouTube and Twitch subscribers.
Big Hands and Turning Points
Chip leader Abreu suffered a minor setback after Enrico Coppola's pocket queens cracked his pocket aces.
Coppola slow-played after flopping top set and built a big pot on the turn.
The chip leader appeared to be in trouble for a second. Nevertheless, the setback did not last for a long time.
Although Abreu's aces were cracked, he was still way ahead. He mounted pressure on the middle stacks, resulting in one of the most exciting hands of the entire event.
Nazar Buhaiov opened holding 
, and Casimir Seire, who held pocket queens, responded with a three-bet. Abreu then made a cold four-bet with 
.
Thierry Gogniat, who was short stacked, moved all-in with 
. Tomas Jozonis woke up with pocket kings and shoved for less than twice Abreu’s bet. Seire was pressured to fold his queens.
The pot was massive, prompting Abreu to make the call.
The flop read 
, and Abreu flopped a pair and a flush draw and had a big chance to improve his hand.
Abreu completed his nut flush when the 
landed on the turn and eliminated two players.
Gogniat was sent home in seventh place and took home $211,633, while Jozonis earned $275,176 for his sixth-place finish.
Abreu had five times the number of chips as every player on the table after scooping the massive pot.
Four-Handed Play
Nevertheless, other players at the table could not go down without a fight. Coppola eliminated Buhaiov and tried to close the massive gap.
The flop came 
, and Coppola flopped top set with pocket eights, while Buhaiov had 
.
Buhaiov needed help for a straight, but the board did not give it to him. He earned $357,717 for his fifth-place finish.
There were only four players left by the first break of the day.
For most of the four-handed game, Coppola was in second place in chips. Seire was the next player to be eliminated after shoving his last 16 big blinds holding pocket tens.
Abreu called with 
. The board fell 
giving Abreu trips and knocking Seire out of the tournament. He made $465,097 for finishing in fourth place.
Abreu shoved 
from the small blind in a battle of the blinds. Coppola was ahead when she called with pocket jacks.
The flop showed 
, giving Abreu a pair. The 
didn't change anything, but the 
on the river gave Abreu trips and ended Coppola's tournament run.
Despite being eliminated, Coppola took home $604,632 for his third-place finish, which is his biggest payday of his career.
Heads-Up Showdown
Schneider entered heads-up play with a massive chip disadvantage; he had around 14 big blinds while Abreu had about 130.
Abreu limped on the button in the last hand. Abreu called Schneiders raise.
The flop came and Schneiders made a c-bet, and Abreu responded with a reraise, and Schneiders called. The 
fell on the turn. Schneiders checked, Abreu bet, and Schneiders moved all in.
Abreu called with 
. Schneiders showed pocket queens and was in the lead.
The , however, came up on the river, pairing Abreu and ending the tournament. Schneiders finished in second place and earned $846,473, which is an amazing result since he started the day as one of the smallest stacks.
Felix Schneiders (Image courtesy of DannyMaxwell)
Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Winnings |
| 1 | Jorge Abreu | $1,355,348 |
| 2 | Felix Schneiders | $846,473 |
| 3 | Enrico Coppola | $604,632 |
| 4 | Casimir Seire | $465,097 |
| 5 | Nazar Buhaiov | $357,717 |
| 6 | Tomas Jozonis | $275,176 |
| 7 | Thierry Gogniat | $211,633 |
| 8 | Sami Bechahed | $162,781 |
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