Jorge Abreu completes effortless EPT Paris victory, denying Felix Schneiders
A sensational final day of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Paris has landed a famous title for Portugal’s Jorge Abreu, who earns €1,148,600 after a crushing, dominant, pillar-to-post win.
But there was also an extraordinary performance from the German streamer and content creator Felix “xflixx” Schneiders, who rode a short stack all the way to second place in this 1,474-entry field and earned €717,350, by far his biggest ever poker win.
While Abreu was nearly motionless throughout, playing with all the extreme mastery of an online whiz in the form of his life, Schneiders rode a rollercoaster of emotion, cheered by his personal crew of friends and colleagues, whose GRND on Tour operation has never before known days like these.
Abreu was simply untouchable, converting a considerable overnight chip lead into a solid and unflustered victory. He had enough chips to do plenty of damage in any event, but ended up on the right side of numerous massive hands, seemingly able to find precisely the right cards when he needed them to snuff out any hint of a threat.
The Portuguese fans go wild to celebrate Jorge Abreu’s win
But Schneiders too fought back from the brink of elimination on numerous occasions, and spent long moments in the arms of his incredible supporters, willing their man to succeed.
“It means the world,” Schneiders told Poker News. “It’s the biggest score of my career already. It’s all we’ve been working for the past three years. EPT is the dream that we’ve started to long for.”
He added: “Had my first cash in Monte Carlo, then my first deeper run in Cyprus, then my deepest run in Malta, and now this one. It’s just insane. I’ve started to build my own little masterclass, so to say, around my way towards EPT glory. And this is just the confirmation that this is the right path.
“I’ve got the crew with me and they’re all supporting me. My coach is here, my family, my friends, my girlfriend, they’re all supporting me. They’re so going crazy back home. It’s a crazy ride.”
LAST TWO PLAY THE GAME OF THEIR LIVES
Make no mistake, this was a landmark performance from Schneiders, who began his poker as life a low-stakes online grinder, committed to introducing poker to as many potential players as he could. With that incredibly successful enterprise still ongoing, he has also managed to transform his own game into that of a winning Main Event challenger. He has recorded steadily improving results for two years, before landing himself at this final–and coming so very close to an incredible victory.
However, Abreu was just a bridge too far. The Portuguese bludgeoned into a chip lead yesterday and never let it go today, finding the deck falling in his favour as well. He was humble in victory, stating he was happy with 95 percent of his game, and vowing to work on the other 5 percent.
But he said, “I think I did what I had to do, and I got really, really, really lucky.”
Exuding complete peace despite the pressure of the situation, he added: “To be honest, I’m feeling the same as I was 24 hours ago, 48 hours ago. I haven’t landed yet I guess. But it feels really good.”
Abreu plays on PokerStars as “Jorginho88” and recently won two SCOOP Warm-Up titles before coming to Paris. But this is a step up even for him.
“I’m feeling calm,” he said. “I’m feeling ready to rest because I haven’t been able to sleep much. I’m going to get back to my normal routine and I’m looking forward to it.”
For Schneiders, though, things might never be the same again.
The end of an incredible week for Felix Schneiders
TOURNAMENT ACTION
There was a sense of real jubilation as players took their seats on the final day. There was a perfect mix of pros and recreational players sitting down to play, all of whom had vocal railing sections ready to whip up an atmosphere.
Felix Schneiders walked to the table like a prize fighter surrounded by his GRND on Tour entourage, and they had nothing to lose. Schneiders was the short stack of seven left, with about 10 blinds. They posed for photos and settled down in the following seats and with the following stacks.
Seat 1: Felix Schneiders, Germany, 1,950,000
Seat 2: Jorge Abreu, Portugal, 22,425,000
Seat 3: Thierry Gogniat, France, 2,950,000
Seat 4: Enrico Coppola, Italy, 2,250,000
Seat 5: Tomas Jozonis, Lithuania, 3,200,000
Seat 6: Nazar Buhaiov, Ukraine, 5,025,000
Seat 7: Casimir Seire, Finland, 6,400,000
Last seven in Paris (l-r): Casimir Seire, Thierry Gogniat, Nazar Buhaiov, Tomas Jozonis, Felix Schneiders, Enrico Coppola, Jorge Abreu
PERFECT START FOR XFLIXX
Overnight, Schneiders will surely have been dreaming of getting an early double, while probably also being prepared to try and grind it out. But after picking up A♦K♥ on the very first hand, he knew this was his moment. He got it in, then saw Thierry Gogniat re-shove behind him holding pocket 10s.
Schneiders had been one card away from a crucial double up late on Saturday night, which would have propelled him into real contention on the final day. Instead he had to settle for a chop. But this time, in another race situation, he flipped best when a king appeared on the flop. That made for the absolute perfect start and kept his chances alive.
Felix Schneiders gets the early double
By contrast, Gogniat was now in real peril, but both the current and previous short stacks probably thought they were guaranteed at least one ladder when the crazy start to the final now pitted pocket aces against queens for another pile of chips. The chip-leader Jorge Abreu had the best hand in the game, but Enrico Coppola somehow spiked a queen to double and remain in contention.
HUGE COOLER SENDS TWO OUT
Of course, it did nothing to diminish Abreu’s confidence, and the next major coup was even more significant. This time, it was a huge three-way all-in — and it might have been four way. In a hand for the ages, Nazar Buhaiov opened to 300,000 UTG holding J♦10♦. Casimir Seire, one seat along, looked down at pocket queens and three-bet to 750,000.
Abreu had a suited ace, A♠8♠, and with all the chips decided to four-bet to 1,400,000 in the cutoff. But Gogniat, on the button, saw A♦J♥ and committed his last handful of blinds.
Thierry Gogniat, on half of the only couple to make EPT final tables, bust in seventh
As if it couldn’t get more extreme, Tomas Jozonis then found pocket kings and committed everything he had. It was now back round to the opening raiser, followed by the three-bettor. Buhaiov had the relatively easy decision to ditch his hand, but Seire now had to think about it with his queens. Eventually, he let them go as well.
Abreu had the chips to make the call to put both opponents at risk and, what do you know, two spades on the flop found a third on the turn and that was the nut flush for the chip leader. Gogniat was out in seventh for €179,350. Jozonis, whose kings were cracked, took €233,200 for sixth.
Abreu could do no wrong.
Tomas Jozonis had his kings cracked
UKRAINIAN DROUGHT CONTINUES
By the extraordinary standards of the final table so far, the game slowed slightly. Enrico Coppola, who had been the only player to sit out the massive pot earlier, was making up for that lost opportunity with a few bluffs and some sharp table talk. And he then managed to get a significant boost to his stack by eliminating Buhaiov in fifth.
Coppola found pocket eights and opened his button, and Buhaiov called in the big blind holding 8♠7♦. The flop of 8♥6♣4♥ was all but perfect for Coppola. Not only had he hit top set, his opponent had top pair. Coppola bet/called when Buhaiov got the last of his 19 blinds into the middle.
Buhaiov couldn’t go runner-runner and instead busted in fifth for €303,150.
The long search for a successor to Oleksii Khoroshenin as the only Ukrainian EPT champion goes on.
Nazar Buhaiov couldn’t better a resurgent Coppola
END OF A FRANTIC SESSION; FINN DEPARTS NEXT
All of the above took place before the first break of the day, and when they headed away from the table, Seire, Schneiders and Coppola maybe glanced briefly at Abreu’s mighty stack knowing it would take a huge effort to overhaul it.
Coppola was closest, but lost a couple of small pots on his return to the table, while both Seire and Schneiders could do nothing but try to find a spot to get their chips in and hope for the best. Schneiders chipped up slightly, but Seire got everything in with a flip, but couldn’t get past Abreu.
On what turned out to be his last hand, he found pocket 10s and made a standard raise. Just as he was likely hoping, Abreu put in a three-bet. Seire jammed and Abreu called, tabling A♠Q♠.
This was the kind of situation Seire would have been happy to take, but the A♣ arrived quickly on the flop and suddenly it was bleak for Seire. He picked up some additional outs when three clubs were among the first four cards, but he whiffed them on the river.
Casimir Seire watches on as the dealer delivers his fate
Seire took €394,150 for fourth and, on the subject of droughts, Finland’s EPT famine continued as well. Only Patrik Antonius and Jens Kyllonen have titles, and they did it in 2005 and 2009.
COPPOLA AND SCHNEIDERS ATTEMPT THE IMPOSSIBLE
They played on until another break. By the time they went off for their rest, Abreu had 32.5 million, with Coppola sitting second with 9.9 million and Schneiders in dire straits with 1.825m.
It looked like an impossible task, but it started very well for Schneiders. He found pocket queens and got everything in against Coppola’s A♣9♠. Big pocket pairs hadn’t fared very well in this tournament today, but this one held up. It doubled Schneiders to more than 10 blinds again.
And then it got even better for the German. Although he wasn’t directly involved, he saw Abreu open-jam his small blind, holding Q♥10♥, and Coppola snap-called with red pocket jacks. Coppola had 16 blinds, and was in great shape to make it 32. But it all went wrong for the ebullient Italian.
There was a 10 on the flop and another on the river. That ended up giving Abreu trips, and there was no coming back from that.
Coppola bust in third for €512,400. It left Schneiders heads up for the EPT Main Event.
Enrico Coppola couldn’t stop Abreu either
A LONG WAY BACK
Abreu still had a stranglehold on the tournament, as he had for the whole of the final day. The heads-up stacks were 39.2 million for Abreu, 5 million for Schneiders. The big blind was 300K. But Schneiders started off the heads-up phase of play with pocket aces, which won him a small pot. And soon after he found pocket queens.
Abreu had J♠8♣ and hit top pair on the J♣3♠6♣ flop. The rest of the money went in on after the 7♠ turn. Schneiders was now a huge favourite, and looking for an absolutely critical double up. But the dealer had other ideas.
The trophy was in touching distance for Felix Schneiders
The 8♦ landed on the river, which made two pair for Abreu. The Portuguese crusher played perfectly and ran incredibly at the final, an impossible combination to beat.
Abreu landed one last massive blow, and it knocked Schneiders to the rail in second. He took €717,350, which is by far and away his best ever performance.
But Jorge Abreu is the new EPT Paris champion, and €1,148,600 richer.
Event #22: €5,300 EPT Main Event
Dates: February 23-March 1, 2026
Entries: 1,474 (inc. 451 re-entries)
Prize pool: €7,075,200
1 – Jorge Abreu, Portugal, €1,148,600
2 – Felix Schneiders, Germany, €717,350
3 – Enrico Coppola, Italy, €512,400
4 – Casimir Seire, Finland, €394,150
5 – Nazar Buhaiov, Ukraine, €303,150
6 – Tomas Jozonis, Lithuania, €233,200
7 – Thierry Gogniat, France, €179,350
See full payouts on EPT Paris results page
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