The Spanish Poker Championship (CEP, for its Spanish acronym) by PokerStars continues to make its rounds, with the latest stop just wrapping up in southern Spain. Casino Marbella played host to a recent tournament, drawing the largest field ever for the tour.
After two and a half years of break due to COVID-19, the CEP hit Casino Marbella this month. The Main Event was bigger than even organizers expected, pulling in almost 500 players and continuing to push the envelope on participation.
The turnout drove the prize pool to €320,000 (US$313,952), making it one of the highest payouts in recent years. Next up is a stop in Peralada, which gets underway in a few weeks.
Living the Poker Life on the Med
Casino Marbella on Spain’s southern Mediterranean coast became the go-to for poker players across Spain. In addition to the €500 (US$490) Main Event, there were a number of parallel tournaments running simultaneously, each with their own satellites.
More than 1,000 players, including some novices as well as some of the most well-known faces in the Spanish poker scene, descended on the casino to test their skills in various levels of competition. Antonio Galiana, after three days of card-slinging action, took down the Main Event and the lion’s share of the €207,360 (US$203,565) prize pool.
The Main Event began through a satellite on Saturday, October 8. Through a series of qualifiers, 171 hopefuls competed for a chance at the big event. In addition to the 46 qualifiers who gained access through five in-person satellites, there were also over 150 entries through PokerStars online satellites.
The Main Event began its Day 1A on Thursday, October 13 and things continued to improve. 200 players began the challenge and a run on the final table. This was a prelude to Friday’s Day 1B results, when another 290 entries joined. By the time it concluded, there was a total of 490 entries.
The CEP continues to grow each year, even though it had a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The High Roller, with a buy-in of €1,100 (US$1,079), also did well, attracting 79 players and awarding €22,000 (US$21,584) to the top finisher, Juan Pardo.
The Casino Marbella stop achieved a new status among poker tournaments in Spain. 3,500 visitors were on hand at some point during the action at Casino Marbella to cheer on their favorites and to witness the action.
One More Stop Coming
The Marbella stop was the penultimate stop for the CEP this year. It is now packed up and ready to move to its final event, which Girona’s Casino Peralada will host.
Casino Peralada is located in the city of Peralada, close to Spain’s border with France and a little to the north of Barcelona. Earlier this year, the CEP’s second-largest event ever was held in Barcelona.
That built on the 873 entries from 2019, the highest at the time. The results this year following a return from COVID-19 show that Spain’s poker scene continues to draw greater interest.
If the Barcelona stop and the success of Marbella are any indication, the final stop should be a hit with poker players. The CEP will run from November 23 to November 27, with more details forthcoming.
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