EPT Paris 2026: Final table profiles
The EPT Paris Main Event is into its last day. Find out some more about the seven players still in with a chance of landing that €1,148,600 payday.
Seat 1: Felix Schneiders, 44, Cologne, Germany – 1,950,000 chips
Felix Schneiders
Already one of the best known players in the Germany poker community, Felix Schneiders has made all the right moves here in Paris to put himself in the global spotlight. Schneiders is a former math student and Magic: The Gathering player who followed many of his fellow Magic players into the more profitable world of poker, starting with low-stakes games online. He was immediately taken by the idea of building a community through poker, and worked with the German online training site Intellipoker to introduce new players to the game.
Schneiders, known as “xflixx” online, first partnered with PokerStars in 2013 to help build the community for recreational players, and he was also able to combine his love for content creation and became an early Twitch streamer, showcasing his poker skills. He switched from cash games to tournaments to make the streams more accessible, and the community continued to grow. Countless players now credit Schneiders with first introducing them to poker via his stream, something that continues to give him immense pleasure.
Gradually, Schneiders began to migrate to the live circuit as well, thanks in no small part to his association with PokerStars, and he is now a familiar sight at the EPT. His GRND on Tour team follows his every move in the big events, streaming all the action with dedicated live commentary and exclusive interviews with the man himself.
In recent years, he has committed himself to improving his game significantly, hiring a poker coach and studying more and more. It has been of significant and dramatic benefit, with Schneiders picking up five EPT Main Event cashes in the past two years, including this first appearance at a final table.
“I’m hungry,” Schneiders said. “I want a trophy.”
Seat 2: Jorge Abreu, 35, Guimaraes, Portugal – 22,425,000 chips
Jorge Abreu
Jorge Abreu has been playing poker professionally since he turned 18. A member of the Polarize Poker community, he last year picked up a huge $750,000 online score, but is now having the best run of his long career in a live event, which will mean his highest live score.
His previous EPT track record included four Main Event cashes, all in Barcelona and all far from the final table. But he has already had a sensational start to 2026, during which Abreu, playing as “Jorginho88” at PokerStars, captured two SCOOP Warm-Up titles just before he arrived at EPT Paris.
Abreu is a typical online grinder who likes his standard routine. Part of the reason why he doesn’t seek live action very often is his strict diet, which consists only of fruit and vegetables. It is easier to keep up with the diet when he’s in his home environment.
That doesn’t mean Abreu doesn’t travel, though. The Polarize Poker community usually spends the SCOOP and WCOOP weeks at a grindhouse. In the past, Brazil’s Florianopolis had been the home base, but for the last two years, the group opted for the Austrian mountains.
They don’t know where they’ll settle this year yet, even though the PokerStars SCOOP 2026 kicks off tomorrow. Abreu, though, will be busy in Paris, hoping to become Portugal’s fourth EPT Main Event winner, following Joao Barbosa, Antonio Matias, and Pedro Marques.
Seat 3: Thierry Gogniat, 67, Libourne, France – 2,950,000
Thierry Gogniat
A restaurateur from the Bordeaux region of France, recreational player Thierry Gogniat has been grinding the live poker circuit for nearly 20 years alongside his wife, Isabel Baltazar, one of the most experienced French players.
While their restaurant, L’Atmosphère, remains their shared professional venture, their passion for poker runs just as deep. Nearly 15 years after his wife’s eighth-place finish at EPT Barcelona 2011, he now finds himself at the final table of the EPT Main Event as well. They are the only husband/wife team to both make it so far.
“I’m a miraculous,” Gogniat said at every break on Day 5, having managed to ladder up pay jumps with his micro-stack. “I was solid when I needed to be. I had lung surgery in November, and the people around me were worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle the long tournament hours — but I’m here, and I feel great!”
The man who has the seven and three of hearts tattooed on his chest has already shattered his previous best live score, which stood at just over $92,000. He will be able to count on the unwavering support of his wife Isabel on the rail, as well as his daughter and grandchildren cheering from afar.
Seat 4: Enrico Coppola, 46, from Turin, Italy, lives in Geneva, Switzerland – 2,250,000
Enrico Coppola
A few months after his fourth-place finish in Monte Carlo and his massive €337,900 payday, Italian player Enrico Coppola is at a second EPT Main Event final table. “It’s an incredible feeling, I’m having so much fun,” he said. “PokerStars should sponsor me now!”
After spending 30 years in Turin, the Italian relocated to Geneva, Switzerland, 15 years ago, where he now runs his businesses. A hospitality professional, he operates several establishments across Switzerland, Italy, and even Dubai.
“Poker is the game of my life,” he says, adding that he mostly plays cash games and a few High Rollers, usually finding Main Events too long for his taste.
Seat 5: Tomas Jozonis, 34, Vilnius, Lithuania – 3,200,000
Tomas Jozonis
When Tomas Jozonis reached the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event final table in 2018, he had already established himself as a successful online pro. But his run to third place in Monaco was his breakthrough result on the live scene. Eight years later, Jozonis has now joined Matas Cimbolas as a second Lithuanian with two EPT Main Event final table appearances.
Only two other Lithuanians have been to an EPT final table since Jozonis’s first appearance, confirming his status as one of the very best from the region. He has also enjoyed significant success on PokerStars, where he plays as “dartazzzz”.
The 34-year-old used to dream of becoming a professional beach volleyball player, but his promising development was derailed by a series of knee injuries. And, while he has a degree in International Business and Communication, his career shifted towards multi-table poker tournaments.
So far, no Lithuanian has ever lifted the EPT Main Event trophy. Mantas Visockis came the closest 13 years ago in London, but settled for second place behind Ruben Visser. It would be fitting if Jozonis became the first one to go all the way for his nation, considering his track record at EPT and beyond.
Seat 6: Nazar Buhaiov, 33, Nikopol, Ukraine – 5,025,000
Nazar Buhaiov
Nazar Buhaiov may not be a household name on the EPT, but that might change very soon. The 33-year-old from the small town of Nikopol, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, has already secured his first major result on the tour, and is aiming to go all the way.
“I don’t have any trophies, and I want one,” he says, adding that the silverware gives him extra motivation to succeed.
Buhaiov admitted that his past four trips to the EPT had been costly, putting a dent of around €50K into his bankroll. But he knows all about the variance of MTTs, and has more than $1.7 million in live earnings to his name, according to the Hendon Mob, and has enough experience to not let the short-term misses get under his skin.
His most impressive results have all come on the grandest stage, including 28th place in last year’s WSOP Main Event after finishing 77th the year before. Deep blind structures, just like the one in the EPT Main Event, suit him well.
“I don’t have many hobbies, I just go to the gym,” he says, adding that live poker is where he feels most at home. “I play online only on Sundays.”
Buhaiov is 12th on Ukraine’s all-time money list and enters the EPT record books as the 13th Ukrainian at a final table. Oleksii Khoroshenin has remained the nation’s only champ, despite some recent heavy knocks on the door from his countrymen Amir Kokhestani and Mykhailo Ostash, who both finished runners-up last year.
Seat 7: Casimir Seire, 24, Espoo, Finland – 6,400,000
Casimir Seire
Casimir Seire wanted to become a professional football player, but two major injuries dealt a severe blow to his promising sports career. Seire was 14 and 15 at the time, so he missed critical years for a youth footballer’s development.
Seire instead started playing poker home games with his friends during his early high-school years. Then he discovered Twitch and learned from the streamers, mainly PokerStars Ambassadors Benjamin Spragg and Fintan Hand. On The Mechanics of Poker Podcast, the Finn revealed that Spraggy’s bankroll challenge propelled him to start studying and making progress.
Seire began to improve and climb the ladder, but just when he was on the brink of turning pro, he had to pause to complete his mandatory military service in Finland. Looking back, Seire claimed it actually helped him in the long term, as he returned to a healthy lifestyle and the physical activity he’d missed.
Following his return to the poker tables, Seire has continued to move up the stakes, playing as “Ceis25” at PokerStars. “One day, I want to be the best,” he said on the podcast. “That’s still my goal.”
Seire’s mom is a psychologist, and he’s had support from his parents ever since he decided to give poker a shot. While online has always been his natural environment, Seire has also found his place in live poker. Before coming to EPT Paris, he’s already racked up over $700,000 in live earnings. That tally included five EPT Main Event cashes, the best of which was 19th place at EPT Cyprus 2023.
Seire now has a chance to be a real EPT history maker should he conquer the field here in Paris, as he can become the first player born in the 21st century to win the elusive title. That would also mean he’d end Finland’s 17-year drought; Patrik Antonius and Jens Kyllonen are still the only Finns who have captured the trophy.
READ MORE
Back to TopLatest Articles
View Other Blogs
