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NEWS

Rising star experiences incredible summer poker craze, aiming for "top Dwan" status.

Jamie Dwan, a rising star, experiences an incredible summer poker craze and aims for "top Dwan" status.

Regional news

British poker player Jamie Dwan is having a phenomenal summer in 2026, winning the WSOP $50,000 High Roller title and his first gold bracelet, and reaching the final table multiple times at the EPT Barcelona. He transitioned from politics to poker and is now aiming to become "Top Dwan." Seven weeks can change a lot in the poker world. At the start of this summer, Jamie Dwan had never played a $50,000 poker tournament. Now, the British pro is a WSOP gold bracelet winner, has over $4 million in live tournament winnings, and has begun competing in the $50K and $100K High Roller events. Over $3.5 million of these career earnings will be earned in 2026 alone, and nine of Dwan's top ten career winnings came this year. "I'm still riding the wave," Dwan told PokerNews at the PokerStars EPT Barcelona. "It all feels unreal, and there hasn't really been much time for it to settle down." The biggest prize of this incredible journey came from the World Series of Poker, where Dwan won the $50,000 High Roller event on his first $50,000 buy-in, earning £2,276,691 and his first WSOP bracelet. Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu joined Dwan at the final table, which also included lifetime money leaders Bryn Kenney and Kristen Foxen, while another Hall of Famer, Erik Seidel, finished in 11th place. Dwan has hardly slowed down since then. He finished 14th out of 936 players in the WSOP Circuit Main Event in Las Vegas before returning to the UK to win the £2,000 Super High Roller event in Goliath, earning £47,200. His hot streak continues at the EPT Barcelona, with six money balls and five final table appearances. These results include a win in the €25,000 High Roller (€134,096) and a fourth-place finish in another €25,000 event (€107,700). Dwan even moved up to the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller, finishing third for €472,000 (approximately $551,273) – a prize that will easily be the biggest of his career before this summer. "I've basically achieved my poker dream, and somehow it continues," he said. "I really don't want the music to stop, so I keep playing, and I'm enjoying it." Dwan said his bracelet win feels like it happened years ago, not weeks ago, partly because he has hardly...

Fabiano Kovalski achieves another EPT victory in Barcelona, winning a €385,000 champion's prize.

Fabiano Kovalski achieves another EPT victory in Barcelona, winning a €385,000 champion's prize.

Regional news

Brazilian player Fabio Kovalski won the EPT Barcelona €3,250 Mystery Bounty event, taking home €385,430, his second-highest career prize. This victory continues his strong run in Barcelona, with five of his top six career winnings coming from this event. The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona seems to consistently inspire Fabio Kovalski's best performances. Four of the Brazilian's top five career winnings are from EPT Barcelona events. Following his victory in the €3,250 EPT Mystery Bounty on August 27th, Kovalski now has five of his top six career live winnings in the Catalan capital. Kovalski won €385,430 (including the bounty) in this Mystery Bounty event, second only to his €565,280 earned in fourth place in the 2022 EPT Barcelona Main Event. This talented Brazilian player's career top prizes are as follows: 2022 EPT €5,300 Barcelona Main Event 4th Place: €565,280; 2026 EPT €3,250 Mystery Bounty 1st Place: €385,430; 2022 WSOP $10,000 NLHE Super Turbo Bounty 2nd Place: $363,116; 2024 EPT €5,300 Barcelona Main Event 9th Place: €139,750; 2018 EPT €5,300 Barcelona Main Event 11th Place: €98,900; 2017 EPT €2,200 Barcelona Deepstack 1st Place: €93,701. Including re-entries, a total of 1,027 players participated in this PokerStars event. The tournament generated a total prize pool of €2,988,570, with over €1 million awarded as mystery bounties. Several prominent players either made it into the money or received mystery bounties before being eliminated. Martins Adeniya, Cherish Andrews, Dara O'Kearney, Michel Molenaar, Alexandre Reard, Endrit Geci, and Nick Palma were among the money finishers. Italy's Candido Cappiello finished in 21st place but still earned the fifth-highest prize in the tournament. This was because Cappiello opened a mystery bounty envelope containing €113,000, bringing his total winnings to €124,250. €3,250 EPT Mystery Bounty Tournament Final Table Results: Rank | Player | Country | Bounty | Total Prize Money 1 | Fabiano Kovalski | Brazil

Huaguan Cup Zhoukou S2 Main Event Day 1 Group A: Gao Keran leads with 592,000 chips.

Huaguan Cup Zhoukou S2 Day 1 Report | 15 players advance from Group A of the Main Event, Gao Keran leads with 592,000 chips.

Regional news

    On August 27th, the Huaguan Cup Zhoukou S2 officially kicked off its first day of competition. Players from different regions gathered in Zhoukou, with the Main Event Day 1 Group A being the core event of the day, while side events such as the "Half the Country" Easter Egg Challenge were also held concurrently. A total of 81 players participated in the Main Event Group A on the first day, and after competing in multiple levels throughout the day, 15 players successfully advanced to the second round. Gao Keran sealed the game with 592,000 chips, becoming the chip leader in Group A. In the side events, Wei Xiaoju won the "Half the Country" Easter Egg Challenge. The Main Event Group A, with 81 players competing and 15 advancing, was the highlight of the first day of the series. After several rounds of elimination, the field shrank, with only 15 players ultimately securing a ticket to the second round, resulting in a Group A advancement rate of approximately 18.51 TP3T. Among them, Gao Keran accumulated the most advantageous chip stack throughout the day, ultimately sealing the bag with 592,000 chips to become the chip leader in Group A. Main Event Day 1 Group A Key Data Items Event Date August 27th Group A Number of Participants 81 15 Advance to Round 2 Group A Chip Leader Gao Keran Chip Leader Chips 592,000 Advancement Rate approximately 18.51% TP3T Wei Xiaoju Wins the Half-World Challenge In addition to the Main Event, the Half-World Challenge, held concurrently on the first day, also produced a champion. Wei Xiaoju successfully navigated multiple rounds of competition to reach the final stage and ultimately won the tournament. The original text also records two crucial all-in hands that influenced the final rankings. A♦J♦ defeats 55, eliminating the short-stakes player in third place. One of these hands occurred at the 4,000/8,000 blinds. Button raised to 16,000, SB called, and the BB player with short stacks, holding 5♦5♣, went all-in with the remaining 63,000 chips. Button folded, and SB called with A♦J♦. Showdown: SB A♦J♦ BB 5♦5♣ Community Cards: Q♠ 6♣ Q♥ 9♦ 6♠ The community cards formed a double pair of Q and 6, giving SB the A-high kicker and the win. BB was eliminated and finished in third place. River 9 reversed the 77, giving Wei Xiaoju the final blow. The key hand in the championship occurred at blinds 10,000/15,000, resulting in a BVB showdown between SB and BB. SB, with long stacks, went all-in with K♥9♦, and BB, with short stacks, called with 7♥7♠. The player's hand was SB K♥9♦ BB 7♥7♠. The community cards were 3♠ 5♣ 5♦ 8♥ 9♥. After the flop and turn, 77 maintained the lead, but the river card 9♥ gave SB nine pair, allowing them to overtake and end the game. Wei Xiaoju ultimately won the Half-River Egg Challenge. Liu Yang and players from various regions appeared on the first day of the Huaguan Cup Zhoukou Station, which was positioned as a city-wide event. Several players from different regions participated on the first day. The original text mentioned that renowned poker player Liu Yang and his friend from Inner Mongolia...