The 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris came to a close on March 1 with Jorge Abreu capturing the €5,300 Main Event and its $1.3 million top prize.
But beyond the headline-grabbing finale, several marquee winners made serious noise during the festival’s final stretch at the Palais des Congrès — none louder than Brandon Wilson.
Wilson Doubles Up in High Rollers
Brandon Wilson is wasting no time building on his breakout 2025 campaign, where he finished seventh in the Card Player Player of the Year race. Two months into 2026, he already boasts three titles and six final tables — including two victories in Paris.
Wilson first took down a €25,000 High Roller for $235,811. Days later, he outlasted a stacked 352-entry field in the €10,300 High Roller, banking $789,066 and 1,500 POY points.
The nearly $4 million prize pool drew elite competition, with deep runs from Eugene Katchalov (24th), Michael Watson (15th), Yuliyan Kolev (13th), and Teun Mulder (11th).
At the business end, Wilson defeated 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Hossein Ensan (3rd – $352,230) before overcoming Austria’s Klemens Roiter heads-up (2nd – $493,122).
The win propelled Wilson to the top of the 2026 POY leaderboard, now sitting on 3,093 points and nearly $1.6 million in POY earnings. His lifetime tournament haul has climbed past $11.4 million.
Roiter, meanwhile, continues his own surge. After finishing sixth in last year’s POY race, he has already logged five final tables in 2026 and sits second in the standings.
Labat Delivers for the Home Crowd
French pro Antoine Labat thrilled local fans with a pair of late victories.
First, he topped a 120-entry field in the €2,100 Hyper Turbo Freezeout for $70,352. Just four days later, he conquered the €5,150 Six-Max event (53 entries), adding $91,509 more.
Labat — who famously finished ninth in the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event for $1 million — now boasts over $4.6 million in career earnings and six titles across 123 cashes.
Lagodich Lands Mystery Bounty Score
The €3,250 Mystery Bounty drew 782 entries and built a prize pool of nearly $2.7 million. When the dust settled, it was Frank Lagodich standing alone with the trophy.
Lagodich earned $359,145 in total payouts, including approximately $42,500 in bounty prizes. The score ranks as the second-largest of his career, trailing only a $505,200 runner-up finish in a $25K High Roller at the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown.
The victory delivered 1,368 POY points and pushed the Ohio native above $4.1 million in lifetime cashes. France’s Erwann Pecheux finished runner-up for $227,504, vaulting himself into the top 50 of the POY race.
While Abreu’s Main Event triumph provided the grand finale, EPT Paris once again proved that championships aren’t limited to Sunday’s spotlight.
From Wilson’s high-roller heater to Labat’s hometown heroics and Lagodich’s bounty breakthrough, the City of Light delivered one more brilliant week of poker before the curtain fell.
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