Two trophies in three days and €1,112,710 in prize money. Fabiano Kovalski turned EPT Barcelona 2026 into his own festival: days after winning the €3,250 Mystery Bounty, the Brazilian also took down the €10,300 High Roller, the priciest event on the main schedule, for €727,280 — the biggest score of his career.
The facts: 429 entries, an elite final and a heads-up deal
The High Roller drew 429 entries (re-entries included) for a €4,161,300 prize pool shared by 64 players. Nacho Barbero, Chris Hunichen, Davidi Kitai and fellow Brazilian Felipe Boianovsky all cashed but fell short of the final table.
The nine-handed final was a map of Europe — Denmark, the UK, Italy, France, two Finns, Lithuania and Belgium surrounding the lone South American. Fehim Hajdari bowed out ninth (€86,900), Leo Worthington-Leese eighth (€104,300) and Paolo Boi — a 2024 bracelet winner and third in this very event last year — seventh for €127,200. Alexandre Reard, fourth on France's all-time list, exited sixth with €165,400.
Finland's Kalle Parkkinen (5th, €215,000) and Tommi Lankinen (4th, €279,400) both posted career-best cashes, and Lithuania's Gediminas Uselis finished third for €363,400. That left Kovalski against Belgium's Igor Picone, and here came the key moment: they struck a deal before heads-up play. Picone locked up €595,920 instead of the scheduled €508,700 for second; Kovalski took €727,280 rather than the €814,500 listed for first — and then won the title anyway.
The win pushes his live tournament earnings past $4 million and puts him on the doorstep of Brazil's all-time top 10. Casino Barcelona has become his second home: six of his eight largest cashes came there, including a fourth place in this same High Roller in 2022.
Why it matters: negotiating well is worth as much as playing well
The lesson is in the deal. Kovalski gave up €87,220 of potential upside to lock in €727,280. Did he leave money on the table? No — he bought out variance. In a High Roller heads-up match, where stacks swing with every all-in, the chip leader rarely holds more than 55-60% real equity for the title. Without a deal, the gap between first and second was €305,800; with it, €131,360. Kovalski secured 89% of the top prize and played the rest with no pressure — and players with no pressure play better.
It's the same math that governs ICM at any final table: your chips aren't worth their face value, they're worth what you can convert into cash. A good deal isn't weakness, it's judgment — and knowing when to take one (or refuse one) is a skill you train just like heads-up play.
The second lesson is about volume and process. Kovalski didn't win two events on a heater alone: he recorded four cashes at the same festival, including 120th in the Main Event that Manuel Ferrari won. He showed up for everything, absorbed the bad stretches and cashed when variance finally cooperated. Consistency first; titles follow.
Would you take that deal with Kovalski's stack, or play for the €814,500? Tell us in the community — that's where we argue these spots with numbers, not hunches.