The EPT Paris Open 2026 Main Event has whittled a massive 2,992-entry field down to just six contenders, all chasing the €551,090 top prize from a prize pool north of €4.3 million. The buy-in of €1,650 pulled in almost 3,000 hopefuls to Paris, and now the spotlight is firmly on the last six as they return on Monday to play for the title.
Sweden’s Alf Martinsson leads the way after a late surge saw him bag just over 27 million chips at the end of the 150K/300K/300K level. He edged past early pace-setter Lulei Hu in the closing stages, turning a strong day into the outright chip lead heading into the final.
Martinsson already has a deep EPT PokerStars Open run on his resume from Barcelona and a WSOP Europe Main Event final table appearance, so this is very much familiar territory rather than a one-off heater. His best finish to date was a win in the € 1,050 No Limit Hold’em Hyper Turbo Freezeout EPT Prague event in 2023.
Hu comes to the final table second in chips with around 22.3 million. Hot off the back of a major win in the Euro Poker Millions Main Event in Rozvadov and a final table at the PokerStars Open in Prague, Hu is looking to build on his 2025 momentum in Paris.
In the middle of the pack sits France’s Enzo Nicolas with roughly 18.7 million. He came into the nine-handed stage near the bottom of the counts but spun it up at the right time to land in a very playable spot for the final. Nicolas is the least experienced name left in terms of live earnings, but he’s there’s nothing to stop this hometown hero making a breakthrough deep run at the final table.
Hungary’s Patrik Demus returns with about 10.65 million and a long track record of grinding mid-major events across Europe, Asia and Australia. He’s already banked over half a million in live winnings, with highlights including a Super High Roller result in Jeju and a podium finish at WPT Prime Cambodia in 2025. This final table will be a new personal high score for Demus, and a win would effectively double his career earnings in a single shot.
Rounding out the short stacks are two seasoned French grinders. Benoit Grobocopatel brings 6.97 million into play after recently pushing his total live cashes over the $1 million mark.
Below him sits compatriot Sebastien Seguin, who comes back with 3.95 million, just over ten big blinds. Seguin has been cashing live events for well over a decade, and even a sixth-place finish here secures his first six-figure result.
Cards go back in the air at 12:00 local time on Monday as the six remaining players battle down to a champion in the French capital.
