As an official media partner, our team at poker.pro will be on-site at the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Madrid at Casino Gran Via Madrid, covering key hands and biggest moments. Don’t miss a moment of the action as we bring you exclusive live updates from the tour’s second Spanish stop of the year.
Jose Valverde was chuckling and amusing the dealer, as he sorted the chips he had just won. A new hand began, and action folded to Valverde, who opened to 2,000. Seated in the Big Blind, Daniel Pardo was the sole caller.
Pardo check-called another 2,000 from Valverde on the 6♠5♣10♠ flop. Another check from Pardo prompted a 4,000 bet from Valverde on the 7♥ turn, and, once again, Pardo decided to stick around. Both players then checked the Q♠ river.
Pardo tabled 9♦7♦, and Valverde acknowledged the winning hand, tabling his worthless A♦8♠.
Seated UTG, Venezuelan Cristobal Aguilera min-raised to 2,000. Fernando Sedano then three-bet to 5,000 from UTG+1, just to be faced with a 30,000 four-bet from Mohamed El Mourabit in the Hi-jack. Action folded back to Aguilera, who also mucked, before Sedano moved all in for 44,500. El Mourabit, whose stack looked to be equal, made the call.
Fernando Sedano: J♥J♠ Mohamed El Mourabit: A♣K♥
It was a classic coin flip confrontation, and this time, the fishhooks stood the test of time as the board spelled out 3♠4♦Q♥Q♦2♣. The dealer counted out the stacks, and it turned out that El Mourabit survived with one Small Blind.
For the 2026 PartyPoker Tour, there are 10 Ambassadors, spreading the good word and good vibes of the tour. Two of them are currently in Day 1a of the €150 Mini Main Event.
Daniel Garcia is one of the two Spanish ambassadors (the other one is Bárbara Jiménez). Garcia won the €250 Mystery Bounty during the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Seville; the fact that he’s already been able to claim a major title during the tour is impressive. Here in Madrid, he wasn’t off to a stellar start, seeing as he busted the very first hand (overpair against his opponent’s flopped flush draw). He has re-entered, though, and is on tenth place in the waiting queue.
Rebecca Hardisty. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Rebecca Hardisty is the other ambassador currently in the tournament. She too has a trophy from the tour, as he won the £60 PLO Masters Saturday Party Madness Bounty during the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Birmingham. She’s determined to capture another trophy in Madrid.
Hardisty is together with PartyPoker Team Pro Jaime Staples. Staples is already in Madrid, but has yet to make his way to Casino Gran Via.
Play has resumed after the 45-minute dinner break. This poker.pro live reporter had a Big Mac Meal.
Day 1a of the €150 Mini Main Event has currently registered 237 entries, with at least 20 players still on the waiting list and late registration open for another four levels. The biggest starting-day flight of this tournament historically before was Day 1a in Seville, roughly one month ago, with 228 entries. That has already been surpassed, and it wouldn’t be insane to guess that there will be close to 300 entries when late registration closes.
One player who has recently sat down is Alexander Georgiev. The Bulgarian is no stranger to the PartyPoker Tour. In fact, he won the 2025 PartyPoker Tour Leaderboard race, much thanks to claiming three trophies. He also started the 2026 PartyPoker Tour in good fashion, finishing second in the €150 Mini Main Event during the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Sheffield for £7,420. Now, he’s in Madrid, hoping to finish the Mini Main Event one place better.
Level 5 has concluded, and it’s time for the first break of the day. Play will soon resume on Level 6, and below are the five biggest stacks in the room as of now.
Photo from the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Seville. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 5:
300/600 (600)
Entries:
171/209
Prizes:
€50,000 GTD
Ismael García opened to 1,100 UTG. Action folded all the way to Aitor Pérez, who decided to defend his Big Blind.
Pérez check-called a 1,600 bet from García on the soaking wet 9♠6♠8♠ flop. Action repeated itself on the 10♥ turn, the only difference being that the sizing from García now was 3,600. Pérez checked for a third time on the 3♠ river, and then called a mere 1,000 from García.
García turned over J♠J♦, and Perez threw his cards into the muck.
The board read 10♣6♣Q♠ with 16,000 in the middle. Aviv Cohen (Hi-jack) bet 10,000, and was called both by Alejandro Paolini (Cut-off) and “Paparazzi” (Button).
On the 2♥ turn, Cohen moved all in for his remaining 13,000. Paolini swiftly made the call before “Paparazzi” folded.
Aviv Cohen: J♣9♣ Alejandro Paolini: Q♣Q♥
Cohen had a big draw, but he didn’t improve on the 10♦ river. Another one bit the dust, then, and Paolini added to his stack.
Vakhtang Chikvinidze opened to 1,000 from the Hi-jack. Jonathan Gil (Small Blind) and Alberto Rodriguez (Big Blind) both made the call.
Action was checked to Chikvinidze on the A♥Q♣8♥ flop, who continued for 3,000. Gil mucked before Rodriguez made the call. Both players then checked the 9♥ turn, and the J♣ river.
Rodriguez turned over A♣3♣, which was enough to take down the small pot.
Alberto Rodriguez: 56,000 Vakhtang Chikvinidze: 38,500
Enrique Roset opened to 1,000 UTG. Seated in the Hi-jack, Juan Castejon was the sole caller.
Castejon called a 1,000 continuation bet from Roset on the A♥7♣6♠ flop. Action repeated itself on the K♣ turn, the only difference being that Roset now sized up to 3,200. On the A♣ turn, Roset used his 29,000 stack to force Castejon all in for 18,000. Castejon made the call fairly quickly.
Roset tabled A♠K♠ for an absolute monster. A disappointed Castejon revealed K♥7♦ before leaving the table.
Gaston Ghiglione opened to 500 from UTG+2. Big stack Bob Cosma made the call from the Button, and Francisco Utrera joined the fun from the Big Blind.
After an initial check from Utrera on the 5♦K♠10♣ flop, Ghiglione bet 1,000. Cosma made the call before Utrera swiftly mucked. The turn was the A♠. Ghiglione now checked, and Cosma bet 1,200. Ghiglione then raised to perhaps 5,000. Cosma wasted little time before forcing his opponent all in, and Ghiglione sighed as he made the call.
Bob Cosma: Q♥J♠ Gaston Ghiglione: 10♥7♥
Not an ideal scenario for Ghiglione, and the K♣ river couldn’t change anything. Ghiglione was eliminated, presumably heading for the re-entry desk. Cosma reached a six-digit stack and is most likely the current chip leader.
It’s going to take a while for Ghiglione to get back in, seeing as there are at least 30 players on the waiting list. The turnout is insane.
While this is, obviously, the first time the PartyPoker Tour visits Madrid and Casino Gran Via, it’s actually not the first time the PartyPoker brand has been apparent in Madrid’s finest card room. Back in 2018, the 2018 Spanish Poker Festival (SPF) Madrid National Presented by PartyPoker went down in this very venue. It was a 10-day festival with eight events, where the €300 Main Event arguably was the most prestigious tournament.
Three hundred fifty-six entries translated into a €92,000 prize pool. Federico Vitalli entered the final table as the chip leader, and he would eventually emerge victorious, claiming the €20,055 first-place prize.
Although not a purified PartyPoker event, and most certainly not a part of the PartyPoker Tour, it’s still a fun little nugget to mention.
Getnet Kassa, winner of the 2025 PartyPoker Tour London Main Event. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Last year, PartyPoker made its much-anticipated return to the live poker scene, as the 2025 PartyPoker Tour was born. The tour consisted of five stops (all in the UK), and the successful first year is why the tour is expanding to Spain this year.
The first event was the 2025 PartyPoker Tour London, played at Genting Casino Stratford (back then, it was known as Aspers Casino). The festival featured 12 unique events, where the £150 Mini Main Event and the £500 Main Event were arguably the two most prestigious events.
The £150 Mini Main Event scored an impressive 866 entries, translating to a £109,200 prize pool. Local player Dost Ghrabie claimed the win, beating poker legend Will Kassouf heads-up and taking home £17,170.
The 2025 PartyPoker Tour London wasn’t the ordinary live poker festival. It was a statement from PartyPoker: the event hit it out of the park and set a standard for the remainder of the 2025 tour. Even though the inaugural event was a slam-dunk, PartyPoker continually improved leading up to each subsequent stop. Looking back at a great first year for the PartyPoker Tour, it’s safe to say the entity now has some meat on its bones, and the 2026 PartyPoker Madrid will be riding the wave.
Day 1a of the €150 Mini Main Event is off to a crazy start; the number of entries is going up by the minute, and this first starting-day flight is on a good pace, to say the least.
At Table 4, Ruben Garcia min-raised to 400 UTG. Many players were eager to see a flop; Mihai Boboc (UTG+1), Luis Garcia (Lo-jack), Efrain Castro (Hi-jack), Beka Amiranashvili (Button), and Moreta Leonardo (Small Blind) all made the call. The decision was now on Luis Diaz in the Big Blind, who pumped it up to 3,100. This scared some of the competition away, but Luis Garcia and Amiranashvili both made the call.
Diaz continued on the aggressive path with a 3,300 continuation bet on the 10♣7♥2♥ flop. Garcia folded before Amiranashvili raised to 10,000. Diaz instantly relieved a heavy sigh before snap-folding. As Amiranashvili stacked his chips, Diaz met the gaze of this poker.pro live reporter, and his facial expression read, “What can you do?” I smiled.
Juan Anguas, winner of the €150 Mini Main Event during the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Seville. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 1:
100/200
Entries:
108/108
Prizes:
€50,000 GTD
The €150 Mini Main Event features a €50,000 guarantee, but players might be able to suspect an even greater prize pool. During the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Seville, the tournament scored 653 entries, which translated to a €81,625 prize pool.
In the end, it was Jaun Anguas who emerged victorious. He cashed for €9,770 after making a six-way (!) deal with the remaining five fellow Spanish opponents. Only time will tell who claims the title here in Madrid; a winner will be crowned on Thursday, May 14, after Day 3 concludes.
2026 PartyPoker Tour Seville – €150 Mini Main Event Final Table Results
PartyPoker Tour Ambassador Joe Beevers will arrive in Madrid in a couple of days. The above photo is from the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Seville. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 1:
100/200
Entries:
88/88
Prizes:
€50,000 GTD
The PartyPoker Tour started in 2025, with five events in the UK. This year, there will be almost twice as many events, spread across the UK, Ireland, and, of course, Spain.
When the PartyPoker Tour debuted on Spanish soil in Seville roughly a month ago, Day 1a of the €150 Mini Main Event exceeded all expectations. It became the largest-ever starting-day flight of the popular tournament, scoring 228 entries. That is the number that Madrid is seeking to beat tonight; with 88 players already in, Madrid is on a good pace.
Photo from the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Seville. Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Level 1:
100/200
Entries:
75/75
Prizes:
€50,000 GTD
The floor has announced “Shuffle up and deal, ” and the 75 players who are in Day 1a of the €150 Mini Main Event from the get-go are currently playing the first hand of the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Madrid.
Late registration will be open for the first nine 30-minute levels.
Welcome, all, to the live blog for the 2026 PartyPoker Tour Madrid. It’s a pleasure to have ya’ll here, and you’d better buckle up for seven days of intense poker action.
The 2026 PartyPoker Tour Madrid is the third stop of the tour this year; the first one was held in Sheffield in January, and roughly one month ago, the PartyPoker Tour touched Spanish soil for the first time ever, as Seville rolled out the red carpet.
Now, we’re in Madrid, and the stylish PartyPoker tables have been set up at Casino Gran Via. There’s a big week ahead, featuring tournaments such as the €500 Main Event, three poker.pro-branded Mixed Games tournaments, the €150 Mini Main Event, and much, much more.
The aforementioned Mini Main Event is the one tournament that will kick off the action. Day 1a will begin at 17:00, and it’s the first starting-day flight out of a total of four. The structure for this tournament (40,000 starting stack, 30-minute levels) is absolutely gold considering the shy buy-in. Each starting-day flight will play down to 15% of the field, until the remaining survivors can bag and tag for Day 2 (which will be played on Wednesday, May 13). At 22:00 tonight, there is also a €30 Target Stack Satellite for the Mini Main Event with three seats guaranteed.
2026 PartyPoker Tour Madrid – Monday, May 11 Schedule
Time
Event
17:00
Event #1: €150 Mini Main Event Day 1a
22:00
€30 Target Stack Satellite to €150 Mini Main Event (Three Seats Guaranteed)
PartyPoker Tour Ambassador/poker legend Niall “Firaldo” Farrell interviewing poker.pro journalist Christoffer Karlén; shouldn’t it be the other way around? Photo: Nunzia Esposito
Swedish poker.pro journalist/live reporter Christoffer Karlén arrived in Madrid yesterday, and is ready to cover every knook and cranny of the poker action at Casino Gran Via. Being the official English media partner of the PartyPoker Tour, the poker.pro editorial office is beyond excited to see some big moments unfold in the Spanish capital.
The poker.pro live blog will cover the Mini Main Event and the €500 Main Event. That being said, the results from all side events will also be published under the “Results” tab. All the photos of players (which will be taken by PartyPoker Tour photographer Nunzia Esposito) will also be uploaded to the blog, under the “Photos” tab.
Today’s live coverage will kick off at 17:00 when Day 1a of the Mini Main Event commences. In other words, it’s go time in roughly one hour. Brace yourself, Madrid: the PartyPoker Tour is here to bring the action.