The 2017 PokerStars Championship Barcelona Main Event played down to a champion on Sunday. Sweden's Sebastian Sorensson is a newcomer to the tournament scene who was playing in only his second-career live tournament. The 27-year old neophyte won his seat via a PokerStars satellite, then faded 1,682 runners to win the Main Event. With three to go, Sorensson made a money deal. He eventually found himself with a massive lead when it got heads-up against Lacjezar Petkov. The Swedish quakifier prevailed and Sorensson earned a first-place payout worth €987,043. Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari finished in fifth place. PokerStars Championship Monaco winner, Raf Sorrentino, finished in third place.

Ship it to the noob! Sometimes poker can be a wonderful thing, especially for a newcomer. Sebastian Sorensson from Sweden played in his second-ever tournament and he went the distance. The 27-year old warehouse worker was essentially on an end-of-the-summer holiday. He won a seat into the Barcelona Main Event via a PokerStars qualifier. The Swede pulled off a remarkable feat considering the difficult final table that included Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari and PC Monaco champ Raffaele Sorrentino.
The PokerStars Barcelona Main Event attracted 1,682 runners this year. The total prize pool topped €8.1 million. Initially, €1.41M was set aside for the champion.
Italian pro Raffaele Sorrentino came into the final table with the big stack. He was attempting to win another title. Meanwhile, Brazilian pro and Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari was seeking his first title on a PokerStars circuit. Akkari came into Day 4 as the short stack, but he seized the lead after sending a bunch of Brits to the rail. Rounding out the final table were Lachezar Petkov, Brian Kaufman, Sebastian Sorensson, and Usman Siddique.
Usman Siddique was the first elimination at the final table. Akkari went on a run and even snapped off pocket Kings twice on the same hand with . Akkari caught runner-runner flush to win the pot. Alas, Akkari hit the rail in fifth place. Brian Kaufman was dunzo in fourth.
With three left in the hunt, the final three worked out a deal. Petkov was the big stack with 18.8M, but Sorensson right behind with 17.7M. By default, Sorrentino was the shorty with a shade under 14M.
First place paid out €1.41M, but there was a significant drop off with €790,500 for second place, and only €554,000 alloted for third. They worked out some numbers and agreed to a redistribution of wealth that looked like... Petkov (€917,347), Sorensson (€887,043), Sorrentino (€850,110). They also left 100K on the top to the champ.
Italy's Sorrentino busted in third place and missed winning another EPT (ooops, sorry, old habits never die! Sorrentino missed a second PokerStars Championship crown this year. At least he walked away with a much better third-place purse of nearly €300K.
When heads-up began, Sorensson held a 4-1 edge with over 40M versus Petkov's 9.5M. The Swede beat out the Bulgarian for the win. Petkov earned a runner-up payday worth €917K. Sorensson won €987,043 for first place. Not bad for a first MTT, eh?
Notables who went deep in this event and cashed included... Alex Difelice, Nick Petrangelo, James Romero, Philippe D'Auteuil, Kyle Bowker, Erik Friberg, Juha Helppi, Mark Teltscher, Jonas Lauck, Dietrich Fast, Thomas Muehloecker, Dario Sammartino, Sam Greenwood, and Paul Newey.
2017 PokerStars Championship Bracelona Main Event
Buy-in: €5,000
Entrants: 1,682
Prize Pool: €8,157,700
Payouts: 247
Final Table Results:
1. Sebastian Sorensson (Sweden) €987,043***
2. Lachezar Petkov (Bulgaria) €917,347***
3. Raffaele Sorrentino (Italy) €850,110**
4. Brian Kaufman (Uruguay) €402,000
5. Andre Akkari(Brazil) €317,960
6. Usman Siddique (U.K.) €252,000
** Deal