Just six players remain in the Estrellas Barcelona 2023 Main Event, the largest live event in PokerStars history. Get to know them here.

Profiles provided by PokerStars Media Coordinator Jan Kores

Seat 1: Lucien Cohen, 59, Paris, France

CHIPS: 65.5 million

It’s been more than 12 years since Lucien Cohen became a European Poker Tour (EPT) champion, but his victory at EPT Deauville in 2011 remains as memorable as ever thanks to the famous “Ratman” antics that are simply unforgettable. Cohen, at the time, surely annoyed some of the players and spectators as he waved around a rubber rat card protector en route to victory, yet the celebrations made him one of the most recognizable champs in poker history. Now 59, Cohen still loves poker, citing it as his only hobby. The seasoned veteran is closing in on his second six-figure cash on the PokerStars-sponsored circuit, a testimony to the longevity of the passionate amateur who has been involved in the game for 25 years.

Seat 2: Avihai Smadga, 40, Tel Aviv, Israel

CHIPS: 11 million

Avihai Smadga had already enjoyed a deep run in the Estrellas Barcelona Main Event. Seven years ago, he navigated through the then-biggest-ever 3,447-player contest to the final four tables. The 30th-place finish and €8,430 payday remained his best score until he entered the same event this year, battling through twice as many opponents. The 40-year-old from Tel Aviv has been rolling straight from the get-go. He topped Day 1E and turned it into a final-table appearance, the biggest of his 20-year run in poker. Smadga plays tournaments recreationally, both live and online. He’s also into anything connected with the beach; be it partying, surfing, or other sports.

Seat 3: Petros Karadimos, 22, Athens

CHIPS: 42.2 million

A huge coin flip propelled Petros Karadimos to a final table chip lead when his pocket queens held against Diogo Ferreira’s ace-king with 10 players remaining. At that point, Karadimos had already eclipsed his previous best score by a mile. With around €7,500 in live tournament cashes, this marks the 22-year-old’s first significant deep run. Karadimos is a recreational poker player who prefers cash games over tournaments. He picked up poker six years ago, and when he’s not at a table, you can find him working out or hanging out with friends in his home city of Athens.

Seat 6: Ferdinando D’Alessio, 35, Charleroi, Belgium

CHIPS: 30.1 million

While he’s not a poker pro, Ferdinando D’Alessio certainly doesn’t lack experience, having played the game for well over a decade. His first reported live cashes date back to 2009. The 35-year-old lives in Charleroi, Belgium, so it’s no surprise that most of his results come from Casino Namur, including the €46,502 fourth-place prize in the 2011 Belgian
Poker Series Main Event. Twelve years later, D’Alessio will finally top that result and potentially move up to as high as 11th place on the Belgian all-time money list should he lift the trophy.

Seat 7: Danilo Velasevic, 35, Belgrade, Serbia

CHIPS: 40.9 million

It’s been an excellent summer for Danilo Velasevic, who came to Barcelona fresh off notching his biggest live score — $214,500. That result was for fifth place in a Triton high roller event in London that the Serbian pro played last month. Velasevic has recently elevated his game to the level required to compete in the high-stakes fields, a big step in his 13-year poker career. That alone makes him one of the top contenders on the final table. The 35-year-old from Belgrade backs it up with many excellent online results, too, including a $470,000 score and two PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) titles.

Seat 8: Ankit Ahuja, 37, from India, lives in Isle of Man

CHIPS: 32.2 million

With more than $1.5 million in live tournament winnings, Ankit Ahuja is one of the more accomplished players on the final table. Ahuja’s first small stakes results came in 2011, but the 37-year-old only really looks back at the last four years when reminiscing about his poker career. “Amateur? Pro? I don’t know,” he said when asked how he considers himself. Ahuja is a versatile player who plays cash games and tournaments, both live and online. While Ahuja hails from India and lives on the Isle of Man, most of his live cashes came in Las Vegas, including a $330,134 career-high score. But Ahuja is already thinking ahead, saying that his biggest accomplishment will be “this one when I win.”

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