Brazilian poker player Murilo Milhomem won the spectacular ending to the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona €3,000 Mystery Bounty event. Milhomem secured his first-ever EPT title and a grand prize of €321,658 over a 1,113-person competitive field. This triumph represented his finest career performance and gave his poker CV fresh credibility.
Murilo Milhomen: An Approach to the Title
Murilo Milhomem had an unusual road to the crown. Arriving at the last heads-up fight with an almost three-to-one chip deficit against Jacob Stone, Milhomem battled back to grab the victory. Though he left with a career-best score of €200,700, much exceeding his previous EPT performance of €6,680 from the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event, Stone, from the United Kingdom, had to settle for second place.
Claiming €143,350, the last table also saw famous streamer Fintan Hand and PokerStars team pro finish in third place. This became a personal first for Hand, exceeding Murilo Milhomem prior highest live cash of £44,200 at the 2023 UKIPT Edinburgh tournament.
EPT Barcelona €3,000 Mystery Bounty Final Table Results:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Murilo Milhomem | Brazil | €321,658 |
| 2 | Jacob Stone | United Kingdom | €200,700 |
| 3 | Fintan Hand | United Kingdom | €143,350 |
| 4 | Fabrice Maltez | France | €110,300 |
| 5 | Maria Konnikova | United States | €84,800 |
| 6 | Julien Sitbon | France | €65,250 |
| 7 | Kelvin Kerber | Brazil | €50,200 |
| 8 | Arni Gunnarsson | Iceland | €38,600 |
The Reaction of Winner: Murilo Milhomem
Overjoyed by the win, Murilo Milhomen shared his enthusiasm with Poker News. “It is amazing, indescribable,” he remarked. “I’m here [in Barcelona] on honeymoon. We opted to come here after considering where to go after I won a satellite.”
As Murilo Milhomem said, “I’m always prepared, especially for live events.” He had studied hard for the competition. I have been reading a lot and speaking with actual coaches. Though Milhomem hinted about the potential of participating one more event before returning to his honeymoon festivities, the Mystery Bounty was originally scheduled as his last tournament at EPT Barcelona. “We are going to enjoy Barcelona, drink some mojitos and some aperols,” he replied grinningly. ” Possibly I will play one more though.”
Big Bounties and Nordic Luck
The EPT Barcelona Mystery Bounty lived true to its reputation by distributing some substantial awards from the bounty chest. Arni Gunnarsson and Henrik Juncker claimed two of the €100,000 rewards. After drawing his prize on Day 2 of the contest, Gunnarsson, crediting the large victory on “Scandinavian luck,” was ecstatic.
Jacob Stone and Alexander Ivarsson also received €50,000 bounties, significantly augmenting their tournament gains. Pulling the last large envelopes from the mystery chest was Artus Gimenez and Tudor Zapsa.
One of the more unforgettable reward draws came from well-known Swedish poker player Niklas Astedt, who won €25,000. Astedt also drew bounties for Maria Konnikova, winning €10,000 and another €25,000 on her behalf. Both Astedt and Konnikova were eliminated on Day 2 despite their great wins.
Murilo Milhomem Day 3: Action-packed
Comprising about eight and a half hours, Day 3 of the event was full of fierce activity. Midway through the day’s play, the final table was attained, and eliminations started not soon after.
One of the €100,000 bonus awardees, Arni Gunnarsson, was the first to be dropped at the last table. Brazilian player Kelvin Kerber, who finished seventh and lost to Fintan Hand after running pocket sixes into Hand’s pocket kings, followed him.
French player Julien Sitbon, who had chipped up impressively in the middle portions of Day 2 and the early hours of Day 3, met his end at the hands of Fabrice Maltez finishing in sixth place. Next to go in fifth place was Maria Konnikova, one of two PokerStars Team Pros at the final table. She entered the day as one of the chip leaders but lost control and dropped shortly before Maltez, who came in fourth.
Heroistic Run by Fintan Hand
Fintan Hand made an unforgettable run towards the last table. But he was vulnerable after missing big chips to Jacob Stone and made a poor hero call. He managed to double up once, but his trip ended in third place and he received his highest-ever live cash—€143,350.
The Final Duels: Murilo Milhomem against Stone
In a heated, hour-long duel, Jacob Stone and Murilo Milhomem engaged in a heads-up fight. Stone began with a strong chip lead, but Milhomem gradually chipped away at it until he had the upper hand.
Milhomem’s pocket eights gave Stone the win when they held great strength against his hand. Milhomem’s “snowmen,” (pocket eights) won in the warm Spanish sun to award him the 2024 EPT Barcelona €3,000 Mystery Bounty champion at a fitting finale to the competition.
The Future of Murilo Milhomen
Now carrying his first EPT crown, Milhomem’s future in poker seems more promising than ever. Along with a big cash gain, his triumph at EPT Barcelona has made him well-known as one of Brazil’s emerging poker stars worldwide. Regarding his near future, Milhomem intends to enjoy his honeymoon and participate in one more event before calling Barcelona farewell.
Jacob Stone and Fintan Hand leave with remarkable achievements, hitting new personal records and proving themselves as strong rivals in the poker scene. With EPT Barcelona now under bookings, the poker community is waiting impatiently for the next major event, where more champions will emerge, and fresh narratives will be told.
