The second-largest buy-in tournament of the 2026 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris festival cost €50,000 to play. With 35 entries, the prize pool swelled to nearly $2 million. After two days of high-stakes action inside the Palais des Congres de Paris, it was online poker legend Niklas Astedt who emerged victorious with the title and the top prize of $738,208.
Astedt, known to many as ‘Lena900’ online, now has nearly $10.2 million in recorded scores to his name. While exact numbers are not known, he is also widely regarded as one of the most successful tournament players on the internet. This was the second-largest live payday of his career, trailing only the $4 million that came with his third-place finish in the 2024 World Series of Poker main event.
The 35-year-old Swedish professional player also earned 408 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his first cash since making a pair of high-stakes final tables at last year’s EPT Barcelona stop.
High-Stakes Crushers Run Deep
Only the top five finishers earned a share of the sizable prize pool in this high roller, with three-time bracelet winner Artur Martirosian being the first to fall inside the money. The Russian pro took home $184,552 for his efforts, growing his lifetime haul to nearly $36.3 million in the process.
After a player who has requested anonymity hit the rail in fourth place, 2025 POY race runner-up Punnat Punsri was sent packing in third place ($315,650). This was already the third final-table showing of the series for the top Thai tournament player, having finished runner-up in both the €12,300 cuatro knockout and €100,000 super high roller. With 797 points and more than $1.1 million in to-date POY earnings, Punsri now sits just outside the top 100 in the 2026 POY standings presented by CoinPoker.
That left a heads-up showdown between Astedt and Mikalai Vaskaboinikau. The final hand of the tournament saw the chips go in on a A♣7♥5♦3♥8♦ board with Vaskaboinikau holding A♥8♣ for top two pair. His hand was second best, though, as Astedt had turned a straight with 6♦4♥. Vaskaboinikau, a Triton champion with nearly $15.7 million in career cashes, earned $476,012 for his latest deep run.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Niklas Astedt | $738,208 | 408 |
| 2 | Mikalai Vaskaboinikau | $476,012 | 340 |
| 3 | Punnat Punsri | $315,650 | 272 |
| 5 | Artur Martirosian | $184,552 | 170 |
Photo credit: Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd. / Manuel Kovsca.
