Leon Sturm first broke out on the live high-stakes poker tournament circuit in 2023, taking down a $50,000 buy-in at the World Series of Poker for a bracelet and his first seven-figure score. Just over two years removed from that marquee triumph, Sturm managed another cornerstone nosebleed stakes triumph. The 24-year-old German professional player bested 47 entries in the 2025 European Poker Tour Barcelona €100,000 super high roller, earning $1,696,950 for a new career-high payday.
Sturm’s lifetime recorded earnings now sit at more than $11.3 million, despite recording just a handful of live cashes before the pandemic-induced shutdown of 2020.
This latest victory also came with 600 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his first title and seventh final-table finish of 2025. He now sits in 80th place in the POY standings presented by CoinPoker with 2,532 total points.
The prize pool grew to more than $5.3 million, with that hefty sum split amongst the top six finishers. The six-figure bubble burst late on day 2 of this three-day affair, which ran Aug. 23-25 at Casino Barcelona. Samuel Mullur was ultimately the last player to hit the rail empty handed. The Austrian high-stakes player ran A-Q into the A-K of David Coleman to finish seventh.
Falling Stars And A Fortunate Double For Sturm
Sturm came into the final day in the middle of the pack, with 2022 WSOP main event champion Espen Jorstad out in front. Thailand’s all-time money leader Punnat Punsri added to his advantage on that leaderboard with a sixth-place finish in this event for $373,464. He got his last chips in good on the first hand of day 3, calling off with pocket kings from the big blind when Coleman shoved with A-5 from the small blind. Coleman flopped an ace and held from there to end Punsri’s day before it even got started.
Two-time bracelet winner Aleksejs Ponakovs was the next to fall, with his K♠J♠ running into the A♠K♣ of Jorstad. An ace-high runout saw the Latvian tournament star walk away with $480,168 for a fifth-place showing. He now boasts more than $30 million in career cashes after this latest deep run.
Sturm found a fortunate double during four-handed action. He got all-in with A-K against the same hand held by Coleman, with both players having one spade and one diamond each. Card Player’s poker odds calculator indicates that the hand will end in a chop roughly 98.5 percent of the time. In this instance, though, the board ended up bringing four diamonds and Sturm’s A♦ gave him the double into the lead.
Despite coming into the day atop the chip counts, Jorstad was ultimately the next to fall. He was knocked down into the danger zone when his A-10 lost a preflop showdown with the K-J of Coleman, who rivered a four flush. Jorstad was soon all in with K♥6♥ trailing the A♥9♥ of two-time bracelet winner Jesse Lonis. The board came down A♦7♠2♠J♦3♥ and Lonis’ top pair, nine kicker sent Jorstad home with $613,548. The Norwegian now has nearly $19.9 million in career cashes to his name.
Podium Finishers Square Off
Sturm was leading the pack to start three-handed play. Coleman and Lonis were fairly close to start, but Coleman won a couple of early pots against his fellow American pro to create some distance.
Jesse Lonis
Lonis doubled once through Sturm, but was soon all-in and at risk again. Coleman jammed from the small blind with 9♣8♥ and Lonis woke up with a dominating A♥9♦ and called from the big blind. The 8♠5♥3♦ flop turned the hand on its head, though. The 3♥ turn left Lonis in need of an ace on the river, but the J♠ appeared instead to halt his progress in third place ($826,956).
Lonis was already the clear leader in the 2025 POY race standings, with seven titles and 19 final-table finishes recorded so far. The 400 points that came with this podium finish give him a 1,734-point advantage over second-ranked Artur Martirosian. Lonis’ POY-qualified earnings for the year already sit at more than $8.7 million. He also won a $100,000 invitational event just a week before making this final table for another $1.7 million.
Sturm held 7,595,000 to Coleman’s 4,155,000 when heads-up play began. The two soon struck a deal to redistribute the prize money a bit, while leaving the trophy and $234,000 to play for. Sturm was able to expand on his lead after the agreement was made. By the time the final hand was dealt, Coleman was down to 16 big blinds. Sturm shoved from the button with A♥9♦ and Coleman called off out of the big blind with A♠5♥. The J♥J♦4♠6♦2♦ runout kept Sturm’s kicker in play, which meant that Coleman settled for the $1,344,043 that he negotiated for.
This was a new high score for Coleman, who now has just shy of $12 million in lifetime cashes under his belt. It also his fourth straight runner-up finish at the festival. He also placed second in the €10,000 mystery bounty, the €20,000 high roller, and the €30,000 high roller. Those three earlier runner-ups came with more than $931,000 in combined prize money. That means his total earnings for the series now sits at nearly $2.3 million. He climbed to 65th place in the POY standings thanks to his spree of second-place showings.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Leon Sturm | $1,696,950 | 600 |
| 2 | David Coleman | $1,344,043 | 500 |
| 3 | Jesse Lonis | $826,956 | 400 |
| 4 | Espen Jorstad | $613,548 | 300 |
| 5 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | $480,168 | 250 |
| 6 | Punnat Punsri | $373,464 | 200 |
Photo credits: Eloy Cabacas, Manuel Kovsca / Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.
