Barbara Akemi Is Chasing EPT History: Can She End a 12-Year Drought in Barcelona?

Barbara Akemi is one of the biggest stories in poker today.

The Brazilian streamer and tournament player entered Day 5 of the €5,300 EPT Barcelona Main Event fifth in chips with 3,445,000, equal to 86 big blinds. Only 28 players remained from a field of 1,823 entries, and Akemi was the last woman still standing.

That would already be a major deep run. But the history around it makes the story much bigger.

Akemi has already gone further in an EPT Main Event than any Brazilian woman before her. If she goes all the way in Barcelona, she would become only the fourth woman to win an EPT Main Event and the first woman to do it since Victoria Coren Mitchell won EPT Sanremo in 2014.

There is also €1,370,050 waiting for the champion.

And this is not a player appearing from nowhere. Akemi became the first Brazilian woman to win the PokerStars Sunday Million in 2023, then won a WSOP bracelet online in 2025. Her current Barcelona run is giving her an opportunity to add an EPT Main Event title to a resume that already contains two of online poker’s most recognizable achievements.

Here is who Barbara Akemi is, how she reached the final 28 in Barcelona, why her run is historic, what she has already won, and what would happen to poker history if she lifts the EPT trophy on August 29.

For the complete festival schedule and results, see our EPT Barcelona 2026 guide.

Barbara Akemi at EPT Barcelona 2026: Quick Facts

Why Barbara Akemi Is Trending Today

The EPT Barcelona Main Event is the largest live poker tournament still running today, and Akemi entered Day 5 in one of the strongest positions in the field.

PokerNews currently lists her among its trending poker players, and the reason is easy to understand.

She is not simply trying to make another pay jump. She is chasing several pieces of poker history at once.

• She is already the deepest Brazilian woman in EPT Main Event history.
• She is the last woman remaining in the 2026 Barcelona Main Event.
• She entered Day 5 fifth in chips.
• She could become only the fourth woman to win an EPT Main Event.
• She could become the first female EPT Main Event champion in more than 12 years.
• She could add an EPT title to a Sunday Million victory and a WSOP bracelet.

That is a rare combination of current tournament momentum and long-term player significance.

How Big Is the 2026 EPT Barcelona Main Event?

The numbers make Akemi’s run even more impressive.

PokerStars confirmed that the 2026 Main Event attracted 1,823 total entries from 1,297 unique players. There were 526 re-entries, creating an €8,841,550 prize pool.

It is the seventh-largest EPT Main Event ever by total entries.

Barcelona dominates the historical list. Nine of the ten largest Main Events in European Poker Tour history have been held there.

The top prize this year is €1,370,050, and all nine final-table players will receive at least six figures.

Players interested in how giant fields change late-stage strategy can use our multi-table tournament deep-run guide.

Akemi Entered Day 5 Fifth in Chips

When Day 4 ended, Jose Criado led with 5,045,000. Gerard Carbo was second with 4,815,000, and Joris Ruijs held 4,625,000.

Edward Pak sat fourth with 3,585,000.

Then came Barbara Akemi.

Her 3,445,000 stack represented 86 big blinds at the start of Day 5. That is not a short stack trying to survive. It is enough chips to open pots, three-bet selectively, apply pressure to medium stacks and recover from losing a meaningful pot without immediately entering push-fold territory.

She also has something every tournament player wants this late: room to make decisions.

The difference between playing 86 big blinds and 20 big blinds is enormous. Deep stacks allow more postflop maneuvering, more bet sizes and more opportunities to exploit opponents who become overly cautious around major payout jumps.

The Hand That Helped Push Akemi Into the Top Five

One of Akemi’s important Day 4 moments came when she eliminated Matteo Cecchetti and moved into the big-stack group.

That elimination was part of a strong day in which the field fell from 67 players to only 28.

By the end of play, Claudia Bueno and Sarah Jarry had also been eliminated, leaving Akemi as the lone woman remaining.

The deeper the tournament goes, the more every stack decision becomes connected to real payout pressure. Our ICM in poker guide explains why chips no longer have a simple one-to-one cash value near major final tables.

How Historic Would an EPT Win Be for a Woman?

Very historic.

Only three women have won an EPT Main Event before.

Victoria Coren Mitchell became the first when she won EPT London in 2006. Sandra Naujoks won EPT Dortmund in 2009. Liv Boeree won EPT Sanremo in 2010.

Coren Mitchell then made history again in 2014 when she won EPT Sanremo and became the first two-time EPT Main Event champion.

No woman has won an EPT Main Event since.

PokerStars calculated that if a woman wins the Barcelona final table on August 29, it will have been 4,514 days since Coren Mitchell’s 2014 victory.

Akemi is the only woman who can end that streak in this tournament.

For the wider story of women at the tables, see our Women in Poker guide.

Who Is Barbara Akemi?

Barbara Akemi is a Brazilian professional poker player and streamer who plays online under the name baakemi.

Her rise is unusual because some of her biggest achievements came online before her live tournament profile became widely known internationally.

She built an audience through streaming her poker sessions and became a recognizable figure in Brazilian poker. Then one result changed the scale of the attention around her.

Barbara Akemi Became the First Brazilian Woman to Win the Sunday Million

On February 27, 2023, Akemi won one of the most famous weekly tournaments in online poker.

The $109 PokerStars Sunday Million Progressive Knockout attracted more than 10,000 entries and generated a prize pool above $1 million.

Akemi defeated the field under her baakemi screen name and became the first Brazilian woman to win the Sunday Million.

Her published payout was $55,435.18 from the main prize pool plus $36,846.29 in bounties, putting the total above $92,000.

For a player building a career through online MTTs, that is the type of score that can immediately change both bankroll and reputation.

It also showed something important about Akemi’s current Barcelona run. Large fields are not new to her.

Then She Added a WSOP Bracelet

In September 2025, Akemi made poker history again.

She won Event #10 of the WSOP Online series on GGPoker, the $500 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship.

The event attracted 263 entries.

Akemi finished first for $20,537 and collected her first World Series of Poker bracelet.

GGPoker later described it as the first female WSOP bracelet for Brazil.

That gave Akemi an unusual combination: Sunday Million champion and WSOP bracelet winner.

Our WSOP Online 2026 guide covers the current bracelet series where more online champions are being created this year.

Sunday Million, WSOP Bracelet, EPT Main Event?

This is what makes the Barcelona story so clickable.

Each achievement represents a different test.

Winning all three would not make Akemi the greatest tournament player alive, but it would create a very distinctive modern poker resume.

It would also transform her live results. Before this Barcelona run, her documented live tournament earnings were relatively modest compared with high-volume EPT professionals. A deep final-table finish would change that immediately.

How Much Is Barbara Akemi Guaranteed Right Now?

Every player who entered Day 5 had already locked up a substantial cash, and the payouts increase rapidly from here.

The jump from ninth to first is more than €1.24 million.

That is why late-stage tournament strategy becomes dramatically different from normal chip accumulation.

Akemi Cannot Play the Story Instead of the Cards

The historical pressure is real, but strategically it should mean almost nothing at the table.

If Akemi starts thinking about becoming the first female EPT champion in 12 years during every hand, that can become a distraction.

The correct goal is simpler:

Make the best decision available with the stack, position, range and opponent in front of her.

History is an outcome.

Decision quality is the process.

Our mental game poker guide explains why players perform better when they separate external narratives from individual decisions.

What Are the Biggest Dangers With an 86-Big-Blind Stack?

Having a big stack does not make a player safe.

Overplaying Medium-Strength Hands

Deep stacks increase the cost of becoming attached to one pair. A hand that is comfortable for 25 big blinds can become extremely difficult for 80 or 100.

Trying to Eliminate Everyone

A big stack creates leverage, but forcing every marginal spot can burn that advantage quickly.

Ignoring Other Big Stacks

Pressure works best against players whose tournament life is threatened. Colliding unnecessarily with another top stack can create the opposite effect.

Thinking the Deep Run Must Continue

Tournament variance does not care about narratives. Even an 86-big-blind stack can disappear through a cooler, failed bluff or several medium losses.

Our poker variance guide is useful context for why a great run can still end suddenly.

Could Brazil Get Only Its Second EPT Champion?

Akemi is also chasing national history.

Despite Brazil’s enormous online poker presence and huge tournament community, only one Brazilian has won an EPT Main Event: Marcelo Simões, who won EPT Monte Carlo in 2022.

Akemi was one of five Brazilians still alive entering Day 5, alongside Vinicius Goncalves, Fabricio Nociolini, Eduardo Kalil and Gabriel Tavares.

If any of them wins, Brazil gets its second EPT Main Event champion.

If Akemi does it, the result would simultaneously be a national milestone and a milestone for women in poker.

She Is Not the Only Player Chasing History

The final 28 contains several compelling stories.

John Juanda won EPT Barcelona in 2015 and is trying to win the same Main Event again 11 years later. Sebastian Malec won Barcelona in 2016 and is also still alive.

Jose Criado and Gerard Carbo entered Day 5 first and second in chips, giving Spain a serious chance to produce only its second EPT champion and its first winner on home soil.

Matas Cimbolas can become Lithuania’s first EPT Main Event champion, while Zheng Xiaosheng can become the first from China.

This is why Akemi’s path is difficult. She is making history inside a field full of players trying to do the same.

Follow the wider international schedule in our global poker tournament calendar.

Can Barbara Akemi Win EPT Barcelona?

Yes, realistically.

Entering Day 5 fifth in chips with 86 big blinds gives her a legitimate route to the final table and the title.

But being top five with 28 left does not make anyone a favorite against the field.

Twenty-seven opponents remain, several stacks are larger, and the event still has multiple long days of poker before the champion is crowned.

The correct description is that Akemi entered Day 5 as one of the serious contenders.

That is already enough to make the next stage worth watching.

How to Watch Barbara Akemi at EPT Barcelona

PokerStars is streaming the EPT Barcelona Main Event through its official channels.

Day 5 coverage is scheduled for Thursday, August 27, followed by Day 6 on August 28 and the final table on Saturday, August 29.

PokerNews is also providing live updates, chip counts and hand reports from Casino Barcelona.

Because live reporting can operate on a delay relative to the stream, chip counts can change before written updates appear.

Barbara Akemi FAQs

Who is Barbara Akemi?

Barbara Akemi is a Brazilian professional poker player and streamer known online as baakemi. She is a Sunday Million champion and WSOP bracelet winner.

Why is Barbara Akemi trending?

She entered Day 5 of the 2026 EPT Barcelona Main Event fifth in chips and became the deepest Brazilian woman ever in an EPT Main Event.

How many chips did Barbara Akemi have entering Day 5?

She bagged 3,445,000 chips, equal to 86 big blinds, which ranked fifth among the final 28 players.

How much is first place at EPT Barcelona 2026?

The Main Event champion receives €1,370,050 from an €8,841,550 prize pool.

How many entries were in the EPT Barcelona Main Event?

The 2026 event attracted 1,823 entries from 1,297 unique players.

Has a woman ever won an EPT Main Event?

Yes. Victoria Coren Mitchell, Sandra Naujoks and Liv Boeree have won EPT Main Events. Coren Mitchell won twice.

When was the last time a woman won an EPT Main Event?

Victoria Coren Mitchell won EPT Sanremo in 2014. No woman has won another EPT Main Event since.

Has Barbara Akemi won the Sunday Million?

Yes. She won the PokerStars Sunday Million in February 2023 and became the first Brazilian woman to win the famous weekly tournament.

How much did Barbara Akemi win in the Sunday Million?

Her 2023 victory paid more than $92,000 including the main payout and progressive knockout bounties.

Does Barbara Akemi have a WSOP bracelet?

Yes. She won the 2025 WSOP Online $500 Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship on GGPoker for $20,537.

Could Barbara Akemi become the first Brazilian EPT champion?

No. Marcelo Simões became Brazil’s first EPT Main Event champion in Monte Carlo in 2022. Akemi could become Brazil’s second and the first Brazilian woman to win one.

When is the EPT Barcelona final table?

The final table is scheduled for Saturday, August 29, 2026.

Final Verdict

Barbara Akemi entered August 27 with an opportunity that very few poker players ever get.

She is 28 players away from an EPT Barcelona title, but she is not entering that stage as a desperate short stack.

She begins with 3,445,000 chips and 86 big blinds, fifth in the field.

She is already the deepest Brazilian woman in EPT Main Event history.

She is already the first Brazilian woman to win the Sunday Million.

She already owns a WSOP bracelet.

Now one more deep run could place her beside Victoria Coren Mitchell, Sandra Naujoks and Liv Boeree on the short list of women who have won an EPT Main Event.

And if she wins on Saturday, she will end a drought that has lasted more than 12 years.

There is still a huge amount of poker left.

But this is no longer a hypothetical story about what a promising player might do someday.

Barbara Akemi is in the middle of the chase right now.