Adam Hendrix eyes new milestones at EPT Barcelona after WSOP final
What do you do when you achieve one of your poker dreams? For Adam Hendrix, the sixth-place finisher in this summer’s World Series of Poker Main Event, the answer is simple: Keep calm, carry on, and try to tick another dream off the list.
“It really was a dream making that final table,” Hendrix confirms during hand-for-hand play on the bubble at EPT Barcelona. The American pro—who won $1.9 million at the WSOP, and now has north of $10 million in career cashes—had a comfortable stack and was almost certain to cash, taking him one step closer to his new goal.
“It would be a dream to make an EPT final table, too,” he says. “I’ve not even cashed one before because I don’t play many.”
Before 2025, Hendrix had actually never played poker in Europe outside of Barcelona, but with good reason. In 2019, he finished second in the €1K Main here for €346,500. “That was by far my biggest score at the time,” he says, “especially considering the euro is a little more valuable than USD, so that was even nicer when I saw it converted over.”
A great result in Barcelona during Hendrix’s first poker trip abroad
That result has kept him coming back to Spain year after year, and he still remembers the trip fondly. At the beginning, he was scrambling for euros alongside his good friend Stephen Song—the first time either had played poker abroad. By the end of the week, Song had taken down a €2K side event for €185,230, and Hendrix was flush with his runner-up finish. “We went from scrambling to trying to figure out how to get rid of [the euros],” he says, smiling.
SOMETHING IN THE AIR
Not much has changed for Hendrix since reaching the final table of the year’s biggest event. He’s playing the same stuff and selling a bit less action for the bigger stuff. “In the States, I get recognised a bit more, which is cool, y’know?” he says.
Hendrix awaits his fate at the WSOP 2025
But here in Barcelona, he’s been flying under the radar and loving every minute. “Everyone plays fun poker here,” he says, chuckling. “At any point, people are all-in with ridiculous hands.”
Hendrix says he definitely sees some unique plays here compared with tournaments back home. “I don’t know what’s in the air here, but people go wild,” he says.
“I’ve been lucky to have some interesting tables [during the Main Event],” he continues. “They might not have had many pros, but there have been people who put you to the test. I had a hand with a guy who five-bet with queen-jack off, and I almost ripped something I shouldn’t have. So we were both playing outside of the box, which is fun. Every hand can go a million different ways.”
Hendrix has seen some wild play in Barcelona over the years
It’s not just the action but also the scheduling of EPT Barcelona that keeps him coming back. “A lot of my friends come here because there’s always big prize pools, and on Day 2 we only played for six hours, which was nice,” he says. “It meant we could go out for dinner and relax. The whole day isn’t about poker.”
All of the friends he travelled with back in 2019 still come to Barcelona, including Song, who took down the Main Event in 2024 for €1,290,386. Hendrix was on the rail for Song’s victory, just like he was on their first trip. “It’s really cool to see him on the corridor walls alongside past winners,” he says proudly. “I really like how [PokerStars] does that. It’s cool and you don’t get it everywhere.”
GREAT CRAIC
This year also saw Hendrix make his maiden visit to the Irish Open. It was part of a UK and Ireland vacation with his fiancée that saw him visit Aberdeen, Scotland (“I used to live there with family with I was young and really wanted to go back,” he says), Newcastle (“That’s my team”) and Dublin.
An Irish Open cash worth €7,200 for Hendrix
“She played the Ladies Event—the first poker event she’s ever played—and I played the Main, that was all we played,” he says. “It was a great trip and an amazing stop. The Irish Open is a really cool event. The Craic Den was a nice sight to see at a poker event.”
He cashed the Irish Open, and we can confirm he made it through the Barcelona bubble too, securing his first EPT Main Event result.
One step closer.
MORE
Back to Top
Latest Articles
View Other Blogs
