Mestre the master debuts as PokerStars Ambassador with Spin & Go Championship Live Paris victory
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When players sign an Ambassadorship contract with an online poker site, they’ve usually already won the big tournament. But Raul Mestre has never followed the crowd.
After bursting onto the scene in the European Poker Tour’s early days, Mestre’s action-packed style saw him make two EPT final tables and reach the nosebleed stakes of online cash. But at some point, he decided to follow a different poker path: coaching, rather than playing.
It might seem standard these days, but Mestre was a pioneer in the field and became a legend in the flourishing Spanish poker community.
So when he returned to live events in 2025, he was a natural choice to represent PokerStars in Spain as an Ambassador. He signed up, stuck on the patch, and headed to EPT Paris to take one of 81 seats in the Spin & Go Championship Live.
His first event as a Team Pro. And what a debut it proved to be.
Raul Mestre, the master
Mestre steamrolled his way through his opponents, running well but rarely putting a step wrong, too.
He becomes the third player to win the Championship, earning himself €92,539. Not bad for two days’ work.
SPIN & GO CHAMPIONSHIP LIVE PARIS FINAL TABLE RESULTS
1. Raul Mestre (Spain) – €92,539
2. Manuel Garrido (Spain) – €63,250
3. Narciso Solana (Spain) – €26,250
See full RESULTS SO FAR from across the EPT Paris festival.
FINAL DAY ACTION
Nine players made it through the thrilling opening day, and Manuel Garrido wasted no time securing his seat in the final. Garrido, from Spain, won four straight matches to send Derek Morris (UK) and Brazil’s Rafaela Figueiredo (whose husband won this event in Barcelona) to the rail.
Narciso Solana was the first to four in his match against Argentina’s Gabriel Aguirre (3 wins) and Mexico’s Gustavo Valdivia (1 win). And the final spot went to Mestre, who won four matches to Spaniard Manel Fernandez’s three, and Greece’s Faidonas Grammatikos’ one.
THE FINAL
Solana, Mestre and Garrido
Mestre took down the first game before spinning a bonus €10K prize. Garrido joined him on one win and spun a €15K prize, before Mestre took down the third, plus €5K.
It’s worth noting that only the first five games of this match came with bonus spin prizes, so spare a thought for Solana. He could only sit and watch as Garrido won the fourth plus €15K, then Mestre won game 5 and an additional €20K.
By the time Solana started winning, the prizes had gone. But he kept in contention and won the next two.
But Mestre proved too much in the end.
Welcome to Team Pro!
An incredible start to Mestre’s Ambassadorship
COMPLETE RESULTS
Here are the complete results from the Spin & Go Championship Live Paris event. Below you’ll find the regular prize pool prizes, and a breakdown of all Spin prizes won throughout the tournament.
REGULAR PRIZES
SPIN PRIZES
COVERAGE ARCHIVE
DAY 2 BEGINS
After an incredible opening day at the Spin & Go Championship Live in Paris, the field of 81 has been chopped down to just nine. Now it all comes down to this. Three semi-final tables, and one shot at glory.
Among the contenders still standing, two stories rise above the rest.
Rafaela Figueiredo’s journey with this event has now come full circle. Back at the inaugural edition in Prague in December 2024, she wasn’t in the field, but she was on the rail, cheering on her husband, Guilherme Kleist, as the Spin & Go specialist chased the title. That run ended short of the trophy.
Fast forward to Barcelona in August 2025 for the second edition, and this time, Figueiredo wasn’t just a supporter; she had earned her own seat through an online qualifier. Her campaign ended early, but Kleist went all the way, storming to the title and a €75,000 victory.
Rafaela Figueiredo played in Barcelona but is running better here in Paris
Now, in Paris for the third chapter, both returned as qualifiers. But as the tournament reaches its climax, only Figueiredo remains. With nine players left and the title within reach, she’s on the verge of an extraordinary double for the couple. It’s a chance to etch their names in Spin & Go history as the game’s ultimate power duo.
Up on the feature table, we’ve also got Raul Mestre to keep an eye on.
In Spanish-speaking corners of the poker world, Mestre occupies near godlike status. It’s not just because of his playing career, though he crushed high-stakes online games for years and made two EPT final tables. And neither is it even for some of his breathtaking plays that fuelled some of the earliest viral poker content.
It is instead for his role as a pioneer of poker coaching, a pursuit that he began earlier than almost anyone else in the world.
Raul Mestre in his patch-wearing debut
Mestre happens to be the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro, and he’s making a fine debut as a PokerStars Ambassador, battling his way to the final nine. You’ll be able to watch his match on the live stream.
FINAL DAY SEAT DRAW
FEATURE TABLE
Seat 1 – Faidonas Grammatikos (Greece)
Seat 2 – Raul Mestre (Spain)
Seat 3 – Manel Fernandez Prat (Spain)
TABLE 2
Seat 1 – Gabriel Aguirre (Argentina)
Seat 2 – Gustavo Valdivia (Mexico)
Seat 3 – Narciso Solana Antoni (Spain)
TABLE 3
Seat 1 – Rafaela Figueiredo (Brazil)
Seat 2 – Derek Morris (UK)
Seat 3 – Manuel Garrido (Spain)
Remember, there’s more than €300,000 in the prize pool, and €150,000 up for grabs if you make the final table.
WHAT IS A SPIN & GO?
MONDAY, FEB 23
The action is underway in the Spin & Go Championship Live Paris, and we can, for the first time, bring you the full player list.
That’s because the full 81-player line-up wasn’t complete until last night, when the final Spin Off competition took place at EPT Paris. The live event, which also had 81 qualifiers, was the final chance for players to book their seat in the big one, with nine spots up for grabs. The nine players who advanced are:
SPIN OFF QUALIFIERS:
Manel Fernandez Prat
Albert Keqaj
Arsen Karapetyan
Georgina Raileanu
Atte Tommiska
Lourenco Marrucho
Salvatore Belardo
Giulio Di Lella
Antonio Giovane
Other notable names on the player list include the defending champ, Barcelona winner Guilherme Kleist. The Brazilian took down the second edition for €75,000 back in September. Carlos Gurdiel is also back for his third Spin & Go Championship Live, having won the maiden championship in Prague 2024 for €25,000.
PokerStars Ambassador Nick Walsh is representing the red spade in the contest. As one of the biggest champions of Spin & Go’s and one of the format’s most popular teachers, it would be great to see Walsh make a run at it.
Here’s the full player list:
PLAYER LIST AND SEAT DRAW
We’ll update this page as the two-day event progresses.
READ MORE
SPIN & GO CHAMPIONSHIP LIVE
EPT PARIS
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