Dinu Wins partypoker Tour Castellón

The partypoker Tour's third Spanish stop of the season is underway at Orenes Gran Casino de Castellón, running from October 5 to 11. The Mediterranean coastal venue follows earlier stops in Seville and Madrid, and the schedule mixes accessible buy-ins with the series' headline events, including a €250 Mystery Bounty and a €1,000 High Roller.

Mini Main Event Draws 727 Entries

The €150 Mini Main Event produced a field of 727 entries, pushing the original €50,000 guarantee to a final prizepool of €90,875 — nearly double the advertised figure. The event concluded with Romanian player Marius-Laurentiu Dinu lifting the trophy and collecting €16,000.

One of the most closely followed storylines of the final day involved Matt Staples. The poker streamer and partypoker ambassador navigated the large field to reach the final table and at one point held the chip lead. After eliminating Hugo Gotuzzo in ninth place, Staples sat with 7,625,000 chips and looked like a serious contender for the title.

Two hands turned the tournament against him. First, holding A-A, he ran into eventual champion Dinu, who completed a straight on the turn with J-T on a board of Q-8-2-9. Shortly after, Staples moved his remaining chips in with A-T, but Alberto Martinez held A-K. The flop came A-A-K, giving Martinez a full house, and the board offered no rescue. Staples finished fifth for €3,750.

How the Final Table Unfolded

After Staples' exit, Fabian Torres went out in fourth, followed by Christian Martin in third. Martin's tens could not hold against Martinez's fours once Martinez flopped a set.

Heads-up between Martinez and Dinu produced another decisive cooler. On a board of K-7-3-7-5, Martinez held a flush with K-8 and moved all-in on the river. Dinu snap-called with K-7 for a full house, locking up the title. Martinez earned €11,000 as runner-up.

Mini Main Event Final Results

• 1. Marius-Laurentiu Dinu, Romania — €16,000
• 2. Alberto Martinez, Spain — €11,000
• 3. Christian Martin, Spain — €7,500
• 4. Fabian Torres, Colombia — €5,500
• 5. Matt Staples, Canada — €3,750
• 6. Kevin Brzozowski, United Kingdom — €2,685
• 7. Andres Carbonell, Spain — €2,000
• 8. Konstantinos Vatseris, Greece — €1,500
• 9. Hugo Gotuzzo, Argentina — €1,200

Main Event Opens With Day 1A

The €500 Main Event, carrying a €100,000 guarantee, began on Thursday. The opening flight, Day 1A, drew 112 entries, with 28 players advancing to Day 2. Alfonso Lapaz bagged the largest stack at 442,000 chips, ahead of Iván Molino with 370,000 and Juan Martínez Vendrell with 362,000. Among those moving on were well-known names such as Barny Boatman and Niall Farrell.

Further starting flights are scheduled, with Day 2 set for Saturday, October 10, and the winner to be decided on Sunday, October 11.

Why This Stop Matters

The Castellón leg reflects a pattern common to mid-stakes tour stops: a modest buy-in event with a guarantee that attracts a field large enough to blow past the advertised prizepool. When a €150 tournament draws more than 700 entries, the overlay risk shifts entirely to the players' side — the prize pool grows, but so does the field size and the variance each player must survive.

For players studying tournament structure, the Mini Main Event also illustrates how quickly a deep run can reverse. Staples held the chip lead with five players remaining and still finished fifth, a reminder that in large-field no-limit hold'em, a single cooler — or two in quick succession — can end a run that looked dominant minutes earlier. The hands that decided the final table were not marginal spots; they were classic confrontations where the money went in with strong holdings and the board settled the outcome.

The partypoker Tour continues across its Spanish schedule, with the Main Event still to play out and the High Roller and Mystery Bounty events adding further variety to the series.