PokerStars Open Campione: Manuel Ferrari takes the High Roller!

It concluded with an intense and memorable final day, the PokerStars Open Campione 2026 High Roller. The tournament saw Manuel Ferrari triumph, thus repeating his success from last summer in Malaga. Filippo Candio also did excellently, for whom time seems to stand still.

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PokerStars Open Campione 2026: Manuel Ferrari wins the High Roller!

Last summer, he crushed the competition in the Malaga leg of the PokerStars Open Main Event, while this time he took home the equally prestigious spade of the PokerStars Open High Roller. We are talking about Manuel Ferrari, who deservedly won a tournament with a truly interesting field.

We are talking about the €2,200 High Roller, which started with 189 registered players and 69 qualifiers for Day 2/Final Day, but another 25 joined with extreme late registration, making up a final field of 214 paying players.

The resulting payout structure awarded 31 players, and unfortunately, several Italians fell by the wayside, including Umberto Ruggeri and the winner of the November Sunday Million, Giacomo Beneforti.

The bubble burst at the expense of the Frenchman Balleur, and from there began the classic descent towards the final table. Eight Italians missed out, exiting with various degrees of regret, from Dario Quattrucci‘s 17th place (€6,180) to Davide Suriano‘s 31st place (€3,540 for him). However, five made it through, and besides the aforementioned Manuel Ferrari, there was a very welcome return: that of Filippo Candio.

Filippo Candio, a king’s return and Ferrari celebrates him

The Sardinian, whose 4th place at the 2010 WSOP Main Event remains in the hearts of all fans, has shown that time has not eroded his ability to accumulate chips. So, when he is focused and “on the ball” like yesterday, it’s not surprising to see him at an important final table again.

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It was Manuel Ferrari who eliminated him, but then he made a kind and almost embarrassed gesture towards the experienced champion: he asked for a brief live video on social media to celebrate the moment, and Filippo did not refuse.

Our reporters in Campione d’Italia filmed them:

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Heads-up and conclusion

Candio’s elimination in third place brought Manuel Ferrari heads-up against another veteran, the Dutchman Thierry Van De Berg, who had previously distinguished himself with a super cooler in his favor, AA vs AK vs AQ, with which he had eliminated Jensen and Salvucci in fifth and fourth place.

Manuel started with a comfortable chip advantage of about 5-1, and Thierry could not mount a comeback. Thus, it ended with the triumph of Manuel Ferrari and another spade won. And who knows if he will tattoo this one on his arm too, as happened with the one won in Malaga last summer…

Here is the payout for the final table:

PokerStars Open Campione 2026: today’s schedule

Today, the PokerStars Live Room schedule mirrors that of the previous day, with two Main Event flights, each with a different structure. Day 1C will have full blind duration, while the evening Day 1D will still be offered in turbo mode. A satellite for the Main Event is also scheduled. Here are the details:

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Cover image: Manuel Ferrari (photo Assopoker)