Seat 2: Carl Shaw, 31, United Kingdom (17,400,000)
It wasn’t even a decade ago that Carl Shaw was making the 40-minute drive from his home in Telford to the casinos of Birmingham to play a £20 buy-in tournament. In the years since he’s become a tournament regular and consistent performer in Europe and beyond, racking up almost $1.3 million in tournament cashes prior to this event.
This is Shaw’s first Main Event final table and deepest run on the EPT, but he’s playing like a man who is right at home. Shaw has had the chip lead multiple times throughout this tournament and has hovered near the top of the counts since a surge on Day 3.
His comfort at the table is all down to experience in high-pressure moments. It was 2019 when Shaw enjoyed breakout success, first putting up a deep run in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, then immediately following it up by winning a bracelet in a $5K no-limit hold’em event for $606,562, proving he knows how to navigate a prestigious final table.
Railed by the EPT London champion Ian Hamilton, Shaw will more than double his best score with victory here in Barcelona.