“In Barcelona I knew that the registration for the hyperturbo was finishing in 5 minutes. I was already in a tournament and had just 4 big blinds. I quickly went all-in, bust out and ran to register. I got there just in time!”
Most would consider elimination from a tournament a defeat, but for players like Gérard Rubiralta Cortes there simply isn’t time to dwell on the past.
That’s because the man from Spain is thinking about the bigger picture. Every tournament counts, and of course every dollar or euro, won or lost, is real. But Cortes is chasing the top spot of the PokerStars Live League, and volume is king.
“I decided to go for it after the series in Campione,” he tells PokerOrg’s Terrance ‘TJ’ Reid. “I finished third in the high roller and that gave me a lot of points, but also at the EPT in Monte Carlo I made a lot of cashes, so that also gave me a lot of points.
“I didn't know, but when I checked I saw that I was in the top two or three on the leaderboard, and I thought that maybe I have a chance, why not try to go for it?”
The PokerStars Live League, announced back in February, is a leaderboard for select live events with some unusual and unique prizes on offer. Available at three buy-in tiers — Low (€/£/$999 or less), Medium (€/£/$1K-4,999) and High (€/£/$5K+) — the winner of each will receive a package of tournament entries for 2026, worth €15K, €25,600 or €62,400 package, depending on the tier.
Not too shabby, but there’s also one other, not insignificant prize awaiting one lucky player: a year-long contract as a PokerStars ambassador. A new sponsored pro will be selected from the top 10 players on each leaderboard at the season’s end.
Cortes has locked up a chance to audition for a place on Team PokerStars Pro.‘When I have a challenge like this, I like to go for it’
With EPT Prague in full flight, and only PokerStars Open Cannes remaining in the calendar before the first year of the League is done and dusted, now is the time to make the final push for those top spots, and Cortes is currently leading the Medium leaderboard.
“Of course, the prize for first is important,” shares Cortes, “but also for me to win the League is something that I would be proud of. When we have these kinds of rankings or leaderboards or competitions, I enjoy them a lot. I am very competitive and when I have a challenge like this, I like to go for it.
“For example, in Spain, we had a leaderboard, a competition for PokerStars ambassadors where they made teams, and I was selected, and I went for it 100%. We won on the last day and I didn't miss a day. There was no prize, I just enjoyed it.”
If he goes all-out when there’s no prize on the line, we can only imagine how much the potential PokerStars sponsorship — worth an estimated €100,000 — is driving him.
“In terms of why I’m competing in the League I would say first, the money, then second the competition, and then the chance to become an ambassador. That's something that I would love but the thing is, I don’t know what chances I would have, which is why I’d put it third — if I'm selected as an ambassador then I would put it first!”
Volume is the key
At the time of writing Cortes sits atop the Medium leaderboard, closely pursued by last summer’s WSOP Main Event final tablist Kenny Hallaert, and Petre Bogdan Ionescu of Romania.
“With Kenny, especially, we are having a good fight, very interesting,” says Cortes. “We're talking as well, in the tournament, asking how many chips we each have and things like this. We’re enjoying it.”
Kenny Hallaert is currently second on the Medium leaderboard.Hallaert, of course, is already a PokerStars ambassador, but for others in the hunt the chance to wear the red spade patch is not one that comes along every day. Among those in with more than a fighting chance as the season nears its end are the likes of Norway’s Jon Kyte, Latvia’s Aleksejs Ponakovs, Klemens Roiter of Austria, US high roller Jesse Lonis, young Austrian phenom Christopher Nguyen, Scotland’s David Docherty and the talented Irish player and writer David Lappin.
Also currently in a top 10 spot, on the Medium leaderboard, is erstwhile Team PokerStars Pro Barny Boatman.
With leaderboard points at a premium, Cortes explains that volume is the key — and the reason he was so quick to shove his chips and run to the registration desk back in Barcelona.
“I started running well in the first tournaments, so after that, I went for all of them. When you go specifically for the leaderboard, it's about getting points, so maybe one night you wouldn't play a hyperturbo, or maybe you might lose some time between bullets, but I’ve been playing since the first moment, and if I bust, I run to the registration desk.”
But while putting in the volume is essential, Cortes must bear in mind the specific leaderboard he is trying to top. Buy-ins of under €1K, or above €5K, will not count towards his score.
EPT Prague offers one of the last chances to get points on the board before the year's end.“€1K to €2K is my typical buy-in, I haven’t adjusted too much for the League. Usually I would play all these tournaments anyway, maybe I would have played one €10K in one or two series instead of the €1.6K. I might skip the EPT Main Event in December because it’s the last days of the challenge. I have to fight for the points ‘til the end.”
At EPT Prague Cortes has already cashed in the two events at his particular price point — the €1,650 PokerStars Open and the €2.7K PokerStars Open High Roller.
With the €3,250 EPT Mystery Bounty due to start on Wednesday, he has a message for his rivals on the leaderboard: “Thank you for making this interesting, but I’m gonna win!”
EPT Prague is taking place now until December 14 at the Hilton Hotel Prague, Czechia.
Registration for the Main Event closes at the start of Wednesday’s Day 2.
Images courtesy of Manuel Kovsca/Danny Maxwell Photography/Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.
