Seat 6: Jose Gonzalez Sanchez, 36, Spain - 4,700,000
Jose Gonzalez Sanchez was born in Santander in the north of Spain, but he grew up in the Canary Islands and still calls Adego, located in Tenerife, his home. Now an EPT Main Event finalist, the last 19 months unfolded much differently than he'd expected.
Always a passionate but not professional player, Gonzalez Sanchez was ready to take a break from the game in March 2022. He travelled to the EPT Prague spring edition with that on his mind, thinking it would be his last poker trip for a while. Gonzalez Sanchez was planning to open a bar after that. "I have two daughters. I need to be responsible with money," he explained.
But he'd become a Eureka High Roller champion and bank a whopping �343,750. Gonzalez Sanchez's poker career only took off from there. He surrounded himself with some of the smartest brains in the Spanish poker community, who helped him improve. He singled out Gerard Rubiralta as the most important figure in his development �� Rubiralta provided valuable advice via WhatsApp calls during breaks in the EPT Cyprus Main Event.
He is confident he's a much better player now than he was a year and a half ago. Since then, he has won numerous other tournaments, including CEP Barcelona for �90,000 and last month's Estrelas Malaga Main Event for another �91,960.
"It's surreal, I'm just enjoying this," the Spaniard said about his incredible run. But he still realizes how different his story could have been. "It's amazing to be in these venues, seeing these places, and thinking that this is your life," he said. "I'm never going to open the bar!"
Now a full-time poker pro, the game occupies most of his time. But Gonzalez Sanchez is also very much into music. With his crew, he makes rap. They're known as the Latin Hydro.