Ara el jugador és el guanyador.

Because both jugador and guanyador are singular masculine nouns, and in Catalan they normally take the definite article el when you mean the player and the winner.

So the structure is:

• el jugador = the player
• el guanyador = the winner

Catalan uses the article very naturally in places where English also uses the, and sometimes even where English would leave it out.

Ara means now.

In this sentence, it sets the time frame: now the player is the winner. It suggests a change in situation, as if previously the player was not the winner, but now he is.

És is the 3rd person singular of ser (to be), and it is used here because the sentence identifies one person as another:

• el jugador = subject
• és = is
• el guanyador = identifying noun phrase

When Catalan says that someone or something is something in the sense of identity, classification, or definition, it usually uses ser.

So:

• El jugador és el guanyador = The player is the winner

Using estar here would sound wrong, because estar is generally for location, condition, or temporary state, not identity.

The accent in és is important because it distinguishes it from es.

• és = is
• es = a reflexive/pronominal form, often meaning himself/herself/itself or part of verbs like es diu

So the accent is not optional here. It tells you that this word is the verb to be.

Not necessarily. Jugador means player, and it can refer to:

• a sports player
• a game player
• sometimes a gambler, depending on context

In this sentence, the exact meaning depends on the situation. If the learner already knows the intended meaning, then jugador is simply the person who plays.

They come from different verbs and mean different roles:

• jugador comes from jugar = to play
• guanyador comes from guanyar = to win

So:

• jugador = the one who plays
• guanyador = the one who wins, the winner

In this sentence, the same person is being described first as the player and then as the winner.

No, that would not sound natural in standard Catalan.

You normally need the articles here:

• Ara el jugador és el guanyador.

Without el, the sentence sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in normal usage.

The most neutral word order is:

• Ara el jugador és el guanyador.

Catalan can sometimes move elements around for emphasis, for example:

• El jugador ara és el guanyador.
• Ara és el guanyador, el jugador. (more marked, more literary or emphatic)

But for a learner, the original order is the safest and most natural.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide is:

AH-rah el joo-guh-DOR ez el gwun-yuh-DOR

A few notes:

• ara = AH-rah
• jugador has stress on the last syllable: -dor
• és sounds like ez
• guanyador also has stress on the last syllable: -dor
• the ny in guanyador is like the ny in canyon

Exact pronunciation varies a bit by dialect, but this is a good starting point.

Because Catalan, like English, often uses a noun formed from a verb to mean the person who does that action.

So:

• guanyar = to win
• guanyador = winner

This is very common in Catalan:

• treballar = to work → treballador = worker
• jugar = to play → jugador = player
• guanyar = to win → guanyador = winner

Yes. Catalan nouns and articles change for gender.

Masculine:

• Ara el jugador és el guanyador.

Feminine:

• Ara la jugadora és la guanyadora.

Changes:

• el → la
• jugador → jugadora
• guanyador → guanyadora

So Catalan marks grammatical gender clearly in this kind of sentence.

It is possible in some contexts, but it is less neutral than putting it at the beginning.

Most natural:

• Ara el jugador és el guanyador.

Possible but less standard as a basic model:

• El jugador és el guanyador ara.

For learners, it is best to keep ara at the beginning unless you have a specific reason to place it elsewhere.

It strongly suggests that idea, but grammatically it literally says Now the player is the winner.

The sense of change comes from ara (now), not from a special verb form. So the sentence does not explicitly say became, but it naturally implies a new situation.