Day 5

EPT Season 8 Awards

No comments

Super Tuesday 5/1/12: I’amSound goes wire to wire, wins $87,506

Super Tuesday logo.png Being the first Tuesday in May, this edition of the PokerStars Super Tuesday will attempt to channel the spirit of a certain horserace running on the first Saturday in May. This week’s a field of 456 nominees, each putting up $1,050 dollars, create a purse of $456,000 to be passed out among the top 54 finishers with the winner expecting to earn over $87,000. Several notable players made the final table, but only one was the leader as Stefan “I’amSound” Huber never lost his chip lead to win in dominating fashion.

Fortunately, no players were harmed in the running of this tournament, although there may have been some crushing of souls.

Cashing contenders and Team PokerStars players

Popular selections such as Felipe “Improved” Montenengro (29th), TJ “1BigAceHole” Ulmer (33rd), Alex “Assassinato” Fitzgerald (43rd), Pascal “Pass_72″ Lefrancois (45th), Chris “Moorman1″ Moorman and Fabian “fabstinho” Quoss (50th) visited the pay window, but not collecting a desired final table seat.

Players sponsored by PokerStars had trouble making the money. Two players cashed as Team PokerStars Online players Diego “vgreen22″ Brunelli (38th) and Anders “Donald” Berg (46th, below) earned a few bucks. They fared better than
Kevin “WizardOfAhhs” Thurman, Toni Judet, Andre Akkari, and Javier ‘El_Cañonero’ Dominguez as the red spade logo couldn’t guarantee a money-earning position.

Danijelamik late scratch, out in 10th place ($5,928.00)

There were ten hopefuls jockeying for a spot at the final table, but only nine seats available as hand-for-hand play began, taking just one hand. The blinds were at 2,000/4,000 with an ante of 500 as Stefan “I’amSound” Huber opened with a min-raise holding [as][ks]. In the big blind, danijelamik moved in from the big blind with [6c][6s], and it appeared to be a head-bobbing finish. However, the flop was [Kh][8c][2c] as I’amSound moved clear. That lead was extended with the [5h] turn and [Ac] river sending danijelamik off to the paddock just short of making the final table.

Here’s how the field was positioned when the final table starting gate was released:

Seat 1: pokerpro_kk1 (248,563 in chips)
Seat 2: RLOG (267,958 in chips)
Seat 3: tonkaaaa (350,306 in chips)
Seat 4: UT99PL/YER (208,086 in chips)
Seat 5: Sebastian “p0cket00″ Sikorski (154,864 in chips)
Seat 6: Don Marato (330,073 in chips)
Seat 7: Stefan “I’am_Sound” Huber (408,176 in chips)
Seat 8: Greg” gregior” Howard (110,916 in chips)
Seat 9: Marvin “Ron Jovi 7″ Rettenmaier (201,058 in chips)

Several known players and some outsiders looking for a major score, how will it turn out?

Tonkaaaa starts fast, falls back to 9th ($7,569.60)

Starting the final table second in chips, tonkaaaa surely expected to be around a while and finish in the trifecta. Sometimes, you lose the irons and drift to the back. It also doesn’t help when you lose coinflips, which is what happened to tonkaaaa. Losing most of their chips when RLOG’s A-K outflopped their queens, tonkaaaa tried to get them back a few hands later against I’amSound. The blinds were now 2,400/4,800 with an ante of 600 as tonkaaaa min-raised to 4,800 with [ah][jh]. Holding [2s][2h], I’amSound re-raised to put tonkaaaa all-in, calling with their remaining 122,000 chips. Another neck-and-neck battle was quickly dashed on the flop: [jc][3h][2d], giving I’amSound a set versions tonkaaaa’s top-top. The turn was the [8c], ending any drama leaving the record to show the [4d] fell on the river.

Gregior’s ticket cancelled in 8th ($10,260.00)

Greg “gregior” Howard was a long shot to win tonight’s Super Tuesday, starting last in chips. Finding [ah][jh] on the button and a raise from p0cket00 was worthy of going all-in for their last 121,000 chips. The problem was p0cket00 had the better hand, calling with [ad][kd]. The board ran out [4h][2d][2c][9d] [3c], meaning Howard would have to wait a little longer to claim a 2nd Super Tuesday title (his first win was back in 2008).

UT99PL/YER mad at Marvin, dispatched in 7th ($14,820.00)

Marvin “Ron Jovi 7″ Rettenamier already earned a hefty score in a side event during the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo and was hoping to add an online score to his quest for cash. His stack enjoyed a healthy boost after eliminating UT99PL/ER. Play was now at 2,800/5,600 with a 700 ante as I’amSound limped, Rettenamier re-raised to 12,680. UT99PL/YER cold four-bet shoved for over 171,000 with [6d][6c]. I’amSound folded, but Rettenmaier couldn’t find a fold when he held [kc][ks]. It was a match race between a champion racehorse and a bottom-level claimer as the board runs out [9h] [7d] [3h] [5h] [Qc] leaving six runners to pick from to determine a winner.

No tomorrow for Don Morato, out in 6th ($19,380.00)

Stefan “I’amSound” Huber moved out to a widening lead as the other five players held back hoping for a stumble. But a pair of river cards in big spots would turn this competition from a competition into a near-walkover in spectacular fashion. The blinds were now 3,200/6,400 with an 800 ante as Don Morato took their shot at overtaking the leader.

RSS readers click through to see replay

The dreaded counterfeit moves Huber to over one million chips, almost as many as the other four players combined.

Rettenmaier steaming after Huber rivers again, finishing 5th ($25,536.00)

More fun on the river for Huber, as he flushes away Marvin “Ron Jovi 7″ Rettenmaier’s chance for a live/online double this week. The blinds were now 3,600/7,200 with a 900 ante as this hand played out:

RSS readers click through to see replay

The chip counts would be as follows going into the last half of the tournament:

I’am_Sound:1,651,793
RLOG: 317,905
pokerpro_kk1: 165,787
p0cket00: 144,515

The standings would give you the impression Stefan “I’amSound” Huber was moving like a tremendous machine, like Secretariat. Would someone make a Silky Sullivan-type comeback from the clouds to overtake Huber?

Pokerpro_kk1 rolled by RLOG, to the rail in 4th ($36,480.00)

While Huber was padding his stack, the other three were battling for the minor placings. Blinds are now 4,000/8,000 with a 1,000 ante as pokerpro_kk1 min-raised as RLOG set the Brazilian all in for their last 162,000 chips. Cards were on their backs as pokerpro_kk1 held the lead with [as][tc] against RLOG’s [kd][8d]. The door card on the flop was the [ks], followed by the [th] and [9c] giving both players a pair. The [7h[5c] turn and river helped neither player, which was fine for RLOG, establishing a solid second place with three players left.

I’amSound silences RLOG in 3rd ($47,880.00)

The odds gave the appearance it would be I’amSound and RLOG in the exacta, but p0cket00, a winner of the first Super Tuesday of 2011, had other ideas. P0cket00 was able to double through I’amSound, then eventually took 2nd place from RLOG with pocket queens v. A-8. Holding less than 20 big blinds at 4,500/9,000 with a 1,125 ante, that wouldn’t stop a five-bet raising war on the flop versus I’amSound in RLOG’s final hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

P0cket00 humbled by Huber, runner-up for $64,980.00

No need to extend the drama, Stefan “I’amSound” Huber held an over 6-1 heads-up lead and wasn’t easing down as the wire approached. Sebastian “p0cket00″ Sigorski would only win two hands in their battle, with the final hand starting with the deficit now 10-1 in favor of Huber. A min-raise from the small blind by Huber induced a shove for the last 193,000 chips in the stack of Sigorski, none too pleased to see their [jh][th] dominated by Huber’s [as][jd]. The flop came [ah][kh][7d], giving Sigorski a flush draw, a straight draw and a royal flush draw. The [kd] was the right color, if players were using a two-color deck, but the [ks] on the river gave Huber an unnecessary full house, which was good for a boost of their account by $87,506.40. Sigorski “settles” for $64,980.00 for the second place finish.

Congrats to Stefan Huber, winning tonight’s Super Tuesday like a front-runner should.

May 1, 2012 Super Tuesday final table results:

1st: Stefan “I’amSound” Huber – $87,506.40
2nd: Sebastian “p0cket00″ Sigorski – $64,980.00
3rd: RLOG – $47,880.00
4th: pokerpro_kk1 – $36,480.00
5th: Marvin “Ron Jovi 7″ Rettenmaier – $25,536.00
6th: Don Marato – $19,380.00
7th: UT99PL/YER – $14,820.00
8th: Greg “gregior” Howard – $10,260.00
9th: tonkaaa – $7,569.60

A note for Super Tuesday fans: the tournament will not be held for the next two weeks as the SCOOP tournament series will take over in its place. Forty tournaments, each with three separate buy-ins, will give players plenty to chew on from May 6th through May 20th.

No comments

EPT8 Monaco: Mohsin Charania crowned EPT Grand Final Champion

Mohsin Charania was crowned The PokerStars Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final champion tonight after the type of final that went exactly the way it should have done. Sure, the romantics wanted the first woman to reach an EPT Grand Final, Lucille Cailly, to win in front of a French rail looking for a reason to celebrate. But throughout the week Charania had the edge not just on Cailly, but on the field, becoming the Season 8 Grand Final champion tonight, earning €1,350,000.

Charania took the title after a brief heads-up, and what was a brief final table, with the blinds hoisted high after two long days prior. With play down to two a deal was struck (not as simple as it sounds, it took 20 minutes) and play continued. Charania won one, Cailly won another and so on, until Cailly found ace-king and Charania found queens. There was only one outcome and an uninterested board delivered the title to Charania.

EPT Grand Final Winner Mohsin Charania

“When I’m winning every time I’m all-in it’s of awesome benefit to me. I get to sleep in longer,” said Charania. “I thought they (his final table opponents) were pretty tough but I felt really good. I thought I was the best player going in luckily the cards helped me prove that.”

Cailly’s was a distinctively impressive performance. While others around her struggled to find a rhythm, Cailly was sure of herself, not letting the few setbacks she suffered disturb her focus. Instead she ploughed on, powered by a Francophile rail and a few Marlboros. It is the breakthrough result for the Frenchwoman and we’ll see more of her when the tour restarts in August.

Play goes heads-up

For the others they would do well to follow the lead set by Charania and Cailly.

Frenchman Bernard Guigon finished third after an impressive display of laddering. Every once in a while a player turns up at a final who seems oblivious to the demands of being on television, of being at a final table or playing in front of an audience. Guigon simply played the game he’d loved for decades and earned €545,000 for it. Unconventional, a little slow perhaps and not on a par with the winner, Guigon deserves a hat tip for the performance nonetheless.

It was all over in just six-and-a-half hours, kicking off at 1.30pm this afternoon with a one hour televised delay on EPTLive.

Lucille Cailly

At the start it had all been about Cailly, thanks mainly to the rail she’d amassed who had sourced a dozen blond wigs at €10 apiece, to support their heroine. Cailly thrived on it and the others could only dream of such encouragement.

Wigs on the rail

Play almost got through a level without an elimination until Daniel Gomez went first. With the blinds already steep for the Spaniard, he found himself with ace-queen and did what he had to do, except he ran it into the jacks of Rodrigo Caprioli and more importantly the kings of Sergio Castelluccio. Gomez got a queen on the flop but nothing more.

The final table

Following in seventh was Clayton Mozdzen, whose desire to win this week was never in doubt. The Canadian set off a string of rapid eliminations. He went when his ace-ten was toppled not by Catelluccio’s ace-ten but by Cailly’s pocket nines.

Clayton Mozdzen

The other Canadian at the final, Michael Dietrich followed. Charania found ace-king which swept aside Dietrich’s ace-nine. The dust had hardly settled when Caprioli was also busted. He found pocket queens while Castelluccio took him on with ace-eight. Nothing up to the turn; an ace though on the river.

This left four players who settled into a steady tempo, Charania leading, with Guigon holding on by tightening up even further.

Ultimately Castelluccio would go in fourth. He felt confident when he four-bet shoved with jacks and Cailly paused for an agonising period of time before calling with ace-queen. The flop changed nothing but the queen on the turn sent the Italian to the rail, while arming Cailly with the chips she’d need to take on Charania.

Sergio Castelluccio

It would be wrong to say Guigon came to life, but he doubled up. But his burst of energy could not last for long, and with ace-four he got his chips in, which Charania saw off with king-queen, the flop making him trips.

Bernard Guigon

Both heads-up players put the work in, and like we said, the romantics favoured the Cailly win. But Charania, whose record live begins to rival his online accomplishments, had the edge and merits his EPT Grand Final title, bringing a fantastic season to an end.

The final result:

1st – Mohsin Charania, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,350,000
2nd – Lucille Cailly, PokerStars Qualifier, €1,050,000
3rd – Bernard Guigon, €545,000
4th – Sergio Castelluccio, €400,000
5th – Rodrigo Caprioli, PokerStars Player, €315,000
6th – Michael Dietrich, PokerStars Qualifier, €245,000
7th – Clayton Mozdzen, PokerStars Qualifier, €185,000
8th – Daniel Gomez, €130,000

That’s the quick version, you can read the long version on our live coverage page, which also details all the pay-outs from the main event. For everything else check out the links below:

Profiles of the eight main event finalists

While you’re streaming

Blonde on Blonde on the rail

Spaniards left hanging as Gomez busts in eighth

Season’s greatest moments; “Martin! It is enough!”

Hotting up on the TV table

Season’s greatest players; Gruissem and other overlooked talents

That brings an end to the EPT Grand Final main event, and the season. Well kind of. You can still follow the goings on in the €25,000 High Roller event which is reaching a crucial stage as we speak (and that’s without an hour delay). They play to a winner tomorrow.

Also tomorrow is the Tournament of Champions which you can watch in its entirety on EPT Live, complete with hole cards, as well as following the action on the PokerStars Blog.

Charania celebrates

We’re now heading home to re-introduce ourselves to our wives and girlfriends, after a year of writing about people without wives or girlfriends. It was all rather excellent which suggests Season 9 should be too.

For that, we’ll see you in August. For now, it’s goodnight from Monaco.

All photography &copy Neil Stoddart

No comments

EPT8 Monaco: Season’s greatest players; Gruissem and other overlooked talents

The EPT Season 8 awards are due to be given out at the closing party on Tuesday rewarding a select elite for their grind over the last nine months. They’ll all have earned their plaudits but plenty of other unsung heroes will have to remain in the shadows. Don’t ask why but we at the PokerStars Blog didn’t actually get consulted on the Achievement of the Year or Player of the Year awards.* It’s not like we’ve been at every event.

*It’s a sponsorship impartiality thing. Bah humbug, say we.

So thumbing our nose at that decision we’ve decided to put forward a few of the players that haven’t been short listed that we think deserve their own fleeting moment in the spotlight. In no particular order:

ept monaco_day 5_ilan boujenah.jpg

Ilan Boujenah

Ilan Boujenah has been one of this season’s revelations. Three main event cashes, one final table and lungful’s of histrionics, Boujenah has proved himself to be a precocious talent and one that will act as a catalyst for action at the table. Not the player that you want on your left. Another terror at the table is Melanie Weisner who ripped through the EPT Copenhagen main event but ran ace-queen into ace-king then the same hand into aces shortly after to go from chip lead to bust in around half an hour. She finished 28th there and in the same position at EPT Madrid just a couple of weeks later marking her third main event cash of the season. Weisner bust just before the money here but considering she finished runner-up to Victoria Coren in a tight 3-2 final in the €5,000 Heads-Up here in Monaco for €39,250. Weisner a wise-cracking, in-your-face kind of player who is not only happy taking on the worst kind of testosterone-fuelled macho players but seems to relish not only kicking them to the kerb but stamping her stiletto heels into the them for good measure. More deep runs to be expected.

ept monaco_day 5_melanie weisner.jpg

Melanie Weisner

For underestimated talent we can look at one of the quietest winners from the tour, Zimnan Ziyard. The Brit won EPT Loutraki for €347,000, an event that was not streamed, so perhaps did not receive the kudos that he should have. Ziyard followed every play through if he thought it was the correct one, manipulating the final table stacks to an extent that’s not frequently seen in live poker. At one point he re-shoved with [6h][2c] forcing runner-up Hauke Heseding out of the pot allowing him to knock out or treble up third-place finisher John Taramas. The move kind of made sense but few would be able to pull it with that amount of money at stake.

ept monaco_day 5_zimnan ziyard.jpg

EPT Loutraki winner Zimnan Ziyard

Irishman Mick ‘BIGMICKG’ Graydon may not deserve an award this year but the onlint tournament specialist is certainly one to watch for next. A good friend of Team PokerStars Pro Jude Ainsworth, Graydon made a good run at the Player of the Year leader board scoring three main event cashes, one final table, as well as eight side events cashes. Graydon bust out in 24th with kings getting cracked by Ronny Kaiser’s ace-king for the chip lead of EPT Tallinn. Kaiser hit, swiped a dominating stack and went on to win the event. Other players that fall into the ‘They-nearly-got-it-but-no-doubt-will-be-back’ award include auto big stack builder Martins Adeniya and fan’s favourite Xuan Liu. Both made final tables neither quite got the rub of the green.

ept monaco_day 5_graydon.jpg

Mick Graydon (red jumper) with Jude Ainsworth

ept monaco_day 5_xuan liu.jpg

Xuan Liu

ept monaco_day 5_martins adeniya.jpg

Martins Adeniya (left) with JP Kelly

However, perhaps more than anyone else the player that must be given a nod/thumbs-up/pat on the back is Phillip ‘philbort’ Gruissem. The German destroyed the High Roller scene earlier in the season scoring the following results:

Barcelona, €10,000 buy-in: 1st, €234,000
London, £20,000: 1st, £450,000
San Remo, €10,000: 4th, €68,600

Gruissem, who has won more than $2,000,000 in online tournaments online, is also the chip leader of in the €25,000 High Roller which is down to it’s final 16 players; 14 places pay. It’s looking like it could be yet another giant score for the German. You can follow his final push by clicking through this link.
Can Gruissem win yet another High Roller? This one’s worth €1,080,000…

ept monaco_day 5_philipp gruissem .jpg

Philipp Gruissem has had an incredible season to look back on

Tournament snapshot
Level 33: blinds 100,000-200,000, ante 30,000
Players: 3 of 665
Average stack: 6,650,000
Click here for live coverage and more features from The PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final.

No comments

EPT8 Monaco: Hotting up on the TV table

There’s the growing anticipation among the crowd that they’ll get their French winner. Lucille Cailly’s rail has increased over the course of the afternoon. Ilan Boujenah has a wig on but after several hours their €10 price tag is beginning to itch a little. EPT Berlin winner Davidi Kitai was wearing one, but now holds his, like a small dead dog. Sweat runs down Boujenah’s face.

It’s not just the French watching from the rail, the whole perimeter is filled with people of various nationalities.

Two women walk through to see what’s going on, squeezing past people, just not well enough as their backpacks clouts people one by one. It’s busy on the rail and there’s not much room to move, so no one is particularly happy when, a minute later, the two ladies clatter past again in the opposite direction, evidently unimpressed with what they’ve seen.

If they’d stuck around what they could have seen is fascinating.

Cailly is beginning to feel this energy going her way, and is finding it hard to sit down, frequently out of her seat and talking to her friends on the rail. When she gets a walk at the table the crowd cheer and some turn their wigs inside out rally-cap style.

Lucille Cailly

Guigon doesn’t appear to have moved for the entire afternoon. The silver haired dark horse (if that’s possible) hasn’t said anything either and, while French himself, garners none of the support Cailly does.

Bernard Guigon

The only problem with Guigon however, is the speed he uses to act. Basically he uses no speed, and what appear to be easy decisions can take a lifetime, frustrating the crowd, although with €355,000 between third and second place at stake he’s entitled to take whatever time he wants.

Then there’s Mohsin Charania.

Charania defies modern poker convention. While he stacks his chips in piles he uses a gap teeth approach, stacking them in single towers almost like a geographical feature rather than an architectural one. They fell over earlier, and it’s not hard to see why. Each is stacked about 40 chips high and wobbles with the slightest nudge, like when Cailly gets up.

Mohsin Charania

She gets up again to talk to Boujenah, who has removed his wig to reveal a forehead matted with dark hair. She now has a scarf which she wraps around her neck. It’s certainly not cold on the TV stage.

No comments

EPT8 Monaco: Spaniards left hanging as Gomez busts in eighth

It’s happened again. There will be no Spanish winner of the The PokerStars Monte-Carlo®Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final. Jesus, donde esta mis zapatos!*

That became fact with the departure of Daniel Gomez in eight place ending, for another season, the prospect of a first Spanish champion. But there was little Gomez could do with his ace-queen, when the chips went in against Ricardo Capriolo’s jacks and Sergio Castelluccio’s pocket kings.

After the question “when will we have a first double winner”, the question “when will we have a first Spanish winner” is most asked, or at least it is of the Spanish media, who are prime targets to be wound up, particularly as Spain tends to win everything else.

Daniel Gomez

It’s the sixth event in which a Spaniard has fallen short at the final table in Season 8.
Dragan Kostic missed out in Barcelona, finishing second, although that was better than Raul Mestre, Tomeu Gomila and Juan Perez at that same final. Juan Manuel Pastor finished fourth in London, a feat matched by Guillem Usero in Prague. Ricardo Rodriguez made it to fifth on home soil in Madrid; Cesar Garcia reached sixth in Berlin.

It leaves seven at the final table, and means the Spanish will have to wait for another season for their winner. Home soil in Barcelona perhaps?

*We don’t know any Spanish expletives.

No comments

PokerStars weekend review (4-29-12)

If April showers do indeed bring May flowers, the coming month should be about as colorful as we ever wanted. The April news on PokerStars was just about as wild and crazy as it could get. The final weekend of majors was no exception.

People lined up for all the big events this weekend and left us with almost more news than we could report. Here’s a quick rundown of all the big stories that happened in the final weekend of April.

Sunday Warm-Up: Licensed to Win, Slaktaren007 takes down $97K in victory

Battle of the Planets: Soap opera plot twists end with nine-way chop

M.a-0000 defeats Xuan Liu to take Women’s Sunday title

CC2332 sees victory in April 29 Sunday Million

For full results from the weekend, see our 4-29-12 PokerStars weekend majors final table results list.

Now, forward to May flowers!

No comments

APPT Cebu: And we’re back

Due to some unresolved internet issues, the Day 1b intro post for the 2012 APPT Cebu Main Event is going to be more inelegant – and shorter – than I would prefer. But as a Filipino IT person puzzled over the machines and internet connections of both Heath Chick and myself, time was wasting. I finally secured an air card and let the IT guy fiddle with Heath’s machine.

Yesterday 51 players sat down to play. 27 made it through to Day 1b, led by Han Ruo Goh of Singapore. With no technology issues, he was able to bag up 84,300 in chips by the end of Level 6.

These types of inconveniences are something you have to accept when you come to the Philippines. While many things are great about this country – the friendliness of the people, the food and drink, the climate and the scenery, and even the nightlife – when you come here, you have to accept that certain other things are not going to be up to the standards that you expect at home.

But that’s all right. The IT people will figure it out, we have no doubt about that. And in the meantime the players are in their seats, riffling their chips, and beginning what they all hope is a deep run. Tonight is the qualifier party at the Shangri-La, which we will dutifully report to you tomorrow. It’s a tough job, consuming free food and drink on the beach of a five-star resort, but we’re up to the task.

Hopefully by then the internet will be fixed. If not, I may put in a call to the LAPT to find out what kind of witchcraft they use down in South America when technology doesn’t cooperate.

No comments

EPT8 Berlin: Kitai topples Chen on way to title and poker’s Triple Crown

This was almost the story of a Canadian pro finally winning an EPT title. Instead, it’s the story of the first Triple Crown winner crowned on EPT soil (only the fifth ever), as Davidi Kitai displayed considerable focus and panache to win the EPT Berlin title and a first prize of €712,000. It’s also marks the first win for a Belgian after eight seasons on the tour.

As the heads-up contest started few doubted that that Kitai, 32, and Chen, 24, would be concerned with the €80,000 left on the table after a two-way deal (merely food and lodging for next week’s furlough to Monaco). It was the title they wanted; Chen, the type of player it’s hard to believe hasn’t already won an EPT title; while for Kitai it’s the next landmark on a low-profile yet highly successful career trajectory.

David Kitai

Chen led first, then Kitai, but they matched each other punch for punch until Kitai pulled off a showreel call. Perhaps the clues were there earlier in the day.

Railing Kitai from the rail was Ilan Boujenah, himself a finalist in Madrid, who said that Kitai doesn’t come second or third, for him it’s first or nothing. “I told you,” he grinned later, as Kitai extended his lead, ultimately taking the crown. He was right.

Kitai on the way to the title

“I feel really great,” said Kitai, not known as a man of many words. “It’s amazing. I didn’t expect to beat that field. It’s great. I feel really good.”

When Andrew Chen wakes up tomorrow he may not blink the sleep away and ask himself how it all went wrong. He’s too unruffled for that. He may not wake up after a night of consolatory debauchery; the debris of 51 rum and cokes stacked inexplicably at the end of the bed. He’s too composed for that. He may not even look back at all on what was a near-perfect week. He’s too self-assured for that.

Andrew Chen

Regardless of what Chen thinks, the poker community will drink to another impeccable performances from the Canadian, who remains an EPT champion elect. Surely he will not be waiting much longer.

Chen in action

The day started with the departure of Pratyush Buddiga, another name worth noting, who was sent to the rail by momentary chip leader Bahadir Kilickeser. Kilickeser himself would run out of momentum in fifth place, forced out by Chen who would use his chips for an assault on Kitai, but not before Marc Wright went out in seventh and Cesar Garcia from Spain departed in sixth.

Pratyush Buddiga, out in eight, also won the Skrill “last longer” promotion

For Wright it was an impressive debut, a result that would have been even more significant had the experience of a few more EPTs under his belt. For Garcia’s part, Spain will have to wait at least another week for their first champion.

Out in seventh, Marc Wright

Mario Puccini would be eliminated in fourth place, removed by Kitai who had surged to the lead early, never allowing his advantage to wane all the way to his heads-up contest with Chen. Andre Morath assumed the role of the overachiever on the day. Limited to premium hands, he folded, literally, having laddered into third, setting up a great heads-up exhibition.

Third place finisher Andre Morath

Chen started with the advantage, having seized Morath’s chips. But a key hand would swing the advantage irrevocably back to the Belgian.

Kitai opened for 350,000 with king-five of clubs, and called when Chen three-bet to 900,000 with king-jack off-suit. Both missed the deauce-queen-eight flop at which Chen bet a further 615,000; called by Kitai. Chen then bet the four on the turn – 1,480,000 this time – for a five on the river.

Now Chen shoved, sending Kitai into the tank; an 11 million chip bet that would cost Kitai everything to call. When he made his decision it was to do just that, a miracle call.

On the way…

Kitai smiled, not quite believing he’d pulled off such a magnificent play. Chen couldn’t help but smile either. That moment alone spoke of the spirit these two played with, both old-timers of the tour, both reaching their third final, both understanding exactly what all this fuss meant to them.

“I guess he owned me,” said Chen, collecting €613,000 as runner-up. “He said that he was going to call a lot of rivers which seems insane. It’s really hard to say much about a hand like that.

“I was certainly going to shove a lot of rivers and it’s just a shame he hit a five. In a way he three-outed me. I hope that it’s presented on TV that way rather than him just catching me bluffing.”

But it’s Kitai who lifted the trophy, collecting the seat at the EPT Grand Final and the Shamballa bracelet from official sponsor Shamballa Jewels, to the applause of the ever present French-speaking rail, as Chen, still smiling, shrugged off any suggestion of defeat, leaving the limelight for Triple Crown winning Kitai.

Champion Kitai

For details of every step along the way check out the coverage on our live coverage page. Features from all aspects of the day, including side events, can be found at the links below.

Final eight competing for first prize of 825,000 Euros

Not until an hour from now…

Good player, good coach, but Buddiga falls short

Mickey Petersen on Andrew Chen

Romanello picking up PoY points with a week to go…

Mario “Pokerccini” Puccini powering through his second final table

Blom busts €10,000 High Roller in seventh

French speaking pros at it again after memorable season

All quiet on the Berlin front as final goes heads-up

Moorman leading high roller, ElkY chasing

There remains only one more event to play on this eight season of the European Poker Tour and you won’t have long to wait for it. The Berlin leg ends tonight, but the first event in The PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final (a name sure to catch on) begins on Monday, the €100,000 Super High Roller getting things started before the main event begins on Tuesday, all of which you’ll find coverage of on the PokerStars Blog.

All roads now lead to Monaco

Until then, thanks for following the coverage from Berlin. Take tomorrow off and we’ll see you on Monday. Here’s Davidi Kitai…

Until then it’s goodnight from Berlin.

All photography &copy Neil Stoddart

No comments

EPT Berlin: Moorman leading High Roller, ElkY chasing

The EPT Berlin heads up is playing out under the glare of the TV cameras in the main tournament but Davidi Kitai and Andrew Chen aren’t the only ones playing for big money. Just a few yards away is the €10,000 High Roller with four, no three, players remaining. David ‘dpeters’ Peters had been short despite doubling with [ah][4s] versus the [2c][jd] that Chris Moorman was obliged to call with. It was Peters last 32,000 with the blinds going up to 4,000-8,000. It was a brief respite for Peters who was flipped off out by Marvin Rettenmaier shortly after, his pocket sixes failing to hold against the German’s [a][t].

That leaves three players; Moorman (750,000), Rettenmaier (500,000) and Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (400,000). After finally winning his first live tournament in March in a €2,000 side event at EPT Madrid, is Moorman going to go on a live streak?

ept berlin_day 5_elky.jpg

Team PokerStars Pro ElkY

ElkY is a player with form when it comes to these High Rollers, he’s won three of them already for a combined win of $1,439,808. You can never write off the bleach blonde Frenchman.

Final table payouts
1st €231,000
2nd €145,200
3rd, €85,800
4th €62,700, David Peters
5th €46,200, Tobias Reinkemeier
6th €33,000, Oleh Okhotskyi
7th €29,700, Team PokerStars Pro Viktor Blom
8th €26,400, Martin Jacobson

No comments