The 5,300 Euro EPT Main Event began with 1,098 runners, and generated a great prize pool of 5,325,300 Euros. There were a few notable names that remained in the running for this event with 50 left, but as the field shrank, the bigger names departed. Despite this fact, the final table has given poker fans an opportunity to acquaint themselves with a few very successful players who haven’t become household names just yet. The dynamic coming into the final table was an interesting one, with four small stacks, and two very big ones.
The fallen
As the final table got underway and started to shift through the gears, it was clear that Adrien Allain was determined to pick up where he left off at the end of day 5. He was active, and always looking to get involved in pots, and soon began to accumulate chips. It didn’t take long for Oren Rosen to exit in 6th place, before Pierre Calamusa pulled off two unlikely escapes from the brink of busting. He did eventually bow out two hours later however, having to make do with 5th place money. Shortly after that, Asan Umarov followed in 4th place for what was a fantastic return on investment for a man who won his seat playing a 10 Euro spin & go. Jimmy Guerrero had a very difficult day from the outset, and after starting as one of the big stacks, he busted in 3rd place.
Heads Up Play
Adrien Allain had been a force to be reckoned with in the latter stages of this tournament, and he underlined that fact by gradually extending his chip lead throughout the final table. Of his opponents, Jan Bendik was the lone survivor who faced off against him in an attempt to turn the tide, and in the early stages – he did. Having started with a 2 to 1 defecit, the Slovakian pro levelled things up, but seemed unable to pull away from the menacing Allain as the hours ticked by. Allain is a former WPT National winner, and from a $5 online satellite, took victory in an APT Macau tournament for HK$3,035,000 in 2009. Having talent, and previous experience of winning can do a lot for you in poker, but in the end, it couldn’t make a shred of difference to Allain’s fate. After flopping a set of 8’s, Bendik’s pocket 10’s turned a bigger set, and all the chips went into the middle, giving Slovakia their first ever EPT champion.
Jan Bendik (photo PokerStars)
The payouts are as follows:
1st Jan Bendik – 961,800 Euros
2nd Adrien Allain – 577,800 Euros
3rd Jimmy Guerrero – 406,850 Euros
4th Asan Umarov – 305,660 Euros
5th Pierre Calamusa – 233,800 Euros
6th Oren Rosen – 170,950 Euros