€25,500 High Roller | 2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final

2014-05-02 17:10 UTC+2

Congrats to Philipp Gruissem, Winner of the EPT10 Grand Final €25,000 High Roller (€993,963)

Nível 26 : 30,000/60,000, 5,000 ante

Philipp Gruissem - 2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final High Roller Winner

The 2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final €25,000 High Roller came to a close on Friday. The final nine players of a 214-entry field (159 unique entries that accounted for 55 reentries and a prize pool of €5,243,000) returned to the Salles des Etoiles room at Le Sporting to play down to a winner, and after a mere five hours of play, high roller wizard Philipp Gruissem walked away with the €993,963 first-place prize and a stunning watch from luxury Swiss brand SLYDE, the Official Watch Sponsor for EPT Season 10 Main Events and High Rollers. The win also moved Gruissem to the top of the all-time German money list ahead of 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Pius Heinz.

Day 3 action began in Level 22 (12,000/24,000/3,000), and it didn’t take long for the first elimination to occur. It happened when action folded to World Series of Poker bracelet winner Pascal Lefrancois on the button and he opened for 52,000. Chip leader Davidi Kitai then three-bet to 133,000 from the small blind, the big folded, and Lefrancois announced that he was all in for roughly 600,000. Kitai snap-called.

Kitai:
Lefrancois:

Lefrancois had picked a bad time to shove as Kitai had woken up with a powerhouse hand. The flop was no help to Lefrancois, but he did pick up a gutshot straight draw on the turn. Unfortunately for him the blanked on the river and he hit the rail in ninth place for €113,250.

In Level 23 (15,000/30,000/4,000) China’s Chenxiang Miao followed exited in eighth place when his flush draw failed to get their against Kitai’s trips, and he was followed out the door by Stephen Chidwick, who lost the last of his chips after running pocket fours into Scott Seiver’s tens.

In Level 24 (20,000/40,000/5,000), Martin Finger, who won the EPT10 London £50,000 Super High Roller for £821,000 last year, moved all in from the cutoff with the , and Kitai called from the big blind with the . The nines held and Finger took home €256,400 for his sixth-place finish.

From there, recent World Poker Tour Championship runner-up Byron Kaverman fell in fifth place when his ran into the of Gruissem, and John Juanda, who was the short stack at the start of the final table, bowed out in fourth after getting unlucky in two hands.

Kitai was the short stack in three-handed play, and he soon got his chips in holding the against the of Gruissem. The Frenchman held through the flop and turn, but then a lady spiked on the river to give Gruissem the win. Kitai took his leave in third place and earned €526,400 for his performance.

At that point Gruissem and Seiver, who faced off against one another in heads-up play last October in the WPT Alpha8 £100K Event, opted to strike a deal that saw the former take home €993,963 and the latter €857,637. As for the title and the SLYDE watch, the two agreed to go all in blind until a winner was determined. It took just one hand, and you can read about that below.

Place	Player	Prize
1st	Philipp Gruissem	€993,963*
2nd	Scott Seiver	€857,637*
3rd	Davidi Kitai	€526,400
4th	John Juanda	€426,800
5th	Byron Kaverman	€337,650
6th	Martin Finger	€256,400
7th	Stephen Chidwick	€187,200
8th	Chenxiang Miao	€136,900
9th	Pascal Lefrancois	€113,250

*Denotes heads-up deal

Congratulations to Philipp Gruissem, the 2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final €25,000 High Roller champion. That does it for our coverage from this event, but the Main Event has yet to crown a winner. Follow our live updates from that tournament by clicking here.

Tags: Philipp Gruissem

2014-05-02 17:00 UTC+2

Scott Seiver Eliminated in 2nd Place (€857,637)

Nível 26 : 30,000/60,000, 5,000 ante

Sure enough, the two moved in blind on the very first hand of heads-up play.

Scott Seiver immediately announced that he was all in, and Gruissem had a look at his cards, though it was obvious he just forgot that he wasn't suppose to look at his cards. "Alright, I call," the German said to make it official.

Seiver then tabled the and began laughing. Gruissem then said something along the lines of how bad Seiver was to move all in with such a hand, and then waited a beat before tabling his . It was a good-natured slowroll, and both players shared a laugh.

The in the window got Seiver excited, but his enthusiasm died down when it was followed by the humdrum and . The turn gave Seiver a wheel draw, but it didn't come in as the blanked on the river.

"Alright, now you have to stay here and deal with all of this stuff," Seiver said with a smile before motioning to the various media around the table. A few more laughs and a handshake, and it was all over.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Philipp Gruissem	10,700,000	3,305,000
Scott Seiver	Eliminado

Tags: Philipp Gruissem Scott Seiver

2014-05-02 16:13 UTC+2

John Juanda Eliminated in 4th Place (€426,800)

Nível 25 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante

Action folded to Scott Seiver in the cutoff and he moved all in for 900,000. John Juanda called from the button, and after the blinds both folded, the cards were turned up.

Juanda:
Seiver:

Seiver was left shaking his head when he discovered he had major kicker issues. The flop wasn't particularly interesting, but the turn was. Juanda paired his queen, but Seiver picked up an open-ended straight draw. Unfortunately for Juanda, Seiver hit it when the spiked on the river.

Two hands later, Philipp Gruissem opened for 100,000 under the gun and Juanda, who was down to 210,000, just called from the big blind. When the flop fell , Juanda moved all in for his last 110,000 and Gruissem called.

Juanda:
Gruissem:

Juanda got it in good, but the dealer burned and turned the to give Gruissem a hammerlock on the hand. The river paired Juanda, but it was a little too little too late. Juanda will take home €426,800 for his fourth-place finish.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Scott Seiver	1,800,000	600,000
John Juanda	Eliminado

Tags: John Juanda

2014-05-02 16:07 UTC+2

PokerNews Podcast Episode #213: Chasing Bracelets feat. Stephen Chidwick

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Nível 25 : 25,000/50,000, 5,000 ante

Stephen Chidwick joins the PokerNews Podcast to talk about Season 10 of the European Poker Tour, goal setting, and getting ready for both the World Series of Poker, and Spring Championship of Online Poker. Rich and Donnie discuss the finale of Season XII of the WPT, scheduling conflicts, and more.

You can subscribe to all three of the podcasts produced by PokerNews on iTunes here, or you can access the RSS feed here. The PokerNews family of podcasts is now available on Stitcher.

Tags: PokerNews Podcast Stephen Chidwick

2014-05-02 15:14 UTC+2

Martin Finger Eliminated in 6th Place (€256,400)

Nível 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

In the next hand after Stephen Chidwick fell, Martin Finger joined him on the rail.

Finger, who won the EPT10 London £50,000 Super High Roller for £821,000 last year, moved all in from the cutoff after action folded to him, and Davidi Kitai woke up with a little something in the big blind to make the call.

Finger:
Kitai:

According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Kitai was a 67.34% favorite to win the hand while Finger would stay alive 32.24% of the time. The flop paired Finger's eight, but he still dropped to 26.57% while Kitai became a 73.43% favorite.

The turn knocked Finger down even further to 18.18%, which meant Kitai would win 81.81% of the time headed to the river. Indeed, it proved to be one of those times as the blanked. Finger failed to get there and will take home €256,400 for his sixth-place finish.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Davidi Kitai	2,900,000	692,000
Martin Finger	Eliminado

Tags: Davidi Kitai Martin Finger

2014-05-02 15:09 UTC+2

Stephen Chidwick Eliminated in 7th Place (€187,200)

Nível 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Action folded to Stephen Chidwick in the hijack and he opted to move all in. John Juanda, who only had 375,000, called off from the small blind and the cards were turned up.

Juanda:
Chidwick:

JJ had woken up with , and Chidwick was looking for either an ace or some hearts. The flop opened up a whole new set of possibilities as Chidwick flopped an open-ended straight draw, but fortunately for Juanda, the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.

Two hands later, Chidwick raised to 100,000 under the gun (leaving himself about 125,000 behind), and then moved all in when Scott Seiver min-raised from the hijack. Seiver called and Chidwick discovered the bad news.

Chidwick:
Seiver:

Chidwick was in desperate need of a four, but one did not come as the board ran out . Chidwick was felled in seventh place and will take home €187,200 for his performance.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Scott Seiver	2,450,000	345,000
John Juanda	800,000	440,000
Stephen Chidwick	Eliminado

Tags: Stephen Chidwick Scott Seiver John Juanda

2014-05-02 14:05 UTC+2

Chenxiang Miao Eliminated in 8th Place (€136,900)

Nível 23 : 15,000/30,000, 4,000 ante

Chenxiang Miao opened for 65,000 and got one caller in Davidi Kitai.

They saw a flop of . Miao continued for 90,000 and Kitai made the call. The turn card was the and Miao quickly moved all in. Just as quickly Kitai made the call.

Miao: flush draw.

Kitai: trips on the turn.

The river card did not bring the needed spade for Miao and Kitai claimed another victim.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Davidi Kitai	2,624,000	674,000
Chenxiang Miao	Eliminado

Tags: Chenxiang Miao Davidi Kitai

2014-05-02 12:32 UTC+2

Pascal Lefrancois Eliminated in 9th Place (€113,250)

Nível 22 : 12,000/24,000, 3,000 ante

Well, it didn't take long for the first elimination of the day.

Action folded to World Series of Poker bracelet winner Pascal Lefrancois on the button and he opened for 52,000. Chip leader Davidi Kitai then three-bet to 133,000 from the small blind, the big folded, and Lefrancois announced that he was all in for roughly 600,000. Kitai snap-called.

Kitai:
Lefrancois:

Lefrancois had picked a bad time to shove as Kitai had woken up with a powerhouse hand. The flop was no help to Lefrancois, but he did pick up a gutshot straight draw on the turn. Unfortunately for him the blanked on the river and he hit the rail in ninth place for €113,250.

We're now down to the official final table of eight.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Davidi Kitai	2,800,000	592,000
Pascal Lefrancois	Eliminado

Tags: Davidi Kitai Pascal Lefrancois

2014-05-02 11:38 UTC+2

PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final High Roller Final Table

Season 10 draws to a close here today at the 2014 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final at the Salles des Etoiles room at Le Sporting with action from both the Main Event and coverage right here of the High Roller.

Some of the biggest names in poker entered the €25,000 High Roller that started on Wednesday. There were 214 entries for this event made up of 159 unique entries and 55 reentries generating a total prize pool of €5,243,000.

Interestingly, only one of four min-cashers finished the event in profit, that being Govert Metaal. The others — Adrian Mateos, Alexander Uskov and David Peters — all reentered for a total outlay of €50,000.

The winner will receive a whopping €1,105,000 as well as a stunning watch from luxury Swiss brand SLYDE, the Official Watch Sponsor for EPT Season 10 Main Events and High Rollers.

It was in the early hours of Friday morning when the unofficial final table of nine was set, play will resume in less than an hour and what a final table we have to bring you.

Davidi Kitai was the overnight chip leader with 2,208,000 but it is all to play for and with such an array of talent on display fortunes can change on a single hand or even a single card.

Three of the other big names in contention with their eyes on first prize are Scott Seiver, Philipp Gruissem and John Juanda, who will begin play as the short stack with 355,000.

Be sure to join your PokerNews Live Reporting team from Noon local time as we bring you all the action as it happens right through until a 2014 High Roller Champion is crowned.