Martin Finger Wins EPT Barcelona €25,000 High Roller for €865,900
He already had an EPT Prague title and EPT London Super High Roller title under his belt, and now Martin Finger will add a High Roller title to his impressive poker resume. The 25-year old German pro becomes the first player to win the EPT Triple Crown, and with that he also collected a massive €865,900-first place prize.
This tournament was originally scheduled as a one-day event on Day 1b of the Main Event, but there were still three players left at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday and the decision was made to postpone the event until Thursday. Click here for a recap of the Day 1 action, which included appearances by football superstars Neymar Jr. and Gerard Pique.
Here's a look at the final table payouts leading up to the three-handed battle:
4 | Jani Sointula | Finland | €320,300 |
5 | Mike McDonald | Canada | €257,000 |
6 | Isaac Haxton | United States | €199,200 |
7 | Jeff Rossiter | Australia | €147,500 |
8 | Iacopo Brandi | Italy | €108,400 |
9 | Kevin Stani | Norway | €86,400 |
The final day of play started with just three players, and Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree was the first to get knocked out. Finger started with the chip lead, and Boeree was down to about 10 big blinds when she shoved queen-ten from the button, only to get called by Mark Teltscher in the big blind. Teltscher tabled ace-four and his hand held up, allowing Boeree to collect €391,000, the second biggest score of here live poker career.
The heads-up battle between Teltscher and Finger seemed to be going the former's way, but a big all-in hand turned things around. Finger was at risk with pocket jacks against king-jack, and he managed to fade Teltscher's outs to stay alive. Finger proceeded to take a defensive approach by limping before the flop, and slowly but surely he chipped up.
Going into the final hand, Finger held a 2:1 chip lead and Teltscher ended up all in with jack-nine against the ace-four of the German. The board kept Finger's ace-high in the lead, and Teltscher was knocked out in second place for €586,500.
Finger now has more than $6 million in live tournament earnings, and this becomes his second largest score behind the EPT 10 London Super High Roller that earned him £821,000.
Have a look at Finger's post-victory interview: