Career-First EPT Title for Santhosh Suvarna In Final €25,000 No-Limit Hold'em (€348,860)
The PokerStars European Poker Tour, at the Le Palais des Congrès, today hosted the last of six €25,000 No-Limit Hold'em tournaments here in Paris. These five-figure buy-ins consistently attracted some of the biggest and best high rollers in the world, with its finale attracting a total of 43 entries by the conclusion of late registration. A total prize pool of €1,011,360 was collected over the two-day event, resulting in six places being paid.
It was Santhosh Suvarna who earned the privilege of lifting one of the last silver PokerStars spadies of the series, alongside the €348,860 first-place prize.
Suvarna ended Day 1 as chip leader and flawlessly managed to convert his monster stack into a win on the felt after swiftly dispatching Samuel Ju in heads-up play.
Despite Suvarna’s prominent career as a Dubai-based Indian entrepreneur, he is no stranger to tournament success. His win today marked his 15th recorded live cash of six figures and above, which will only add to his already impressive career earnings of $6,672,704.
Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santhosh Suvarna | India | €348,860 |
| 2 | Samuel Ju | Germany | €227,600 |
| 3 | Jamil Wakil | Canada | €156,800 |
| 4 | Chris Brewer | United States | €116,300 |
| 5 | Viacheslav Buldygin | Russian Federation | €91,000 |
| 6 | Sam Greenwood | Canada | €70,800 |
Day 2 Action
Adrian Mateos was the first casualty of the day as his ace-king fell to the ace-queen of Rui Ferreira. Mateos got it in good, but the five-card runout saw Ferreira improve to quads; Mateos exited to the rail on the first hand of the day.
The speedy departure of Mateos seemingly set the pace for proceedings as there was a total of 12 eliminations within the first three levels of play, ensuring half the field had been dispatched by the first break. Most notably, the bust-outs of Steve O'Dwyer, Andras Nemeth, Justin Saliba and Juan Pardo all occurred within 13 minutes of each other.
All eyes were on Daniel Dvoress at the start of the day as he’d already accumulated an impressive record here in Paris, winning two €25,000 NL Hold'em events for an impressive total of €720,620. Dvoress also managed to accumulate an additional three cashes in the remaining €25,000 buy-in events, but today wasn’t to be as his streak came to an end on Level 15, when his pocket nines were cracked by the ten-nine suited of Suvarna.
Shortly after, Thomas Santerne, the winner of the €50,000 EPT Paris Super High Roller, made his exit in tenth place, ensuring the remaining nine players a seat at the final table.
Final Table Action
Viacheslav Buldygin drew first blood, eliminating Tamas Adamszki in ninth place. Adamszki three-bet jammed his short stack into the pocket queens of Buldygin, ensuring his departure just three players off the money.
Though dressed to impress in the same signature white suit in which he took down the $3,000 Mystery Bounty at EPT Cyprus, Quan Zhou was on the wrong side of a cooler, which saw him eliminated in eighth place, putting the remaining finalists on the money bubble.
It was Sirzat Hissou who had the misfortune of being the stone bubble. Hissou got his money in as a commanding favorite against Suvarna, however, the five-card runout reversed their fates as Suvarna rivered a gutshot to eliminate Hissou.
It wasn’t long before Suvarna claimed his second victim of this final table. Sam Greenwood, much like Hissou, got it in ahead with a dominating hand, holding ace-king against the ace-queen of Suvarna. However, the dealer peeled a queen on the turn which ended Greenwood's deep tournament run in sixth place.
Buldygin departed in fifth place as he lost the bulk of his stack in back-to-back hands, his last big blinds being awarded to Jamil Wakil. Buldygin seemingly left in good spirits with an apt consolation prize of €91,000.
Chris Brewer displayed his experience at this final table as he masterfully avoided disaster when his pocket aces were cracked by the kings of Suvarna. However, it wasn’t to be as Wakil claimed the remainder of Brewer's short stack and he exited in fourth place.
Despite claiming both Buldygin and Brewer’s stacks, the first player to finish in podium position was Wakil. His king-seven was a small favorite against the queen-nine of Suvarna, but Suvarna made two pair and claimed yet another tournament life.
Ju’s stack was perhaps the most volatile of all the nine finalists, including some lucky escapes, but his fate was ultimately sealed by Suvarna, who claimed his fourth and final elimination of the tournament.
All that was left was for Suvarna to lift his newly acquired silver PokerStars spadie as he claimed his first EPT title, along with €348,860.
This concludes PokerNews coverage of the last €25,000 NL Hold'em tournament at EPT Paris. Check our live reporting hub for continuing action at this and other venues.