Julien Martini Becomes Most-Decorated French Player in WSOP History After €2,000 8-Game Victory
Less than three days after winning the second WSOP bracelet of his career in Event #8: €2,500 Short Deck, Julien Martini has won his third after defeating Ole Schemion heads-up in Event #12: €2,000 8-Game.
The result means that Martini moves ahead of Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Roger Hairabedian to become the only French player with three WSOP bracelets.
Martini defeated the overnight chip leader to win €33,910, with Schemion taking home €20,960 after his second WSOP Europe final table.
Event #12: €2,000 8-Game Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julien Martini | France | €33,910 |
| 2 | Ole Schemion | Austria | €20,960 |
| 3 | Nicolas Bokowski | Germany | €14,290 |
| 4 | Mikkel Plum | Denmark | €10,085 |
| 5 | Symeon Alexandridis | Greece | €7,390 |
| 6 | Artan Dedusha | United Kingdom | €5,620 |
Winner's Reaction
Martini said that it was an amazing feeling to be up their among the greats of French poker.
"To have one more bracelet than these two legends is very, very special," he told PokerNews after his victory.
"I'm really used to mixed game cash games, and I feel confident in my game. I enjoy playing all of them. It's such a special feeling to play six hands in every one and then change, it's always a new challenge for the brain and I love it."
Shortly after securing victory, Martini was trying to phone Grospellier, but to laud it over his compatriot.
"He is my friend and he has my [short deck] bracelet in his room! I'm calling him to ask him to bring it for me so I can have a picture with both of them. I know for him it might be painful, but I know he will be so happy for me.
After winning his second bracelet in short deck, Martini said that when it comes to mixed games he was always learning and improving his game.
"This is my favourite tournament. I knew that this year I had a good chance to do something. I tried to play my best and obviously got lucky. And here we are!
Final Table Recap
Just ten players returned for the final day, all having locked up €3,158. It took mere minutes to reach the final seven after Borja Gross, Roland Israelashvili and Max Pescatori all hit the rail in quick succession.
There was barely any change in the leaderboard, with Schemion still in the lead, and he moved further ahead with the elimination of Grzegorz Wyraz in seventh.
Now over a million, Schemion continued to build up a head of steam and despite a double from Nicolas Bokowski, he retained a huge advantage over his nearest competitor.
Artan Dedusha and Symeon Alexandridis both made their exits before a crucial double from Martini saw him draw level with Schemion at the top of the counts.
Short-stack Mikkel Plum would bust in fourth, as Martini and Schemion continued their battle at the top. Bokowski tried in vain to gain ground on his opponents, but would eventually fall in third after running a set of aces into Martini's rivered flush in Pot-Limit Omaha.
Martini's lead extended over the course of heads-up play, with Schemion failing to gain traction on his French opponent. The last chips went in during Limit Hold'em, with Martini eventually coming out on top.
