Sandra “Black Mamba” Naujoks makes history by becoming the second ever woman to win an EPT live event. And she did not walk an easy path.
The German beauty walked home with about €917,000 in her pockets, after defeating everybody in a very very tough final table full of big names, which also included Team PokerStars members William Thorson, Luca Pagano, also Johan Storakers and a former EPT Dortmund winner who was looking to strike twice Mike McDonald.
Sandra becomes the second ever woman to win. The first ever female winner was Team PokerStars member Vicky Coren, who did this amazing feat in 2006 in the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London. Vicky had to blast through a field of 398 players.
But, Sandra’s accomplishments do not stop there. In October, she won the CAPT Baden Open €4,000 buy-in event for €174,000, making mincemeat of Russia’s favorite Alex Kravchenko heads-up.
The final table standings looked as follows:
3rd Place: Marc Gork (Germany) – €307,000
4th Place: Johan Storakers (Sweden) – €237,000
5th Place: Mike McDonald (Canada) – €197,000
6th Place: Luca Pagano (Italy) – €153,000
7th Place: William Thorson (Sweden) – €116,500
8th Place: Cengizcan Ulusu (Turkey) – €83,500
Sandra Naujoks and Holger Kanisch were left behind, fighting tooth and nail over almost a €390,000 difference between 1st and 2nd place, a nice chunk of change if you ask me. Both players are German, so the title would’ve remained on German ground.
After about half an hour of grueling heads-up play, and Kanisch’s JJ ran into Najouk’s AA, turning the tide in Najouk’s favor and hitting poor Kanisch’s hopes to win hard. His luck would not improve. On the final hand of the night, Kanisch’s AQ got three-outered by Najouk’s A9 on the turn, sending him to the rail. The rest is history.
1st Place: Sandra Naujoks (Germany) – €917,000
2nd Place: Holger Kanisch (Germany) – €533,000
Congratulations to everyone who participated. And, if you have not had your chance yet, keep playing on PokerStars and qualifying for life events. You too could be making history.