EPT
The Poker Media has been buzzing about the amazingly stacked final table for this year’s PokerStars EPT Grand Final since last night, and I can point to a dozen examples of what would normally have been extreme hyperbole about this table of poker players. Thing is, this time it’s been impossible to exaggerate the promise of what we expected of the final eight players.
Today’s action from Monte Carlo fulfilled the implied promise made by the line up of this final table. After a short delay caused by technical gremlins in the wiring of the EPT Live broadcast equipment, I, along with many thousands of others, was glued to the action from Feature Table in The Monte Carlo Casino.
First out was Grant Levy, who fell to Andrew Pantling, who had been showing some amazingly aggressive tendencies. Pantling’s Jack ten suited hit a jack with a flush draw on the flop, and he called Levy’s all in bet. The Ace of clubs completed his flush draw on the turn, and Levy hit the rail with an extra €103,000 to his name.
This left Jason Mercier the short stack, and even after he doubled up once, he was the next to go. Johnny Lodden open the action with a suited ace seven from the cut off, Mercier shoved his Queen Ten off suit, Pantling called with Ace Queen of diamonds. The five community cards helped no-one, and Mercier’s dream of becoming the first two time EPT Main Event winner had to take go back on the shelf alongside the €137,000 he had won.
The next bustout hand saw two players go at the same time. Daniel Negreanu raised from the cutoff, only to see Noah Schwartz ship his chips in from the button, quickly followed by Jake Cody in the blinds. Negreanu quickly called, and his A
A
was ahead of Schwartz’s K
T
and Cody’s pocket Jacks.
The board helped no-one, and the best hand won, sending nearly 1.5 Million chips into Negreanu’s stack, and Schwartz and Cody to the rail with €189,000 and €251,000 respectively. This hand also brought to an end the EPT’s record of having at least one British and one American winner in each season.
EPT Grand Final Final 8 (Image (c) Neil Stoddart)
Daniel Negreanu was hit with some runbad after this, and even though he kept getting his chips in good (getting Queens in against Nines preflop and seeing a nine on the turn against Lodden cost him over 2 million chips) and he was the fourth place finisher. He got a pair of Fours in against Ace Queen suited, only to see the board run out KT29J for Lodden (again) to make a straight. Negreanu pocketed €321,000, but he claimed later on the live stream, he’d already lent it to a friend!
Maybe the Gods of Poker do have a sense of humour, because Lodden was the next one out. He got it all in after a 74T flop, followed by a 3 turn with AJ, only to see Steve O’Dwyer call him with AT leaving him calling for a Jack. The K river was a brick, and sent him to the showers with €467,000 for his troubles.
That left Steve O’Dwyer, representing Ireland for the first time, and Andrew Pantling battling heads up for the title. O’Dwyer offered a deal, but Pantling was resolutely against it.
The chips flowed over the table, with stacks growing and shrinking as the chip lead changed hands. They broke for an hour dinner break, and soon after this O’Dwyer pulled out a large chip lead when his Ace Ten flopped top pair while Pantling refused to give up a pair of threes. This gave the Irishman and lead of about 11 Million to 4.5 Million.
The final hand saw O’Dwyer raise from the button with T8 , and Pantling called behind with K5. The flop was flipped over to show 8d8J to be packed full of both action and outs. Pantling check/called Steve’s 300,000 bet, and checked again when the 4 turn brought in his flush. O’Dwyer bet out 600k, only for Pantling to raise to a shade under 1.5 Million. O’Dwyer went into the tank for a while, and when he acted, it was to move all of his chips over the line. Pantling snap called with his king high flush.
It looked like the heads up match was going to last a bit longer, until the 8 turned up on the river to give O’Dwyer quads, and the EPT Grand Final Title.
Pantling will have to live the consolation that comes from €842,000, and I hope he can live with the fact he declined a deal with a two sentence conversation with O’Dwyer.
O’Dwyer will go into tomorrow’s Super High Roller event on a roll, and with €1,224,000 in his (metaphorical) back pocket.
That Super high Roller is being live streamed from Day one, and FTR is hosting the action over here. I certainly will be glued to the action tomorrow.
