Euro Poker: Julian Thew wins EPT BadenPopular Englishman Rushes to First PokerStars.com EPT Victory |
|
Julian Thew from 
Nottingham, England, won the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Baden Open, collecting €670,800 after he called Hungarian Denes Kalo's all-in push with A-5 preflop. Thew held a dominating A-8 to end a marathon heads-up battle.
This was Thew's second major victory in as many months, coming on the back of winning the Plymouth leg of the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour in September, where he picked up £59,500.
The plush Congress Casino in the small Austrian town of Baden, just outside Vienna, attracted 282 top-class players, each paying €8,000 to generate a €2.14 million prize pool. The field was as tough as any poker player could hope to come across, but when the final table of eight was reached, Thew must have fancied his chances, as the cards had been falling well for him, and he played them accordingly over the first three days.
The final table consisted of:
The day started furiously, much to the chagrin of Allemann and Lawson, both of whom hit the rails in the first 15 minutes at the hands of Poleshchuk. Allemann's A-K was bested by the Russian's K-9. A king gave hope to the Swiss, but a nine sent him packing with a €60,000 consolation prize. In the next hand, Poleshchuk's A
9 hit a flush against Lawson's K
Q, and the WSOP-bracelet holder from the U.S. was dispatched for €83,000.
The Russian was rampant. He nailed Hammer with A-9 versus 5-5, hitting an ace on the flop, and the German left with €105,000.
Fuller dispatched van den Berg, calling the latter's J-9 with A-10 and the Dutch online qualifier was eliminated in fifth for €132,900.
With four players left, things calmed down, and the chip lead swung back and forth until Thew hit a middle pair and flush draw on the flop. Fuller had bottom set, the flush filled on the turn, and, soon afterwards, Fuller filed for his €160,820 fourth-place prize.
Threehanded, Kalo KO'd Poleshchuk when his K-J filled a straight to bust the Russian's A-Q. Poleshchuk collected €225,000, and then there were two.
Heads-up play was a prolonged affair, but ultimately Thew triumphed, calling Kalo's A-5 push with A-8. He walked away with €670,800 and a €10,000 buy-in to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, while the Hungarian took down €375,000.
Next up on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour is the ever-popular Dublin event at the end of October. Join Cardplayer.com for all of the action.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
