PokerStars EPT Grand Final -- Tobias Reinkemeier Wins High Roller Event

The final table of the €25,000 no-limit hold’em high roller event at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo took place and Saturday. The final eight had survived from a talented field of 113 players, which made this the largest EPT high roller event in history. Here is a look at the chip counts when play began:

Seat 1: Dori Yacoub — 1,199,000
Seat 2: Thomas Marchese — 909,000
Seat 3: Tobias Reinkemeier — 826,000 (pictured right)
Seat 4: Sorel Mizzi — 770,000
Seat 5: Allen Bari — 835,000
Seat 6: Olivier Busquet — 666,000
Seat 7: Paul Berende — 327,000
Seat 8: Michael Friedrich — 112,000

Michael Friedrich fell quickly at the final with the short stack. He was all in with A-4 but was dominated by the A-Q of Allen Bari. The board changed nothing and Friedrich went home in eighth place (€81,300). Bari was the next to fall when he decided to move all in preflop with A-K. Tobias Reinkemeier made the call with pocket kings and the board brick out. Bari took home €109,900 in seventh place. Reinkemeier scored his second elimination when he called down Sorel Mizzi preflop with A-Q in the hole. Mizzi could only muster A-8 and the board bricked out to send Mizzi home in sixth place (€143,400).

After a short break, Paul Brende raised all in preflop with 4 3 in the hole, but Olivier Busquet made the call with K Q. The board kept things interesting with a role call of A 6 3 K Q, but it wasn’t enough to keep Brende from busting in fifth place (€191,200). Thomas Marchese was all in right on the heels of Brende a few minutes later. He shoved with pocket nines preflop and Dori Yacoub made the call with A-K. Marchese was eliminated with a vengeance thanks to the A-A-6-4-K board and he was awarded €263,000 in fourth place.

Yacoub was the next to fall when he decided to raise to 85,000 preflop and Reinkemeier made the call. The flop was dealt J 6 2 and Yacoub bet 115,000. Reinkemeier made the call and the turn fell K. Yacoub bet 160,000 and Reinkemeier made the call again. The river fell J and Yacoub moved all in for 453,000. Reinkemeier went into the tank and eventually made the call. Yacoub turned over 8 2 and Reinkemeier held K 10. He won the hand with the highest two pair and Yacoub took home €358,500 in third place.

Heads-Up Chip Counts:

Tobias Reinkemeier — 3,135,000
Olivier Busquet — 2,610,000

Cautious play controlled the start of the heads-up final and that allowed Busquet to even up the chip counts. Reinkemeier then induced Busquet to fold his hand on a Q 8 2 A 2 board by raising all in after Busquet bet 560,000 on the river. Busquet mucked J-10 and Reinkemeier showed down J 9 as he collected the pot. This gave Reinkemeier a nearly 4-1 chip advantage and things ended a short time later. Busquet was all in preflop with A-2 and Reinkemeier had him covered with pocket queens. The board was inconsequential and Busquet was eliminated in second place, taking home €597,000 for the strong finish.

Reinkemeier took home €965,000 for the win and his first major title. He builds on a strong early run in the first half of 2010 with the win in Monte Carlo. He made the final table of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure high roller event in January and cashed in sixth place. He has also cashed in two EPT main events so far in 2010, in Berlin and the Bahamas.

Final-Table Results:

1: Tobias Reinkemeier — €965,000
2: Olivier Busquet — €597,000
3: Dori Yacoub — €358,500
4: Thomas Marchese — €263,000
5: Paul Berende — €191,200
6: Sorel Mizzi — €143,400
7: Allen Bari — €109,900
8: Michael Friedrich — €81,300

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