EPT Grand Final Ends Season 11 With A Bang

The 2015 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final hosted a huge schedule of 78 events at the beautiful Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Casino Resort from April 29 through May 8. The festival closed out the EPT’s eleventh season in style, with 2,150 players making their way to the Principality of Monaco along the French Riviera. In just over a week, the event produced a total of 8,641 tournament entries, with more than €30 million in prize money paid out along the way.

The series played host to a number of gigantic tournaments, but the centerpiece of the whole affair was the marquee €10,600 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. A total of 564 players turned out for the ultimate EPT main event of the year, building a prize pool equivalent to $6.3 million U.S. dollars. The first of two starting days began on Saturday, May 2. By the following Thursday, only six players remained to battle it out for the prestigious title of 2015 EPT Grand Final main event champion.

20-year-old Spanish poker pro Adrian Mateos, who won his way into the tournament through a live satellite event in Monte Carlo, began the final day in fifth chip position. By the end of the night, he had outlasted his five opponents to capture the title and the €1,082,000 ($1,211,836 USD) first-place prize.

In addition to the winner’s trophy and the piles of money, Mateos also earned the honor of being the first player from Spain to ever win an EPT main event.

“I’m so proud,” said Mateos after the win. He had a lot of fans on the real and virtual rail urging him on down the stretch, and he also took time to thank them. “I want to thank all the people who supported me. A lot of people contacted me on Twitter and Facebook and I want to thank them. I’m really lucky to win the Grand Final.”

Mateos won the World Series of Poker Europe main event for $1,379,300 in 2013. With this most recent big score, he increased his lifetime live tournament earnings to more than $3.3 million, enough to move him into second place on the Spanish all-time earnings list behind Carlos Mortensen ($11.8 million).

For topping the 564-entry field Mateos also scored 2,100 Card Player Player of the Year points. With three total final tables in 2015, including this win and another in a €2,150 six-max prelim at the EPT Deauville festival, Mateos has climbed into fifth place in the overall POY standings with 2,376 points and $1,276,805 in year-to-date earnings.

Mateos’ road to the title was far from easy. Not only did he have to outlast a huge field, he also had to deal with a number of top competitors at the final table, including fellow young gun extraordinaire Ole Schemion (6th – €233,500) and 2013 third-place finisher in this event Johhny Lodden (4th – €379,000).

In the end it came down to a battle between Mateos and Muhyedine Fares of Senegal. Fares began the heads-up showdown with more than a 2-to-1 chip advantage, but by the time the final hand arose, Mateos had turned the tides and taken a gigantic lead. With blinds at 60,000 – 120,000 with a 20,000 ante Fares raised to 410,000 from the button with A 6. Mateos raised all-in with A 8 and Fares made the call for his tournament life. The board ran out 9 8 2 Q Q to secure the pot and the title for Mateos. Fares, a 52-year-old businessman, earned €679,000 for his runner-up showing.

With that, the main event was in the books, but there were plenty of other noteworthy events that went down this series. Here is a look at the other tournaments that made an impact in Monte Carlo:

€100,000 Super High Roller

Just over five years ago, it was rare for an event to feature a buy-in of $100,000 or more. But with the rise in popularity of these “super high roller” events, a new class of poker pros has emerged and proven themselves to be the elite players in this elite format. One of those superstars is Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel, who has now cashed in nine six-figure buy-in events since 2011. The eight-time WSOP bracelet winner’s latest conquest came in the EPT Grand Final €100,000 super high roller eight-max no-limit hold’em event. The 55-year-old American poker pro defeated a record field of 59 entries to win €2,015,000 ($2,250,999 USD).

This is Seidel’s 28th career tournament title. It brought his lifetime live tournament earnings to $24,063,722 and in the process passed Phil Ivey to move into third place on the all-time money list. Now only Daniel Negreanu ($29.8 million) and Antonio Esfandiari ($26.1 million) have cashed for more in live poker tournaments than Seidel.

Seidel didn’t just add to his legend and his earnings with this win. He was also awarded 600 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his second title of 2015, having won a $25,000 high roller at Aria in February. He has made a total of five final tables this year, including big six-figure cashes in the Aussie Millions $100,000 and $250,000 super high roller events. As a result of all of the winning, Seidel has moved into 17th place in the overall POY rankings with 1,670 points and year-to-date earnings of $3,250,266.

Seidel came into the eight-handed final table in fifth chip position, with a number of tough opponents to deal with including chip leader Dario Sammartino and high roller dominators like Scott Seiver, Igor Kurganov, and Max Altergott. Seidel survived to heads-up play with Dzmitry Urbanovich, which lasted 94 hands.

By the time the final hand came down, Seidel had built up a more than 2-to-1 chip advantage. Urbanovich limped from the button for 300,000 with K 9 and Seidel made it 900,000 total with 10 10. Urbanovich moved all in for just over 5 million, and Seidel quickly called. The board ran out Q 8 2 3 7 to secure the pot and the title for Seidel.

This was Urbanovich’s eighth final table finish of the year, with four titles won including the €25,500 high roller at EPT Malta. The $1,616,027 payout he received as the runner-up is the largest score of his career. The young Pole went on to finish third in the €10,200 six-max side event in Monaco for another $112,776. As a result of his impressive spring, he has climbed into fourth place in the overall Player of the Year race.

€50,000 and €25,000 High Rollers

It’s a testament to just how much the tournament scene has changed that one series can not only support three events with buy-in of over €25,000 but also have them all thrive.
That was precisely the case here in Monte Carlo. In the €50,000 eight-max no-limit hgh roller, Mustapha Kanit emerged victorious, topping a field of 66 entries to win $1,039,515. Along the way, he overcame a stacked final table that featured the likes of Scott Seiver (9th – $103,075), Fabian Quoss (5th – $284,271), Martin Finger (3rd – $485,070), and Michael Watson (2nd – $746,253).

The Italian pro finished fourth in last year’s POY race, and is looking to continue his impressive run in 2015. He has made four final tables already this year, with this latest score moving him just outside the top 50 in the Player of the Year rankings.

The €25,000 eight-max no-limit hold’em high roller also drew an impressive turnout. A record field of 215 entries built a massive prize pool equivalent to over $5.8 million U.S. dollars. The lion’s share of that money was awarded to Ireland’s Charles Carrel, who topped a tough final table to win $1,236,540.

This was his second final table of the year, having placed fifth in a €10,300 high roller event at the EPT Malta festival for $200,701 and 500 POY points. These two big scores were enough to catapult him into 17th place in the POY standings. Carrel wasn’t the only final tablist to make a splash in the POY top 20. Third-place finisher Steve O’Dwyer earned $586,857 and 840 POY points at his third final table of 2015. When you factor in his gigantic win in the $100,000 super high roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $1,872,580 it’s easy to see why he now sits in 13th place in the Player of the year standings, with 1,840 points and $2,582,677 in year-to-date earnings.

Although the official schedule of events is not yet released, the European Poker Tour has already announced the dates for next year’s series, which will return to the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel from April 26 – May 6, 2016. If it involves even half the excitement of this year’s festival, it will be a great success. ♠