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Joao Barbosa Wins EPT Polish Open 2008

Final Recap of Day 4 of EPT Warsaw

by Rebecca McAdam  |  Published: Nov 20, 2008  |  

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With so much poker activity in Europe, a smaller field than usual turned up at the casino in the Hyatt Regency Hotel for the PokerStars.com 2008 EPT Polish Open. However, the 217 players who did turn up made for five days of high-octane, action-packed poker. Some of the notables included Sorel Mizzi, Johnny Lodden, Roland de Wolfe, Marty Smyth, Luca Pagano, Katja Thater, Dario Minieri, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, and Isabelle Mercier.

Here were the chip counts going into day 4:

Seat 1: Arnaud Mattern (France) -- 328,000
Seat 2: Ludovic Lacay (France) -- 296,500
Seat 3: Andrea Benelli (Italy) -- 100,000
Seat 4: Michael Muheim (Switzerland) -- 89,000
Seat 5: Joao Barbosa (Portugal) -- 123,000
Seat 6: Dario Minieri (Italy) -- 359,500
Seat 7: Nico Behling (Denmark) -- 343,500
Seat 8: Sergey Shcherbatskiy (Russia) -- 349,000
Seat 9: Atanas Gueorguiev (Bulgaria) -- 186,500

Ten former EPT winners entered the tournament and eight made it to day 3. Former champion Arnaud Mattern was the only one to make it to the final table, which kicked off yesterday. In the beginning, most of the action came from the two Frenchman sitting beside each other in seats 1 and 2 -- Mattern and Ludovic Lacay -- but soon the bustouts began.

Here are some of the highlight hands from CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Michael Muheim Eliminated in Ninth Place (€21,114)

With Michael Muheim on the big blind, Sergey Shcherbatskiy calls. Back around to Muheim, and he shoves. The Russian calls and flips over pocket aces. Muheim shows a massively dominated A 9.

The board: Q 10 9 J 3

The short-stacked Michael Muheim from Switzerland is the first to go in ninth place for €21,114.

Ludovic Lacay Eliminated in Eighth Place (€32,843)

Nico BehlingNico Behling bets 17,000, Lacay reraises 55,000, and Behling calls. The flop comes down 8 7 5, and Lacay bets 75,000. Behling raises it to 160,000, Lacay thinks and then pushes all in. Behling insta-calls, and Lacay happily turns over A A. To his dismay, Mehling reveals 8 8, and Lacay stands up to leave. With half the rail-birds wishing for an ace, the turn comes the 4 and the river the 5. There is no help for Lacay, and in anger and disappointment he quickly leaves. He takes home quite a tidy sum of €32,843 for his efforts.

Andrea Benelli Eliminated in Seventh Place (€45,746)

Andrea Benelli in mid-position moves all in for 111,000. Dario Minieri calls from the button with A Q. Benelli flips over J J, but Minieri is all over the board, which is:

8 5 4 3 X

Minieri's flush sends Benelli to the rail in seventh place with €45,746.

Sergey Shcherbatskiy Eliminated in Sixth Place (€57,476)

Sergey Shcherbatskiy was just eliminated at the hands of Joao Barbosa. The Russian walks away with €57,476 for sixth place.

Arnaud Mattern Eliminated in Fifth Place (€72,724)

Arnaud MatternAfter taking some chips from Dario Minieri and bullying Joao Barbosa for a bit, Arnaud Mattern found himself all in with pocket tens against Barbosa's pocket eights.

Another 8 was out to get Mattern, however, as it fell on the turn and knocked him out of the event. He goes home with €72,724. He was ahead with the two hands that led to his demise, but will have to console himself and then move on if he wants to get that double EPT title. See CardPlayer.com and this update for his two-part interview before he hit the final table.

Atanas Gueorguiev Eliminated in Fourth Place (€87,973)

It seems to be quiet man Joao Barbosa's day today. It's his birthday, though, so it's not surprising that lady luck is on his side. Atanas Gueorguiev is all in with A-K, and Barbosa calls with K-Q. There isn't much action until ... Barbosa rivers a queen.

Dario Minieri Eliminated in Third Place (€123,162)

Joao Barbosa bets 44,000 preflop, Minieri shoves, and Barbosa calls with 9-9. Minieri flips over 7 7, and the board falls:

Q 3 3 8 4

Minieri leaves the tournament in third place, €123,162 richer.

Although the whole event was intense, heart-throbbing, nail-biting fun. The heads-up match was slow and tentative. Here's how the last hand played out:

Nico Behling Eliminated in Second Place (€205,270)

Nico Behling bet 60,000, Barbosa raised to 200,000, Behling went all in, and Barbosa called. Behling turned over J 7, Joao Barbosawhile Barbosa had him beat with A10. The board came down A 7 3 6 6, and Barbosa became the new champion. Behling, who said something about it being his lucky hand, finished as runner-up for €205,270.

Joao Barbosa is Champion of EPT Polish Open

Joao Barbosa, who, coincidentally, was celebrating his 26th birthday on the day, became the 2008 European Poker Tour Polish Open champion. He received €367,141 for first place. The next stop on the EPT is Prague. Join CardPlayer.com for all of the action as the reporting team go live for the next explosion of poker in Europe.

 
 
Tags: hyatt regency hotel,   isabelle mercier,   johnny lodden,   katja thater,   dario minieri,   luca pagano,   elky,   atanas,   euro 32,   seat 6,   ludovic,   live updates,   benelli,   eighth place,   arnaud,   sergey,   flips,   smyth,   notables,   barbosa
 
 
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