Constant Rijkenberg Wins European Poker Tour San RemoTwenty-Year-Old Dutchman Wins €1.5 Million on Italian Riviera |
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Here’s how play panned out for the final eight.
Italian Danilo D’Ettoris was all in for 600,000. It was folded around to Constant Rijkenberg, who called with pocket fours. D’Ettoris flipped over A Q, and the board fell J 7 3 5 3. Rijkenberg was on a roll.
Danilo D’Ettoris was the first to leave the final table but takes home €114,000 as a consolation prize.
Alexander Fitzgerald (pictured right) pushed all in, and William Reynolds called. Fitzgerald showed A K, and Reynolds showed pocket jacks. The board came 10 6 2 8 2, and Reynolds won 1,280,000. Fitzgerald was left with less than three big blinds.
The young American shoved in the very next hand for 135,000. Dragan Galic was next to act; both he and Ovidiu Balaj called. The flop was 10 3 2, and Galic bet 150,000 while staring at Balaj. Balaj looked him in the eye, and after two minutes he folded, showing his hand (which we didn’t have the privilege of seeing).
The cards were revealed:
Fitzgerald: K9X
Galic: J-10
The turn was the Q and the river was a brick. Galic’s paired tens held up, and Fitzgerald left the tournament in seventh place for €171,000.
Ovidiu Balaj was all in for 640,000 in chips, and William Reynolds shoved over the top of him.
Balaj showed pocket nines, and Reynolds, pocket sixes. The cards were dealt 6 3 2, giving Reynolds a set. He smiled and said, "Don’t resuck me, please!" The turn was the A and the river the 4.
Romanian Balaj was the sixth-place finisher and went home with €229,000 for his efforts.
Constant Rijkenberg raised and Dragan Galic (pictured left) moved all in for two million and his tournament life.
He flipped over 9 9, and Rijkenberg had A Q. The board created a tremendous reaction as it fell K J 10. Rijkenberg had flopped another straight. The turn was the 3, and Galic was drawing dead as the river came the 10.
Galic maintained the chip lead in this tournament for three whole days. However, Constant Rijkenberg put the Croatian out of EPT San Remo in fifth place for €314,000.
Soon after dinner, William Reynolds (pictured right) made some moves. His final one in the EPT San Remo, however, came when he raised all in with K J and faced a call from Constant Rijkenberg with A 7.
An ace came on the flop, and it put Reynold straight out of the tournament in fourth place for €377,000.
With plenty of action on a 10-5-3-5 board, the two heads-up players only experienced the final battle for a very short period of time before it was all over.
Constant Rijkenberg (pictured right) took down the event with pocket aces versus Kalle Niemi’s A-10. Niemi needed a 10, but it was a 4 that fell on the river, and he went out in second place for €862,000.
The 20-year-old Rijkenberg takes home a massive €1,508,000 for withstanding the trials and tribulations within a field of 1,178 from all around the world.
Next stop coming up shortly is Monte Carlo for the Grand Final. Another amazing and large field is expected there, with a huge amount of money on the line. Join the Card Player reporting team there for all the action.