Kevin Stani Wins EPT Tallinn Main EventStani Scoops First Leg of EPT Season 7; Prevents Arnaud Mattern from Achieving Double EPT Status |
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The PokerStars European Poker Tour Tallinn stood out for many reasons; it was the first stop of season 7, the first time an EPT was held in the Baltic States, a field of 420 ensured it broke the record for the biggest poker event ever to be held in Estonia, and Luca Pagano set a record of his own with 15 EPT cashes including his finish in this €4,250 buy-in main event.
Last but not least was something many poker fans were holding their breath over ⎯ would Team PokerStars Pro member Arnaud Mattern become the first ever double EPT champion?
Unfortunately the answer soon became apparent when Norwegian Kevin “KevBoyStar” Stani took over the chip lead from the Frenchman at the final table, and never looked back. The 27-year-old PokerStars qualifier received €400,000 for first place, and a seat to the EPT Grand Final next year. Mattern had to settle for third place and €160,000.
Here are the final results and payouts:
First Kevin Stani (Norway) €400,000
Second Konstantin Bilyauer (Russia) €250,000
Third Arnaud Mattern (France) €160,000
Fourth Dmitry Vitkind (Russia) €120,000
Fifth Mikko Jaatinen (Finland) €80,000
Sixth Steven van Zadelhoff (Netherlands) €63,000
Seventh Nicolo Calia (Italy) €47,000
Eighth Bassam Elnajjar (Lebanon) €32,000
It was knocking out Dutch notable Steven van Zadelhoff and then Russian Dmitry Vitkind that gave Stani the chip lead with three remaining.
Stani firstly damaged Mattern’s stack with a big, fat bluff. The Norwegian raised to 180,000 from the button and the Frenchman bumped it up to 560,000. Stani called. The flop was dealt K
Q 4
prompting Mattern to bet 650,000. Stani then raised it to 1.5 million and Mattern let the hand go. Stani revealed 8
7, rubbing salt in Mattern’s wounds.
The hand that finished Mattern off was also of the more painful variety. Stani raised to 200,000 from the small blind and Mattern made it 550,000. Stani shoved all in and Mattern insta-called for his tournament life. Stani showed 3 3
while Mattern flipped over Q Q.
The flop was K 5 2, but the 3 dropped on the turn. Mattern needed another heart or a queen on the river, but it was the 9, and with that Mattern’s fate was sealed. The hand gave Stani a 2-1 chip lead over Konstantin Bilyauer going into the heads-up battle.
After a bit of back and forth, Stani then built his chip stack to an almost 10-1 chip lead, and he finally finished off Bilyauer when he raised to 250,000 and Bilyauer called.
The flop was 9 3 2 and both players checked. The turn fell the 4 and Bilyauer bet 375,000. Stani raised it to 875,000 and the Russian called. The river was the 8 and Bilyauer bet out again, this time for 1.2 million (half of his stack). Stani thought for a moment and then moved all in. Bilyauer made the call with hesitance and then mucked his cards when his opponent revealed 6 5 for the turned nut straight.
The 22-year-old Russian student received €250,000 for finishing runner-up in his second major live tournament. Along his way he had busted Team PokerStars pros Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Ivan Demidov.
Season 7’s first champion, Kevin Stani, said, “It feels awesome to win. I’ve been through some tough times which have made it hard to focus, made it hard to play, but I stayed with poker and told myself things are going to get better. I’m glad I did.“ Stani joins Andreas Hoivold and Bjorn-Erik Glenne as only the third Norwegian to win an EPT.
Elsewhere at EPT Tallinn, American Kevin Eyster won the €3,200 Heads-Up event for €41,000. One of the recent additions to Team PokerStars Pro, Vanessa Selbst, finished joint third in this event for €11,400 at her first ever EPT. Kristijonas Andrulis from Lithuania won the High Roller, with Canadian pro Sorel Mizzi finishing second (specific payouts to follow).
The next stop on the European Poker Tour is Vilamoura, Portugal and it will take place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2. CardPlayer.com will be bringing you live reports and updates from this event and indeed every event on season 7’s schedule, so stay tuned.
Photographs courtesy of Neil Stoddart and PokerStars.
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