| Buy-In: | $7,111 + $356 |
|---|---|
| Prize Pool: | $5,172,808 |
| Entrants: | 691 |
Benny Spindler tonight won EPT London and £750,000, finally fulfilling the expectations of the poker paparazzi by winning a major title. It was a virtuoso performance from the German, one which matched bare aggression with stunning reads that blasted his opposition off the final table. Spindler, hair in face, could see enough to roll up his sleeves and win the hard way, personally responsible for the departure of five of his final table opponents. Runner-up Steve O’Dwyer took the other scalps on his way to well-deserved £465,000 score.
The German wunderkind burst onto the live scene with a million dollar third-place finish at the 2009 PCA and, if it wasn’t for a couple of twists of fate, could have taken first then. Here in London Spindler always looked a threat and was at the front of the queue of those looking likely to take the title. A realist to the last, Spindler admitted that he didn’t think his victory was a foregone conclusion.
“I was never sure of the win. In fact I got really lucky with that pair of tens against Martins Adeniya’s ace-king. I had been running really well the whole tournament and it was good to win that huge flip,” said Spindler. More about that flip later, first the payouts.
1. Benny Spindler, Germany, PoekrStars player, £750,000
2. Steve O’Dwyer, USA, £465,000
3. Andre Klebanov, Germany, £265,000
4. Juan Manuel Pastor, Spain, Team PokerStars Pro, £200,000
5. Mattias Bergstrom, Sweden, £155,000
6. Kevin Iacofano, USA, £120,000
7. Martins Adeniya, UK, £86,350
8. Miroslav Benes, Czech Republic, PokerStars qualifier, £64,000
Benes was the first to go. The plucky online qualifier started the day with just seven-and-a-half big blinds and managed to get himself in a flip to climb back to more than 20. It didn’t work out, Spindler scoring first blood. It was a theme that was set to be repeated throughout the six hours of play.
As noted by our PokerStars Blog’s German correspondent Robin Scherr, Spindler always has ten minutes every day where he wins two or three huge pots in quick succession. The same happened today. Spindler went from middle of the pack to a dominating chip lead within just a few hands.
First he made big calls with A
9 for second pair which turned to two-pair on a K
89
3A board. His opponent, Bergstrom, had check-raised the flop and fired huge chunks of chips at him – 700,000 on the turn and another 700,000 on the river – with just five-high. It was a bold move but had it been prompted by the desire to make a big play on TV? Only Bergstrom knows that. That spun Spindler up to 5,700,000 and into the lead.
The next moment pretty much guaranteed that the German would make it to the heads up at the very least and, in our eyes, all but sealed the title: Spindler took out former chip leader Martins Adeniya in a huge flip which saw the mop-haired terror take possession of almost half the chips in play with six players remaining.
We overheard Adeinya during a break say that he knew Spindler would four-bet him for stacks and indeed he did. Bergstrom, now one of the shortest stacks, opened for 150,000 under-the-gun and was flatted by Spindler on the button. Adeniya squeezed from the big blind for 475,000, Bergstrom passed and Spindler moved all-in. Adeniya, unfazed on the outside at least, announced the call tabling AK to Spindler’s 1010.
“It’s a big one,” said Adeniya.
Correction, it was a huge one. A giant flip for the chip lead at the final table of a £5,000 tounament. The winner would be firmly ensconced in the driving seat for the £750,000 first-place prize. While it’s easier to think of it as a race the equities tell a different story, Spindler held 56.5%, Adeniya 43.5% and an edge like that proved to be critical. The board ran out J83
2J and Adeniya was sent to the payout desk to sign for £86,350 – significantly less than he’d have been expecting having started as chip leader. Adeniya appears to be a precocious talent and this will not be the last time we follow his three- and four-betting antics on the tour.
Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor scored a solid fourth-place finish picking up £200,000 in the process. Pastor largely let the action rage around him, understandable given his seat one to the right of Spindler. All-in and at risk for the first time Pastor tabled pocket nines, Spindler pocket aces in a four-handed cooler.
That left three with Andre Klebanov scoring the bonus goal of winning his £5,250 buy-in back courtesy of a last longer bet from Skrill, official payment provider sponsor of the European Poker Tour. The German had his ace-queen rivered by O’Dwyer’s ace-five, the American saying all along that he had ‘a feeling’ that he’d suckout.
That left two players and one felt that the heads up wouldn’t last long. It didn’t. Spindler’s AK all-in pre-flop dominating and holding against O’Dwyer’s KJ. The tall American had stood up to watch the board run out before ruing his decision: “I should never have stood up,” he explained. “I have been telling people to sit down all week, and now I have stood up in heads-up the first time I have got it in bad. I guess I deserve to have got such a terrible flop!”
The flop in question was 78A and despite catching a jack on the turn O’Dwyer’s hand couldn’t suckout. Spindler’s hand held giving him the title, £750,000 and the Shamballa winner’s bracelet which is worth more than €10,000.
See you at EPT San Remo, running 21-27 October, in just a couple of weeks.
To catch up with all the action from today click on the link below and to see all the payouts click here:
Thanks go to photographer Neil Stoddart who captured the triumphs, agonies and mainly motionless faces of the final table players today. Credit must go to his images as he owns copyright.
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
There were moments when it seemed like there was more talk than play in the high roller event. With four left, Igor Kurganov, Rob Akery, Philipp Gruissem and Olivier Busquet went into a drawn out discussion, using pens and paper, iPads and a laptop computer, which finally hammered out a revised payment plan.
Then, when Busquet departed in fourth place, another deal was discussed, play stopping as the discussion, led by administrator Kurganov – who joked about taking an extra £200 for accountancy fees – who returned with the numbers, only for the players to decide not to alter the original agreement.
Then, when Akery was eliminated in third, Kurganov and Gruissem discussed the situation again, apologising when they return to say they’d play on as normal.
While that might have ruined some events, it didn’t have that effect on this. Talk of deals can sometimes affect the willingness of a player to make decisions, greasing the all in finger. But at the core of every professional is the desire to win, the number “1” inked into their tournament record.
For EPT London High Roller winner Philipp Gruissem it’s the third in a career that is beginning to look like it belongs to one of the most impressive young players in the game, each cash – including a 28th place finish in the World Series of Poker main event this year, worth $242,636 – bigger than the previous, in this case being the number “1” he earned in the EPT Barcelona High Roller, worth €234,500. This makes it back-to-back high roller wins for the German, this one worth £450,200.
His heads-up opponent Igor Kurganov was no slouch, and not only with the pocket calculator, scoring the biggest live tournament cash of his career. Not the number “2” he may have coveted, but the “2” is not so shabby.
But against Gruissem heads-up he was out-gunned and, despite clawing back a little with gritty spirit, he ultimately couldn’t conquer the mountain that was Gruissem’s stack. For Kurganov, the runner-up, £318,300.
The final result:
1st. Philipp Gruissem, £450,200
2nd. Igor Kurganov, Russia, £318,300
3rd. Rob Akery, United Kingdom, £205,500
4th. Olivier Busquet, United States, £171,200
5th. Adrian Bussman, Sweden, £102,250
6th. Joel Nordkvist, Sweden, £72,950
7th. Sam Trickett, United Kingdom, £68,800
8th. Michael Tureniec, Sweden, £58,400
Before the deals were made Michael Tureniec departed within minutes of the start, re-appearing later in another side event. Next to go was Sam Trickett in seventh, ahead of the two remaining Swedes Joel Nordkvist in sixth and Adrian Bussman in fifth.
To read details of those departures, and more on what has been the latest step on a blossoming 2011 for Gruissem, who left the tournament room seconds after winning in order to join a German crowd heading out for a celebratory dinner, click on the link below:
Thanks for following our coverage from London of the High Roller event. Don’t forget the EPT London main event was played today, which featured none of the debates we had in the high roller. Details of the day can be found in the main event coverage. Our thanks to Mickey May for all the photos used today.
For now, goodnight from London.
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
Welcome back for the EPT London High Roller final table
A ten-hour day yesterday culminated in the elimination of Jame Bord in 9th place. That was originally supposed to be the the bubble place but (understandingly) the players decided a near ₤60,000 bubble was steep and might slow play down to much, so a ₤25,000 saver was agreed on and Bord made ₤5,000 profit on his two days work.
The winner will make substantially more money and will take home £511,300. For a full look at the payouts click here.
Here’s a reminder of how the players will line up today:
Seat 1 – Adrian Bussman, 518,000
Seat 2 – Igor Kurganov, 854,000
Seat 3 – Rob Akery, 622,000
Seat 4 – Sam Trickett, 354,000
Seat 5 – Joel Nordkvist, 365,000
Seat 6 – Philipp Gruissem, 311,000
Seat 7 – Olivier Busquet, 471,000
Seat 8 – Michael Tureneic, 268,000
Play is due to start at noon.
PokerStars Blog High Roller reporting team in London: Marc Convey and Stephen Bartley. Photos by Mickey May.
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
1.10pm: Joel Nordkvist eliminated in sixth place (£72,950)
We’re down to five after the elimination of Joel Nordkvist.
The Swede opened for 20,000 which Philip Gruissem raised to 48,000. Nordkvist then announced all-in in a voice only loud enough for Gruissem to hear, who called, turning over AQ to Nordkvist’s KQ.
The board ran 48393 to send Nordkvist to the rail. The pair shook hands. Gruissem up to around 800,000. – SB
1.05pm: Sam Trickett eliminated in 7th place (£68,800)
I was a very standard hand that saw the elimination of Sam Trickett. He three-bet all-in from the big blind after Igor Kurganov raised to 21,000 from the button. It was for 273,000 and the German tanked hard about his decision. He might’ve been trying to figure out whether it was worth taking the risk of doubling-up a dangerous opponent that has position, or taking a chance and getting rid of a one of the big threats for the title. He elected to call.
Kurganov: A9
Trickett: KJ
The board ran Q491010. Trickett had outs to the world by the turn but bricked on the river. As Trickett was walking away from the table he said that no one was going to make a mistake and he had to win a flip to have a chance. — MC
12.55pm: Gruissem re-raising
Rob Akery opened for 20,000 in the cut off and Philipp Gruissem called in the big blind for a flop of 5K10. Gruissem then checked, allowing Akery to bet 25,000. Gruissem called for a turn card J which both checked. On the 10 river Gruissem checked. Akery bet 45,000 which Gruissem raised to 140,000 after a long pause. Akery re-arranged his chips, then folded. Gruissem showed 8. – SB
12.45pm: Big blind defending
Both the remaining Brits at the final table just defended their big blinds with mixed success.
Rob Akery peeled when Adrian Bussman min-raised from the button. The flop came 1026 and Akery check-called a 25,000 c-bet. Both players checked the A turn to head to the Q river. Bussman bet 51,000 with J2 but lost out to Akery who check-called with KQ.
The very next hand Igor Kurganov raised to 21,000 and Sam Trickett defended to see a 77J flop. The action followed a similar line to the last hand in that the button continued for 23,000 and the big blind check-called. Both players checked the 2 turn before Kuranov bet 72,000 on the river when checked to him again. This is where the action differed from the last hand as Trickett tank-folded. — MC
12.30pm: And relax
The departure of Michael Tureniec goes pretty much unnoticed by the crowds, gathered only a few feet away, watching the main event. Since then though the waters have calmed, with a few raise and takes. One hand reaches a flop and is promptly ended when Rob Akery bets. Slow start. – SB
12.20pm:Tureniec busts first hand
There was a delayed start to play but when they started there was no delay in getting this show on the road.
Michael Tureniec busted the first hand to Oliver Busquet. Busquet raised with ace-jack and Tureniec shoved all-in with king-jack. The American called and fell behind to a king on the flop but order was restored with an ace on the turn. The Swede walks away with £58,400. — MC
11.45am: Welcome back for the EPT London High Roller final table
A ten-hour day yesterday culminated in the elimination of Jame Bord in 9th place. That was originally supposed to be the the bubble place but (understandably) the players decided a near-₤60,000 bubble was steep and might slow play down to much, so a ₤25,000 saver was agreed on and Bord made ₤5,000 profit on his two days work.
The winner will make substantially more money and will take home £511,300. For a full look at the payouts click here.
Here’s a reminder of how the players will line up today:
Seat 1 – Adrian Bussman, 518,000
Seat 2 – Igor Kurganov, 854,000
Seat 3 – Rob Akery, 622,000
Seat 4 – Sam Trickett, 354,000
Seat 5 – Joel Nordkvist, 365,000
Seat 6 – Philipp Gruissem, 311,000
Seat 7 – Olivier Busquet, 471,000
Seat 8 – Michael Tureneic, 268,000
Play is due to start at noon.
PokerStars Blog High Roller reporting team in London: Marc Convey and Stephen Bartley. Photos by Mickey May.
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
1.15pm: O’Dwyer moving up
Steve O’Dwyer has won the last two hands for a 700,000 chip increase. Martins Adeniya opened for 100,000 and was called by Mattias Bergstrom before O’Dwyer shoved all-in from the big blind. Two folds pushed him up to 1,600,000.
The next hand O’Dwyer called Kelbanov’s 100,000 button raise from the small blind and check-called 1,250,000 on the K23 flop, 175,000 on the 4 turn before both players check-called the 9 river.
Klebanov: Q5
O’Dwyer: A4
O’Dwyer took the pot with a pair of fours to chip up to 2,000,000, increasingly a threat at this final table.
“You didn’t want to try and win that hand?” asked O’Dwyer who refused to answer whether he would have called a third bullet or not. — RD
1.08pm: Miroslav Benes out in 8th (£64,000)
He came to the final table as the short-stack, and despite some heroic all-ins Miroslav Benes is now out.
Benny Spindler raised to 100,000 and Benes shoved for 560,000. Call. Benes had 99 and was up against the German’s KQ. The race was on, but it didn’t last long as the flop came K2[10h] to shoot Spindler into the lead. It got worse for Benes as the turn was K and river 2 to make Spindler’s full house.
Spindler is now up to more than 4 million and we’re down to seven players. — SY
1.05pm: Benes gets another one through
Miroslav Benes gets another shove through and is up to around 575,000. He still needs a double but if he does so now he’ll be well back into this final table. — RD
1.03pm: Pastor aggression
Mattias Bergstrom raised to 110,000 and it was folded around to Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor on the button, who called. The blinds got out of the way and the two of them saw a 3Q5 flop.
Bergstrom eyed-up Pastor and bet 150,000. The Spaniard, however, seemed to have hit something, raising up to 395,000. That was too much for the Swede, and Pastor picked up the pot. — SY
12.59pm: O’Dwyer all-in
Andre Klebanov raised to 105,000 but faced a swift all-in shove from Steve O’Dwyer in the next seat. The bet was around 1.2million and Klebanov thought better of it. He passed. — SY
12.56pm: Pastor folds to Benes shove
Miroslav Benes just managed to pick up the blinds after shoving into Juan Manuel Pastor’s big blind. The Spanish player must have had some serious rags to make the call there – Benes’ shove was for around 330,000. Vital pick up for Benes. — RD
12.46pm: Klebanov takes it from Spindler
Andre Klebanov has won a small on from Benny Spindler, who had opened for 100,000. Klebanov led 100,000 into the turn and 260,000 into the river of a A2Q5J board to win the pot with a fold. — RD
12.46pm: Bergstrom first blood
Mattias Bergstrom has won the first pot after raising to 110,000 and firing the 92K flop into Andre Klebanov who had defended from the blinds. Miroslac Benes passed and realistically he has to get his chips in this orbit. — RD
12.45pm: And we’re off
A little later than planned, but the final table is under way. The button is on short-stack Miroslav Benes, which will come as a relief to him, seeing as he now has a few hands before having to invest a chunk of his 370,000 in the blinds. — SY
12.35pm: In their seats, on their marks…
We’re seeing Benny Spindler’s face on the monitor in the press room. Now Andre Klebanov’s. The players are getting seated, play should start soon. Miroslav Benes the man that has to move.
Seat 1: Miroslav Benes, PokerStars online qualifier, 370,000
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 2,30,000
Seat 3: Stephen O’Dwyer, 1,250,000
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, Team PokerStars Pro, 1,915,000
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, PokerStars player, 3,435,000
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 2,685,000
Seat 7: Martins Adeniya, 4,736,000
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstrom, 3,620,000
We’re not sure where the button will be starting but it will dictate how many hands Benes has before he has to get it in. I think Benes may start with the button on seat one. — RD
12.30pm: Mission Impossible?
Miroslav Benes is watching the TV table being set up, a takeaway cup of coffee in his hand and a look of nervous excitement on his face. The Czech recreational player starts today as the short stack with just seven-and-a-half big blinds (370,000) and is some distance from the rest of the pack.
“I have five or six hands to do something. Every day I’ve been a short stack and every morning I’ve told myself it’s like Mission Impossible,” said Benes knowing full well that he’s going to need a bit of luck not to take the 8th place finish for £64,000.
The Czech has made it through every day and is just a couple of double up away from doing the impossible yet again. Good luck to the online qualifier. — RD
12.10pm: Getting ready for the off
Juan Manuel Pastor is sat on the floor by the TV table. Is this some kind of protest? No, it’s Neil Stoddart arranging the players for some arty final table shots. That also means our final table is just minutes away. Ready the cards, grab the rail and gird your loins… we’re going in. — RD
11.45am: As Bill Withers would say… a lovely day
Morning, campers. What a glorious day it is in London; the sun is shining, birds are singing in the concrete jungle trees, and people everywhere have smiles as wide as the Hammersmith flyover. So it is with great joy that I…. oh, to heck with it. Best to be honest, my mother always said. Today, myself and I suspect many media colleagues are putting on a brave face. You see, last night was the PokerStars party, and when PokerStars throws a party, one tends to feel a little ‘delicate’ next day.
But what a night! Poker celebs, free booze, a magician, juggler, free booze, sweets (mmm, the sweets), dancing, free booze – all at the fine night spot that is Kensington Roof Gardens. Needless to say, it went off with a bang. I, of course, was there purely in a working capacity. Any headache or slight wooziness this morning is absolutely down to a slight cold coming on. Or something like that.
Anyway, the party brought to a close a wonderful week of poker at EPT London, save for the final events today. The final of £20,000 High Roller (which, incidentally, was probably the size of the bar bill for one of my colleagues last night) plays out shortly, and you’ll be able to follow coverage of that here. But myself and noble colleague Rick Dacey will be covering the main event final table. Someone is going to finish today £750,000 richer (which, incidentally, should cover a red-haired blogger’s bar bill last night).
Eight are in contention, and you can see their profiles here. We are supposed to kick-off at noon, but I suspect we’ll be a little delayed while interviews and photos are completed. And that’s a good thing: we may be a little more awake by then.
While you wait for the show to begin, why not have a peep at what was going on at the PokerStars party last night? I remember it all. Honest. — SY
PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of post-party appearance this morning): Simon Young (brave face) and Rick Dacey (braver face).
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
2.01pm: Pastor all-in
Juan Manuel Pastor opened under-the-gun for 125,000 and Martins Adeniya made the call from middle position. The Spanish Team PokerStars Pro check-called 150,000 on the 24K flop and check-shoved over Adeniya’s 230,000 bet on the 9 turn. Pastor took the pot and is up to 2,200,000. — RD
1.48pm: More for Iacofano
Kevin Iacofano bet 130,000 and was called by Juan Manuel Pastor in the big blind. Pastor then check-called Iacofano’s 200,000 bet on the K95 flop to see a [10d] turn. Both checked. On the A river, Pastor checked then folded when Iacofano made it 275,000. — SY
1.45pm: Bergstrom betting
Mattias Bergstrom opened for a bet of 160,000 and got a call from Steve O’Dwyer. Both checked the A5K flop, but Bergstrom’s 170,000 bet on the 7 river was good for the pot. — SY
1.41pm: We’re back
Game on. We’ve got seven player left and no short stacks. Anyone could win. — RD
1.28pm: Break
That’s the end of the level, and the players are on their first 15-minute break of the day. Rick Dacey has been dispatched to hoover up the official chip counts.* — SY
*Chips now hoovered. Check the chip counts page, Adeniya still leading with 4,465,000.
1.26pm: Final table preview
Here’s a video to watch in the break. Or not. It’s up to you.
1.25pm: More for Klebanov
Kevin Iacofano has lost a sizeable chunk to Andre Klebanov. He opened for 110,000 and Klebanov called from the big blind. The flop was 433 and Klebanov check-called Iafocano’s 130,000 bet. Both checked the A turn, but on the 5 river Klebanov led out with a meaty 325,000. Iacofano called quickly, but will wish he hadn’t as Klebanov showed 34 for the flopped full house.
Klebanov up to 3,225,000. – SY
1.20pm: Klebanov active
Andre Klebanov is the most active player at the table so far. First he opened for 100,000 and got a call from Benny Spindler in the big blind. On the 410Q flop, Spindler check-folded to Klebanov’s 125,000 continuation bet.
Klebanov opened again soon after for 100,000 and this time Mattias Bergstrom called. But the pattern was repeated – on the 76Q flop, Bergstrom check-folded to Klebanov’s 125,000 continuation bet. — SY
1.15pm: O’Dwyer moving up
Steve O’Dwyer has won the last two hands for a 700,000 chip increase. Martins Adeniya opened for 100,000 and was called by Mattias Bergstrom before O’Dwyer shoved all-in from the big blind. Two folds pushed him up to 1,600,000.
The next hand O’Dwyer called Kelbanov’s 100,000 button raise from the small blind and check-called 1,250,000 on the K23 flop, 175,000 on the 4 turn before both players check-called the 9 river.
Klebanov: Q5
O’Dwyer: A4
O’Dwyer took the pot with a pair of fours to chip up to 2,000,000, increasingly a threat at this final table.
“You didn’t want to try and win that hand?” asked O’Dwyer who refused to answer whether he would have called a third bullet or not. — RD
1.08pm: Miroslav Benes out in 8th (£64,000)
He came to the final table as the short-stack, and despite some heroic all-ins Miroslav Benes is now out.
Benny Spindler raised to 100,000 and Benes shoved for 560,000. Call. Benes had 99 and was up against the German’s KQ. The race was on, but it didn’t last long as the flop came K2[10h] to shoot Spindler into the lead. It got worse for Benes as the turn was K and river 2 to make Spindler’s full house.
Spindler is now up to more than 4 million and we’re down to seven players. — SY
1.05pm: Benes gets another one through
Miroslav Benes gets another shove through and is up to around 575,000. He still needs a double but if he does so now he’ll be well back into this final table. — RD
1.03pm: Pastor aggression
Mattias Bergstrom raised to 110,000 and it was folded around to Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor on the button, who called. The blinds got out of the way and the two of them saw a 3Q5 flop.
Bergstrom eyed-up Pastor and bet 150,000. The Spaniard, however, seemed to have hit something, raising up to 395,000. That was too much for the Swede, and Pastor picked up the pot. — SY
12.59pm: O’Dwyer all-in
Andre Klebanov raised to 105,000 but faced a swift all-in shove from Steve O’Dwyer in the next seat. The bet was around 1.2million and Klebanov thought better of it. He passed. — SY
12.56pm: Pastor folds to Benes shove
Miroslav Benes just managed to pick up the blinds after shoving into Juan Manuel Pastor’s big blind. The Spanish player must have had some serious rags to make the call there – Benes’ shove was for around 330,000. Vital pick up for Benes. — RD
12.46pm: Klebanov takes it from Spindler
Andre Klebanov has won a small on from Benny Spindler, who had opened for 100,000. Klebanov led 100,000 into the turn and 260,000 into the river of a A2Q5J board to win the pot with a fold. — RD
12.46pm: Bergstrom first blood
Mattias Bergstrom has won the first pot after raising to 110,000 and firing the 92K flop into Andre Klebanov who had defended from the blinds. Miroslac Benes passed and realistically he has to get his chips in this orbit. — RD
12.45pm: And we’re off
A little later than planned, but the final table is under way. The button is on short-stack Miroslav Benes, which will come as a relief to him, seeing as he now has a few hands before having to invest a chunk of his 370,000 in the blinds. — SY
12.35pm: In their seats, on their marks…
We’re seeing Benny Spindler’s face on the monitor in the press room. Now Andre Klebanov’s. The players are getting seated, play should start soon. Miroslav Benes the man that has to move.
Seat 1: Miroslav Benes, PokerStars online qualifier, 370,000
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 2,30,000
Seat 3: Stephen O’Dwyer, 1,250,000
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, Team PokerStars Pro, 1,915,000
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, PokerStars player, 3,435,000
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 2,685,000
Seat 7: Martins Adeniya, 4,736,000
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstrom, 3,620,000
We’re not sure where the button will be starting but it will dictate how many hands Benes has before he has to get it in. I think Benes may start with the button on seat one. — RD
12.30pm: Mission Impossible?
Miroslav Benes is watching the TV table being set up, a takeaway cup of coffee in his hand and a look of nervous excitement on his face. The Czech recreational player starts today as the short stack with just seven-and-a-half big blinds (370,000) and is some distance from the rest of the pack.
“I have five or six hands to do something. Every day I’ve been a short stack and every morning I’ve told myself it’s like Mission Impossible,” said Benes knowing full well that he’s going to need a bit of luck not to take the 8th place finish for £64,000.
The Czech has made it through every day and is just a couple of double up away from doing the impossible yet again. Good luck to the online qualifier. — RD
12.10pm: Getting ready for the off
Juan Manuel Pastor is sat on the floor by the TV table. Is this some kind of protest? No, it’s Neil Stoddart arranging the players for some arty final table shots. That also means our final table is just minutes away. Ready the cards, grab the rail and gird your loins… we’re going in. — RD
11.45am: As Bill Withers would say… a lovely day
Morning, campers. What a glorious day it is in London; the sun is shining, birds are singing in the concrete jungle trees, and people everywhere have smiles as wide as the Hammersmith flyover. So it is with great joy that I…. oh, to heck with it. Best to be honest, my mother always said. Today, myself and I suspect many media colleagues are putting on a brave face. You see, last night was the PokerStars party, and when PokerStars throws a party, one tends to feel a little ‘delicate’ next day.
But what a night! Poker celebs, free booze, a magician, juggler, free booze, sweets (mmm, the sweets), dancing, free booze – all at the fine night spot that is Kensington Roof Gardens. Needless to say, it went off with a bang. I, of course, was there purely in a working capacity. Any headache or slight wooziness this morning is absolutely down to a slight cold coming on. Or something like that.
Anyway, the party brought to a close a wonderful week of poker at EPT London, save for the final events today. The final of £20,000 High Roller (which, incidentally, was probably the size of the bar bill for one of my colleagues last night) plays out shortly, and you’ll be able to follow coverage of that here. But myself and noble colleague Rick Dacey will be covering the main event final table. Someone is going to finish today £750,000 richer (which, incidentally, should cover a red-haired blogger’s bar bill last night).
Eight are in contention, and you can see their profiles here. We are supposed to kick-off at noon, but I suspect we’ll be a little delayed while interviews and photos are completed. And that’s a good thing: we may be a little more awake by then.
While you wait for the show to begin, why not have a peep at what was going on at the PokerStars party last night? I remember it all. Honest. — SY
PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of post-party appearance this morning): Simon Young (brave face) and Rick Dacey (braver face).
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
4.25pm: Spindler makes an ace-high call
Steve O’Dwyer bet 250,000 into a board of 884K and Benny Spindler made the call – the flop has been checked. O’Dwyer fired 340,000 into the 3 river. Spindler slowly called again and it turned out that he was good with [a][q]. O’Dwyer’s had a busted flush draw with 97. Spindler took the pot. — RD
4.15pm: Pastor all-in (again)
Juan Manuel Pastor made it 160,000 from the button and Benny Spindler raised to 375,000 from the small blind. Smelling a rat, or perhaps simply sitting with a premium hand, Pastor moved all in for close to 2 million. Spindler soon passed. — SY
4.08pm: Spindler plays back at O’Dwyer
Steve O’Dwyer has had a great level but Benny Spindler has temporarily halted the American’s ascension. O’Dwyer raised to 160,00 from the button and Spindler called. The German then led 180,000 into the 6K10 flop, which was called, and 600,000 into the 8 turn. O’Dwyer frowned and folded. Tough to count Spindler’s stack, it must be around 11,000,000 now.
Juan Manuel Pastor is dribbling away at the moment and will have to get it in again soon – but will anyone call? — RD
4pm: All about the money
All remaining four players are now guaranteed at least £200,000. Nice.
1st £750,000
2nd £465,000
3rd £265,000
4th £200,000
3.58pm: Pastor into the final four
3.55pm: Mattias Bergstrom out in 5th (£155,000)
Steve O’Dwyer doubled up in the hand described below and now he’s knocked out Mattias Bergstrom to increase his stack to more than five million. Benny Spindler had started things with a raise to 160,000 before Bergstrom shoved for 1,340,000 with [10s]J. But he was horrified to see O’Dwyer make the call with [10d][10h]. Spindler folded.
The board ran an inconsequential 33992, and Bergstrom was on his way to the cash desk. We’re down to our final four players. — SY
3.50pm: O’Dwyer doubles
Steve O’Dwyer has doubled through Andre Klebanov. Klebanov had raised from the small blind for 200,000 and O’Dwyer called to see a 249 flop. Klebanov bet 300,000 and and O’Dwyer moved all-in for 1,525,000. Call. Klebanov had pocket fives but O’Dwyer had hit with his Q9. He stayed ahead on the 2 turn and [10d] river. and is now up to 3 million. — SY
3.45pm: Three hands
1. Mattias Bergstrom opened the cut-off for 175,000 and was three-bet by Andre Klebanov 410,000 to chip up to 410,000.
2. Benny Spindler gets a walk from Juan Manuel Pastor in the small blind. No-one wants to mess with Spindler.
3. Steve O’Dwyer opened the cut-off for 170,000 and takes the blinds and antes. He’s back up to 1,740,000. — RD
3.40pm: Pastor all-in
It was folded around to Juan Manuel Pastor who moved all-in from the button for 1,970,000. Both Benny Spindler and Mattias Bergstrom folded from the blinds. — SY
3.36pm: Kevin Iacofano out in 6th (£120,000)
After getting crippled by Mattias Bergstrom Kevin Iacofano has just been knocked out by Benny Spindler who, somewhat typically, flopped the nuts. Spindler opened to 160,000 from the cut-off and called Iacofano’s 255,000 shove.
Iacofano: Q10
Spindler: 87
The 569 flop hit Spindler hard giving the German a straight, the A turn and 4 river no help for Iacofano who scores his second EPT final table finish. Spindler up to 10,000,000. — RD
3.28pm: Double up for Bergstrom
Mattias Bergstrom has doubled up at the expense of Kevin Iacofano, who is now crippled. Benny Spindler had opened (as usual) for 160,000 before Iacofano moved all-in only for Bergstrom to call all-in. Spindler got out of the way.
Iacofano: A6
Bergstrom: AQ
Bergstrom looked in good shape, and he stayed ahead on the 39J9K board. That sent Bergstrom up to 2.8 million while Iacofano was left with just 260,000. — SY
3.24pm: New chips
A new 100,000 chip is in play. Well, there is more than one of them, but you know what I mean. — SY
3.22pm: And we’re off (again)
Six players remain, Spindler still huge with almost half the chips in play.
3.12pm: Chips at the break
The stacks and seats are as follows:
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 3,775,000
Seat 3: Stephen O’Dwyer, 2,080,000
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, Team PokerStars Pro, 2,130,000
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, PokerStars player, 9,615,000
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 1,830,000
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstrom, 1,305,000
Can Kevin Iacofano beat the fourth place finish he scored at EPT Copenhagen last season? Can Spindler break the 50% of chips in play mark? Find out as we restart after the break. — RD
3.11pm: Party time
Check out the wicked-bad-good EPT London party from last night.
3.04pm: Break
That’s the end of level 28. Players are now on a 15-minute break. — SY
3.03pm: Spindler still
Three more hands see Benny Spindler picking up pots, one of them a walk in the big blind. Only Mattias Bergstrom put up some resistance, moving all-in for 1,095,000 after yet another Spindler pre-flop raise of 120,000. Spindler looked like he wanted to call, but couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. — SY
2.54pm: Spindler maintaining the pressure
Benny Spindler is not the kind of player to sit back on a chip lead and is using his big to exert maximum pressure on the remaining five players. He’s raising and taking blinds and has three-bet two of the last three hands, winning one and losing the other.
Spindler three-bet squeezed for 400,000 from the big blind over a Steve O’Dwyer button raise and Juan Manuel Pastor call. O’Dwyer shoved and won the pot – he’s back up to 2,200,000.
Spindler then three-bet small to 280,000 from the button against Andre Klebanov who made the call. Both players checked down a dangerous looking board with Spindler’s pocket four taking the pot. Spindler on around 9,300,000. — RD
2.40pm: Pastor shove
Benny Spindler opened under the gun for 120,000. It was folded around to Juan Manuel Pastor in the big blind who shoved for just over one million. Spindler mucked. — SY
2.35pm: Back into the action
Andre Klebanov marks the return to the action with a four-bet into Mattias Bergstrom from 300,000 to 540,000 to push the Swede down further to 1,400,000. — RD
2.25pm: MONSTER POT: Spindler slays Adeniya, out in 7th (£86,350)
Benny Spindler has just eliminated Martins Adeniya to move up to 9,300,000, almost half the chips in play. It was a giant flip for a 7,300,000 pot and one that Adeniya had predicted would happen at the break. Investigative reporter Simon Young had overheard the Londoner saying that Spindler would be four-betting him for stacks. He wasn’t wrong.
Mattias Bergstrom opened from under-the-gun for 150,000 and Spindler made the call on the button. Adeniya, big blind, pulled out raising chips and pushed out a squeeze to 475,000. Bergstrom passed and Spindler announced that he was all-in. Adeniya stopped chewing his gum for long enough to say, “I call.”
Adeniya: AK
Spindler: 1010
“It’s a big one,” said Adeniya.
Again, he wasn’t wrong. The board ran out J832J to push a monster stack to Spindler who must be a huge favourite to take the EPT title now. Adeniya sent to the rail with £86,350. These two were always going to clash in a monster pot. One had to come out worse. Small break now to shift chips around. — RD
2.15pm: Huge pot for Spindler
Benny Spindler has won what must be the biggest pot of the tournament so far after Mattias Bergstrom was caught ‘at it’.
Spindler had opened for 120,000 and Bergstrom called from the big blind. On the K89 flop, Bergstrom checked, Spindler bet 140,000 and then Bergstrom re-popped to 460,000. Call. The turn was 3 and now Bergstrom bet a hefty 700,000. Again he couldn’t shake off Spindler. The river was A and again Bergstrom made it 700,000. Spindler was going nowhere, however, and made the call.
Spindler: A9
Bergstrom: 45
Spindler had made two pair, although one would have been enough. Bergstrom had complete air. Spindler up to 5.7 million, while Bergstrom is now 1.7 million. SY
2.10pm: UTG FTW
Three hands in a row, all taken down by raises under the gun. First Kevin Iacofano won the blinds and antes, then Martins Adeniya and finally Mattias Bergstrom did the same.
Adeniya was particularly pleased. “That’s the first pot I’ve won today,” he said with a cheery grin. — SY
2.01pm: Pastor all-in
Juan Manuel Pastor opened under-the-gun for 125,000 and Martins Adeniya made the call from middle position. The Spanish Team PokerStars Pro check-called 150,000 on the 24K flop and check-shoved over Adeniya’s 230,000 bet on the 9 turn. Pastor took the pot and is up to 2,200,000. — RD
1.48pm: More for Iacofano
Kevin Iacofano bet 130,000 and was called by Juan Manuel Pastor in the big blind. Pastor then check-called Iacofano’s 200,000 bet on the K95 flop to see a [10d] turn. Both checked. On the A river, Pastor checked then folded when Iacofano made it 275,000. — SY
1.45pm: Bergstrom betting
Mattias Bergstrom opened for a bet of 160,000 and got a call from Steve O’Dwyer. Both checked the A5K flop, but Bergstrom’s 170,000 bet on the 7 river was good for the pot. — SY
1.41pm: We’re back
Game on. We’ve got seven player left and no short stacks. Anyone could win. — RD
1.28pm: Break
That’s the end of the level, and the players are on their first 15-minute break of the day. Rick Dacey has been dispatched to hoover up the official chip counts.* — SY
*Chips now hoovered. Check the chip counts page, Adeniya still leading with 4,465,000.
1.26pm: Final table preview
Here’s a video to watch in the break. Or not. It’s up to you.
1.25pm: More for Klebanov
Kevin Iacofano has lost a sizeable chunk to Andre Klebanov. He opened for 110,000 and Klebanov called from the big blind. The flop was 433 and Klebanov check-called Iafocano’s 130,000 bet. Both checked the A turn, but on the 5 river Klebanov led out with a meaty 325,000. Iacofano called quickly, but will wish he hadn’t as Klebanov showed 34 for the flopped full house.
Klebanov up to 3,225,000. – SY
1.20pm: Klebanov active
Andre Klebanov is the most active player at the table so far. First he opened for 100,000 and got a call from Benny Spindler in the big blind. On the 410Q flop, Spindler check-folded to Klebanov’s 125,000 continuation bet.
Klebanov opened again soon after for 100,000 and this time Mattias Bergstrom called. But the pattern was repeated – on the 76Q flop, Bergstrom check-folded to Klebanov’s 125,000 continuation bet. — SY
1.15pm: O’Dwyer moving up
Steve O’Dwyer has won the last two hands for a 700,000 chip increase. Martins Adeniya opened for 100,000 and was called by Mattias Bergstrom before O’Dwyer shoved all-in from the big blind. Two folds pushed him up to 1,600,000.
The next hand O’Dwyer called Kelbanov’s 100,000 button raise from the small blind and check-called 1,250,000 on the K23 flop, 175,000 on the 4 turn before both players check-called the 9 river.
Klebanov: Q5
O’Dwyer: A4
O’Dwyer took the pot with a pair of fours to chip up to 2,000,000, increasingly a threat at this final table.
“You didn’t want to try and win that hand?” asked O’Dwyer who refused to answer whether he would have called a third bullet or not. — RD
1.08pm: Miroslav Benes out in 8th (£64,000)
He came to the final table as the short-stack, and despite some heroic all-ins Miroslav Benes is now out.
Benny Spindler raised to 100,000 and Benes shoved for 560,000. Call. Benes had 99 and was up against the German’s KQ. The race was on, but it didn’t last long as the flop came K2[10h] to shoot Spindler into the lead. It got worse for Benes as the turn was K and river 2 to make Spindler’s full house.
Spindler is now up to more than 4 million and we’re down to seven players. — SY
1.05pm: Benes gets another one through
Miroslav Benes gets another shove through and is up to around 575,000. He still needs a double but if he does so now he’ll be well back into this final table. — RD
1.03pm: Pastor aggression
Mattias Bergstrom raised to 110,000 and it was folded around to Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor on the button, who called. The blinds got out of the way and the two of them saw a 3Q5 flop.
Bergstrom eyed-up Pastor and bet 150,000. The Spaniard, however, seemed to have hit something, raising up to 395,000. That was too much for the Swede, and Pastor picked up the pot. — SY
12.59pm: O’Dwyer all-in
Andre Klebanov raised to 105,000 but faced a swift all-in shove from Steve O’Dwyer in the next seat. The bet was around 1.2million and Klebanov thought better of it. He passed. — SY
12.56pm: Pastor folds to Benes shove
Miroslav Benes just managed to pick up the blinds after shoving into Juan Manuel Pastor’s big blind. The Spanish player must have had some serious rags to make the call there – Benes’ shove was for around 330,000. Vital pick up for Benes. — RD
12.46pm: Klebanov takes it from Spindler
Andre Klebanov has won a small on from Benny Spindler, who had opened for 100,000. Klebanov led 100,000 into the turn and 260,000 into the river of a A2Q5J board to win the pot with a fold. — RD
12.46pm: Bergstrom first blood
Mattias Bergstrom has won the first pot after raising to 110,000 and firing the 92K flop into Andre Klebanov who had defended from the blinds. Miroslac Benes passed and realistically he has to get his chips in this orbit. — RD
12.45pm: And we’re off
A little later than planned, but the final table is under way. The button is on short-stack Miroslav Benes, which will come as a relief to him, seeing as he now has a few hands before having to invest a chunk of his 370,000 in the blinds. — SY
12.35pm: In their seats, on their marks…
We’re seeing Benny Spindler’s face on the monitor in the press room. Now Andre Klebanov’s. The players are getting seated, play should start soon. Miroslav Benes the man that has to move.
Seat 1: Miroslav Benes, PokerStars online qualifier, 370,000
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 2,30,000
Seat 3: Stephen O’Dwyer, 1,250,000
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, Team PokerStars Pro, 1,915,000
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, PokerStars player, 3,435,000
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 2,685,000
Seat 7: Martins Adeniya, 4,736,000
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstrom, 3,620,000
We’re not sure where the button will be starting but it will dictate how many hands Benes has before he has to get it in. I think Benes may start with the button on seat one. — RD
12.30pm: Mission Impossible?
Miroslav Benes is watching the TV table being set up, a takeaway cup of coffee in his hand and a look of nervous excitement on his face. The Czech recreational player starts today as the short stack with just seven-and-a-half big blinds (370,000) and is some distance from the rest of the pack.
“I have five or six hands to do something. Every day I’ve been a short stack and every morning I’ve told myself it’s like Mission Impossible,” said Benes knowing full well that he’s going to need a bit of luck not to take the 8th place finish for £64,000.
The Czech has made it through every day and is just a couple of double up away from doing the impossible yet again. Good luck to the online qualifier. — RD
12.10pm: Getting ready for the off
Juan Manuel Pastor is sat on the floor by the TV table. Is this some kind of protest? No, it’s Neil Stoddart arranging the players for some arty final table shots. That also means our final table is just minutes away. Ready the cards, grab the rail and gird your loins… we’re going in. — RD
11.45am: As Bill Withers would say… a lovely day
Morning, campers. What a glorious day it is in London; the sun is shining, birds are singing in the concrete jungle trees, and people everywhere have smiles as wide as the Hammersmith flyover. So it is with great joy that I…. oh, to heck with it. Best to be honest, my mother always said. Today, myself and I suspect many media colleagues are putting on a brave face. You see, last night was the PokerStars party, and when PokerStars throws a party, one tends to feel a little ‘delicate’ next day.
But what a night! Poker celebs, free booze, a magician, juggler, free booze, sweets (mmm, the sweets), dancing, free booze – all at the fine night spot that is Kensington Roof Gardens. Needless to say, it went off with a bang. I, of course, was there purely in a working capacity. Any headache or slight wooziness this morning is absolutely down to a slight cold coming on. Or something like that.
Anyway, the party brought to a close a wonderful week of poker at EPT London, save for the final events today. The final of £20,000 High Roller (which, incidentally, was probably the size of the bar bill for one of my colleagues last night) plays out shortly, and you’ll be able to follow coverage of that here. But myself and noble colleague Rick Dacey will be covering the main event final table. Someone is going to finish today £750,000 richer (which, incidentally, should cover a red-haired blogger’s bar bill last night).
Eight are in contention, and you can see their profiles here. We are supposed to kick-off at noon, but I suspect we’ll be a little delayed while interviews and photos are completed. And that’s a good thing: we may be a little more awake by then.
While you wait for the show to begin, why not have a peep at what was going on at the PokerStars party last night? I remember it all. Honest. — SY
PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of post-party appearance this morning): Simon Young (brave face) and Rick Dacey (braver face).
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
5.50pm: Dinner
Ever on the ball, we’ve been caught out by the appearance of a dinner break! Heads-up will commence shortly after 6.30pm. — SY
5.40pm: Deal or no deal?
Deal! Benny Spindler and Steve O’Dwyer have come to an agreement after some time studying the numbers and consulting with the likes of Isaac Haxton and Scott Seiver. The heads up should resume soon, a large chunk of change still up for grabs. — RD
5.19pm: Pause
There will be a brief pause in play while Benny Spindler and Steve O’Dwyer talk numbers. Spindler has a 13,490,000 million to 7,145,000 million chip lead. — SY
5.18pm: Andre Klebanov out in 3rd (£265,000)
Andre Klebenov has been eliminated by Steve O’Dwyer in unfortunate circumstances. Klebanov had opened to 250,000 only for O’Dwyer to move all-in, easily covering his opponent. Klebanov made the call:
Klebanov: AQ
O’Dwyer: A5
The man from Germany was in a sweet spot to double up, although O’Dwyer said: “I have a feeling.” While the flop of 86J was not too concerning, the 7 turn added an open-ended straight draw for O’Dwyer, while a fifth heart would now mean a split pot.
“I have a feeling,” repeated O’Dwyer.
Sure enough, the river was 4, filling O’Dwyer’s straight, and his feeling was right.
We’re now heads-up. — SY
5.10pm: All-in
Andre Klebanova is getting short again. We know this because Spindler asked how much he had.
“About 1,600,000,” replied Klebanova.
Spindler responded to that by moving all-in from the small blind. Klebanova shook his head and passed. Klebanova got some back when he shipped 1,410,000 moments later. — RD
4.58pm: Come on, lads!
Our private race to finish our final table before colleagues Bartley and Convey finish their high roller final table is not going well. They are already heads up in their one. You can see high roller coverage here. — SY
4.55pm: Level up
We move into level 30 with blinds now at 50,000-100,000 and a 10,000 ante. — SY
4.52pm: Klebanov wins the Skrill challenge
Andre Klebanov is the last player left standing in the Skrill last longer bet. Skrill, who is the official payment provider sponsor of the European Poker Tour, put up £5,250 for the patched up player who lasted the longest. Kevin Iacofano bust in fifth to give Klebanov the check-mark, which he can add to his top three spoils.
The final three have started play. — RD
4.44pm: Deal or no deal
No deal! The current feedback that we’re receiving is that there will be no deal three-handed. The players are not back though so it might yet happen. — RD
4.35pm: Chips, three left
Here are the remaining chip counts:
Andre Klebanov, 2,060,000
Steve O’Dwyer, 4,850,000
Benny Spindler, 13,825,000
Benny Spindler is a big chip leader here and, so the rumour goes, also has 15% of both players that are heads up in the High Roller. It’s a good day to be Benny. — RD
4.29pm: Aces send Pastor to the rail in 4th (£200,000)
Juan Manuel Pastor is out after running his pocket nines into chip monster Benny Spindler’s pocket aces. Pastor had raised to 165,000 from the button before Spindler re-raised to 375,000 from the small blind. Pastor then shoved for 2,550,000 and Spindler insta-called with the bullets, causing Pastor to give out an involuntary yelp.
The flop was 3JQ, and while the 8 turn opened up a gutshot straw for Pastor, the Q river changed nothing.
We are now three-handed and the three players are discussing a possible deal. — SY
4.25pm: Spindler makes an ace-high call
Steve O’Dwyer bet 250,000 into a board of 884K and Benny Spindler made the call – the flop has been checked. O’Dwyer fired 340,000 into the 3 river. Spindler slowly called again and it turned out that he was good with [a][q]. O’Dwyer’s had a busted flush draw with 97. Spindler took the pot. — RD
4.15pm: Pastor all-in (again)
Juan Manuel Pastor made it 160,000 from the button and Benny Spindler raised to 375,000 from the small blind. Smelling a rat, or perhaps simply sitting with a premium hand, Pastor moved all in for close to 2 million. Spindler soon passed. — SY
4.08pm: Spindler plays back at O’Dwyer
Steve O’Dwyer has had a great level but Benny Spindler has temporarily halted the American’s ascension. O’Dwyer raised to 160,00 from the button and Spindler called. The German then led 180,000 into the 6K10 flop, which was called, and 600,000 into the 8 turn. O’Dwyer frowned and folded. Tough to count Spindler’s stack, it must be around 11,000,000 now.
Juan Manuel Pastor is dribbling away at the moment and will have to get it in again soon – but will anyone call? — RD
4pm: All about the money
All remaining four players are now guaranteed at least £200,000. Nice.
1st £750,000
2nd £465,000
3rd £265,000
4th £200,000
3.58pm: Pastor into the final four
3.55pm: Mattias Bergstrom out in 5th (£155,000)
Steve O’Dwyer doubled up in the hand described below and now he’s knocked out Mattias Bergstrom to increase his stack to more than five million. Benny Spindler had started things with a raise to 160,000 before Bergstrom shoved for 1,340,000 with [10s]J. But he was horrified to see O’Dwyer make the call with [10d][10h]. Spindler folded.
The board ran an inconsequential 33992, and Bergstrom was on his way to the cash desk. We’re down to our final four players. — SY
3.50pm: O’Dwyer doubles
Steve O’Dwyer has doubled through Andre Klebanov. Klebanov had raised from the small blind for 200,000 and O’Dwyer called to see a 249 flop. Klebanov bet 300,000 and and O’Dwyer moved all-in for 1,525,000. Call. Klebanov had pocket fives but O’Dwyer had hit with his Q9. He stayed ahead on the 2 turn and [10d] river. and is now up to 3 million. — SY
3.45pm: Three hands
1. Mattias Bergstrom opened the cut-off for 175,000 and was three-bet by Andre Klebanov 410,000 to chip up to 410,000.
2. Benny Spindler gets a walk from Juan Manuel Pastor in the small blind. No-one wants to mess with Spindler.
3. Steve O’Dwyer opened the cut-off for 170,000 and takes the blinds and antes. He’s back up to 1,740,000. — RD
3.40pm: Pastor all-in
It was folded around to Juan Manuel Pastor who moved all-in from the button for 1,970,000. Both Benny Spindler and Mattias Bergstrom folded from the blinds. — SY
3.36pm: Kevin Iacofano out in 6th (£120,000)
After getting crippled by Mattias Bergstrom Kevin Iacofano has just been knocked out by Benny Spindler who, somewhat typically, flopped the nuts. Spindler opened to 160,000 from the cut-off and called Iacofano’s 255,000 shove.
Iacofano: Q10
Spindler: 87
The 569 flop hit Spindler hard giving the German a straight, the A turn and 4 river no help for Iacofano who scores his second EPT final table finish. Spindler up to 10,000,000. — RD
3.28pm: Double up for Bergstrom
Mattias Bergstrom has doubled up at the expense of Kevin Iacofano, who is now crippled. Benny Spindler had opened (as usual) for 160,000 before Iacofano moved all-in only for Bergstrom to call all-in. Spindler got out of the way.
Iacofano: A6
Bergstrom: AQ
Bergstrom looked in good shape, and he stayed ahead on the 39J9K board. That sent Bergstrom up to 2.8 million while Iacofano was left with just 260,000. — SY
3.24pm: New chips
A new 100,000 chip is in play. Well, there is more than one of them, but you know what I mean. — SY
3.22pm: And we’re off (again)
Six players remain, Spindler still huge with almost half the chips in play.
3.12pm: Chips at the break
The stacks and seats are as follows:
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 3,775,000
Seat 3: Stephen O’Dwyer, 2,080,000
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, Team PokerStars Pro, 2,130,000
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, PokerStars player, 9,615,000
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 1,830,000
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstrom, 1,305,000
Can Kevin Iacofano beat the fourth place finish he scored at EPT Copenhagen last season? Can Spindler break the 50% of chips in play mark? Find out as we restart after the break. — RD
3.11pm: Party time
Check out the wicked-bad-good EPT London party from last night.
3.04pm: Break
That’s the end of level 28. Players are now on a 15-minute break. — SY
3.03pm: Spindler still
Three more hands see Benny Spindler picking up pots, one of them a walk in the big blind. Only Mattias Bergstrom put up some resistance, moving all-in for 1,095,000 after yet another Spindler pre-flop raise of 120,000. Spindler looked like he wanted to call, but couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. — SY
2.54pm: Spindler maintaining the pressure
Benny Spindler is not the kind of player to sit back on a chip lead and is using his big to exert maximum pressure on the remaining five players. He’s raising and taking blinds and has three-bet two of the last three hands, winning one and losing the other.
Spindler three-bet squeezed for 400,000 from the big blind over a Steve O’Dwyer button raise and Juan Manuel Pastor call. O’Dwyer shoved and won the pot – he’s back up to 2,200,000.
Spindler then three-bet small to 280,000 from the button against Andre Klebanov who made the call. Both players checked down a dangerous looking board with Spindler’s pocket four taking the pot. Spindler on around 9,300,000. — RD
2.40pm: Pastor shove
Benny Spindler opened under the gun for 120,000. It was folded around to Juan Manuel Pastor in the big blind who shoved for just over one million. Spindler mucked. — SY
2.35pm: Back into the action
Andre Klebanov marks the return to the action with a four-bet into Mattias Bergstrom from 300,000 to 540,000 to push the Swede down further to 1,400,000. — RD
2.25pm: MONSTER POT: Spindler slays Adeniya, out in 7th (£86,350)
Benny Spindler has just eliminated Martins Adeniya to move up to 9,300,000, almost half the chips in play. It was a giant flip for a 7,300,000 pot and one that Adeniya had predicted would happen at the break. Investigative reporter Simon Young had overheard the Londoner saying that Spindler would be four-betting him for stacks. He wasn’t wrong.
Mattias Bergstrom opened from under-the-gun for 150,000 and Spindler made the call on the button. Adeniya, big blind, pulled out raising chips and pushed out a squeeze to 475,000. Bergstrom passed and Spindler announced that he was all-in. Adeniya stopped chewing his gum for long enough to say, “I call.”
Adeniya: AK
Spindler: 1010
“It’s a big one,” said Adeniya.
Again, he wasn’t wrong. The board ran out J832J to push a monster stack to Spindler who must be a huge favourite to take the EPT title now. Adeniya sent to the rail with £86,350. These two were always going to clash in a monster pot. One had to come out worse. Small break now to shift chips around. — RD
2.15pm: Huge pot for Spindler
Benny Spindler has won what must be the biggest pot of the tournament so far after Mattias Bergstrom was caught ‘at it’.
Spindler had opened for 120,000 and Bergstrom called from the big blind. On the K89 flop, Bergstrom checked, Spindler bet 140,000 and then Bergstrom re-popped to 460,000. Call. The turn was 3 and now Bergstrom bet a hefty 700,000. Again he couldn’t shake off Spindler. The river was A and again Bergstrom made it 700,000. Spindler was going nowhere, however, and made the call.
Spindler: A9
Bergstrom: 45
Spindler had made two pair, although one would have been enough. Bergstrom had complete air. Spindler up to 5.7 million, while Bergstrom is now 1.7 million. SY
2.10pm: UTG FTW
Three hands in a row, all taken down by raises under the gun. First Kevin Iacofano won the blinds and antes, then Martins Adeniya and finally Mattias Bergstrom did the same.
Adeniya was particularly pleased. “That’s the first pot I’ve won today,” he said with a cheery grin. — SY
2.01pm: Pastor all-in
Juan Manuel Pastor opened under-the-gun for 125,000 and Martins Adeniya made the call from middle position. The Spanish Team PokerStars Pro check-called 150,000 on the 24K flop and check-shoved over Adeniya’s 230,000 bet on the 9 turn. Pastor took the pot and is up to 2,200,000. — RD
1.48pm: More for Iacofano
Kevin Iacofano bet 130,000 and was called by Juan Manuel Pastor in the big blind. Pastor then check-called Iacofano’s 200,000 bet on the K95 flop to see a [10d] turn. Both checked. On the A river, Pastor checked then folded when Iacofano made it 275,000. — SY
1.45pm: Bergstrom betting
Mattias Bergstrom opened for a bet of 160,000 and got a call from Steve O’Dwyer. Both checked the A5K flop, but Bergstrom’s 170,000 bet on the 7 river was good for the pot. — SY
1.41pm: We’re back
Game on. We’ve got seven player left and no short stacks. Anyone could win. — RD
1.28pm: Break
That’s the end of the level, and the players are on their first 15-minute break of the day. Rick Dacey has been dispatched to hoover up the official chip counts.* — SY
*Chips now hoovered. Check the chip counts page, Adeniya still leading with 4,465,000.
1.26pm: Final table preview
Here’s a video to watch in the break. Or not. It’s up to you.
1.25pm: More for Klebanov
Kevin Iacofano has lost a sizeable chunk to Andre Klebanov. He opened for 110,000 and Klebanov called from the big blind. The flop was 433 and Klebanov check-called Iafocano’s 130,000 bet. Both checked the A turn, but on the 5 river Klebanov led out with a meaty 325,000. Iacofano called quickly, but will wish he hadn’t as Klebanov showed 34 for the flopped full house.
Klebanov up to 3,225,000. – SY
1.20pm: Klebanov active
Andre Klebanov is the most active player at the table so far. First he opened for 100,000 and got a call from Benny Spindler in the big blind. On the 410Q flop, Spindler check-folded to Klebanov’s 125,000 continuation bet.
Klebanov opened again soon after for 100,000 and this time Mattias Bergstrom called. But the pattern was repeated – on the 76Q flop, Bergstrom check-folded to Klebanov’s 125,000 continuation bet. — SY
1.15pm: O’Dwyer moving up
Steve O’Dwyer has won the last two hands for a 700,000 chip increase. Martins Adeniya opened for 100,000 and was called by Mattias Bergstrom before O’Dwyer shoved all-in from the big blind. Two folds pushed him up to 1,600,000.
The next hand O’Dwyer called Kelbanov’s 100,000 button raise from the small blind and check-called 1,250,000 on the K23 flop, 175,000 on the 4 turn before both players check-called the 9 river.
Klebanov: Q5
O’Dwyer: A4
O’Dwyer took the pot with a pair of fours to chip up to 2,000,000, increasingly a threat at this final table.
“You didn’t want to try and win that hand?” asked O’Dwyer who refused to answer whether he would have called a third bullet or not. — RD
1.08pm: Miroslav Benes out in 8th (£64,000)
He came to the final table as the short-stack, and despite some heroic all-ins Miroslav Benes is now out.
Benny Spindler raised to 100,000 and Benes shoved for 560,000. Call. Benes had 99 and was up against the German’s KQ. The race was on, but it didn’t last long as the flop came K2[10h] to shoot Spindler into the lead. It got worse for Benes as the turn was K and river 2 to make Spindler’s full house.
Spindler is now up to more than 4 million and we’re down to seven players. — SY
1.05pm: Benes gets another one through
Miroslav Benes gets another shove through and is up to around 575,000. He still needs a double but if he does so now he’ll be well back into this final table. — RD
1.03pm: Pastor aggression
Mattias Bergstrom raised to 110,000 and it was folded around to Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor on the button, who called. The blinds got out of the way and the two of them saw a 3Q5 flop.
Bergstrom eyed-up Pastor and bet 150,000. The Spaniard, however, seemed to have hit something, raising up to 395,000. That was too much for the Swede, and Pastor picked up the pot. — SY
12.59pm: O’Dwyer all-in
Andre Klebanov raised to 105,000 but faced a swift all-in shove from Steve O’Dwyer in the next seat. The bet was around 1.2million and Klebanov thought better of it. He passed. — SY
12.56pm: Pastor folds to Benes shove
Miroslav Benes just managed to pick up the blinds after shoving into Juan Manuel Pastor’s big blind. The Spanish player must have had some serious rags to make the call there – Benes’ shove was for around 330,000. Vital pick up for Benes. — RD
12.46pm: Klebanov takes it from Spindler
Andre Klebanov has won a small on from Benny Spindler, who had opened for 100,000. Klebanov led 100,000 into the turn and 260,000 into the river of a A2Q5J board to win the pot with a fold. — RD
12.46pm: Bergstrom first blood
Mattias Bergstrom has won the first pot after raising to 110,000 and firing the 92K flop into Andre Klebanov who had defended from the blinds. Miroslac Benes passed and realistically he has to get his chips in this orbit. — RD
12.45pm: And we’re off
A little later than planned, but the final table is under way. The button is on short-stack Miroslav Benes, which will come as a relief to him, seeing as he now has a few hands before having to invest a chunk of his 370,000 in the blinds. — SY
12.35pm: In their seats, on their marks…
We’re seeing Benny Spindler’s face on the monitor in the press room. Now Andre Klebanov’s. The players are getting seated, play should start soon. Miroslav Benes the man that has to move.
Seat 1: Miroslav Benes, PokerStars online qualifier, 370,000
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 2,30,000
Seat 3: Stephen O’Dwyer, 1,250,000
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, Team PokerStars Pro, 1,915,000
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, PokerStars player, 3,435,000
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 2,685,000
Seat 7: Martins Adeniya, 4,736,000
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstrom, 3,620,000
We’re not sure where the button will be starting but it will dictate how many hands Benes has before he has to get it in. I think Benes may start with the button on seat one. — RD
12.30pm: Mission Impossible?
Miroslav Benes is watching the TV table being set up, a takeaway cup of coffee in his hand and a look of nervous excitement on his face. The Czech recreational player starts today as the short stack with just seven-and-a-half big blinds (370,000) and is some distance from the rest of the pack.
“I have five or six hands to do something. Every day I’ve been a short stack and every morning I’ve told myself it’s like Mission Impossible,” said Benes knowing full well that he’s going to need a bit of luck not to take the 8th place finish for £64,000.
The Czech has made it through every day and is just a couple of double up away from doing the impossible yet again. Good luck to the online qualifier. — RD
12.10pm: Getting ready for the off
Juan Manuel Pastor is sat on the floor by the TV table. Is this some kind of protest? No, it’s Neil Stoddart arranging the players for some arty final table shots. That also means our final table is just minutes away. Ready the cards, grab the rail and gird your loins… we’re going in. — RD
11.45am: As Bill Withers would say… a lovely day
Morning, campers. What a glorious day it is in London; the sun is shining, birds are singing in the concrete jungle trees, and people everywhere have smiles as wide as the Hammersmith flyover. So it is with great joy that I…. oh, to heck with it. Best to be honest, my mother always said. Today, myself and I suspect many media colleagues are putting on a brave face. You see, last night was the PokerStars party, and when PokerStars throws a party, one tends to feel a little ‘delicate’ next day.
But what a night! Poker celebs, free booze, a magician, juggler, free booze, sweets (mmm, the sweets), dancing, free booze – all at the fine night spot that is Kensington Roof Gardens. Needless to say, it went off with a bang. I, of course, was there purely in a working capacity. Any headache or slight wooziness this morning is absolutely down to a slight cold coming on. Or something like that.
Anyway, the party brought to a close a wonderful week of poker at EPT London, save for the final events today. The final of £20,000 High Roller (which, incidentally, was probably the size of the bar bill for one of my colleagues last night) plays out shortly, and you’ll be able to follow coverage of that here. But myself and noble colleague Rick Dacey will be covering the main event final table. Someone is going to finish today £750,000 richer (which, incidentally, should cover a red-haired blogger’s bar bill last night).
Eight are in contention, and you can see their profiles here. We are supposed to kick-off at noon, but I suspect we’ll be a little delayed while interviews and photos are completed. And that’s a good thing: we may be a little more awake by then.
While you wait for the show to begin, why not have a peep at what was going on at the PokerStars party last night? I remember it all. Honest. — SY
PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of post-party appearance this morning): Simon Young (brave face) and Rick Dacey (braver face).
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
7.08pm: Spindler’s big slick for the win
The heads-up match was brief with neither player making huge inroads. But you felt an almightly clash was just around the corner, and that’s exactly what happened.
Benny Spindler raised to 225,000 and Steve O’Dwyer three-bet to 725,000. But Spindler was going nowhere, firing again with 1,725,000. O’Dwyer moved all-in and Spindler called in a flash.
Spindler: AK
O’Dwyer: KJ
O’Dwyer was in all sorts of trouble. “I need another suckout,” he said as he got up out of his chair to watch the flop fall 78A, a terrible one for him. Then he realised something. “I should never have stood up,” he explained. “I have been telling people to sit down all week, and now I have stood up in heads-up the first time I have got it in bad. I guess I deserve to have got such a terrible flop!”
It was good to see his sense of humour shine through despite the obvious pain. But wait, the turn was J offering him a slim chance of a sensational suckout. But the 6 river was a brick. With that, the two of them shook hands, and Spindler lapped up the applause from an enthusiastic crowd.
As well as the title and the cash, Spindler receives a special Shamballa bracelet worth more than €10,000.
We’ll have a full wrap of today’s final table with you shortly. — SY
7.05pm: Benny Spindler wins EPT London (£750,000)
Steve O’Dwyer finishes runner-up (£465,000)
Details of winning hand to follow. — SY
6.58pm: First three-bet
Steve O’Dwyer had the best of the early heads-up exchanges, but his latest pre-flop raise to 250,000 was re-raised to 750,000 by Benny Spindler, the first three-bet of the heads-up battle. O’Dwyer folded. — SY
6.48pm: First pot to O’Dwyer
Steve O’Dwyer made it 200,000 and Benny Spindler called to see a JA2 flop. Spindler check-called a 250,000 bet and the turn was 6. Spindler checked then folded to O’Dwyer’s 585,000 bet. — SY
6.44pm: Heads-up begins
We’re back from dinner, and heads-up has begun. — SY
5.50pm: Dinner
Ever on the ball, we’ve been caught out by the appearance of a dinner break! Heads-up will commence shortly after 6.30pm. — SY
5.40pm: Deal or no deal?
Deal! Benny Spindler and Steve O’Dwyer have come to an agreement after some time studying the numbers and consulting with the likes of Isaac Haxton and Scott Seiver. The heads up should resume soon, a large chunk of change still up for grabs. — RD
5.19pm: Pause
There will be a brief pause in play while Benny Spindler and Steve O’Dwyer talk numbers. Spindler has a 13,490,000 million to 7,145,000 million chip lead. — SY
5.18pm: Andre Klebanov out in 3rd (£265,000)
Andre Klebenov has been eliminated by Steve O’Dwyer in unfortunate circumstances. Klebanov had opened to 250,000 only for O’Dwyer to move all-in, easily covering his opponent. Klebanov made the call:
Klebanov: AQ
O’Dwyer: A5
The man from Germany was in a sweet spot to double up, although O’Dwyer said: “I have a feeling.” While the flop of 86J was not too concerning, the 7 turn added an open-ended straight draw for O’Dwyer, while a fifth heart would now mean a split pot.
“I have a feeling,” repeated O’Dwyer.
Sure enough, the river was 4, filling O’Dwyer’s straight, and his feeling was right.
We’re now heads-up. — SY
5.10pm: All-in
Andre Klebanov is getting short again. We know this because Spindler asked how much he had.
“About 1,600,000,” replied Klebanov.
Spindler responded to that by moving all-in from the small blind. Klebanov shook his head and passed. Klebanov got some back when he shipped 1,410,000 moments later. — RD
4.58pm: Come on, lads!
Our private race to finish our final table before colleagues Bartley and Convey finish their high roller final table is not going well. They are already heads up in their one. You can see high roller coverage here. — SY
4.55pm: Level up
We move into level 30 with blinds now at 50,000-100,000 and a 10,000 ante. — SY
4.52pm: Klebanov wins the Skrill challenge
Andre Klebanov is the last player left standing in the Skrill last longer bet. Skrill, who is the official payment provider sponsor of the European Poker Tour, put up £5,250 for the patched up player who lasted the longest. Kevin Iacofano bust in fifth to give Klebanov the check-mark, which he can add to his top three spoils.
The final three have started play. — RD
4.44pm: Deal or no deal
No deal! The current feedback that we’re receiving is that there will be no deal three-handed. The players are not back though so it might yet happen. — RD
4.35pm: Chips, three left
Here are the remaining chip counts:
Andre Klebanov, 2,060,000
Steve O’Dwyer, 4,850,000
Benny Spindler, 13,825,000
Benny Spindler is a big chip leader here and, so the rumour goes, also has 15% of both players that are heads up in the High Roller. It’s a good day to be Benny. — RD
4.29pm: Aces send Pastor to the rail in 4th (£200,000)
Juan Manuel Pastor is out after running his pocket nines into chip monster Benny Spindler’s pocket aces. Pastor had raised to 165,000 from the button before Spindler re-raised to 375,000 from the small blind. Pastor then shoved for 2,550,000 and Spindler insta-called with the bullets, causing Pastor to give out an involuntary yelp.
The flop was 3JQ, and while the 8 turn opened up a gutshot straw for Pastor, the Q river changed nothing.
We are now three-handed and the three players are discussing a possible deal. — SY
4.25pm: Spindler makes an ace-high call
Steve O’Dwyer bet 250,000 into a board of 884K and Benny Spindler made the call – the flop has been checked. O’Dwyer fired 340,000 into the 3 river. Spindler slowly called again and it turned out that he was good with [a][q]. O’Dwyer’s had a busted flush draw with 97. Spindler took the pot. — RD
4.15pm: Pastor all-in (again)
Juan Manuel Pastor made it 160,000 from the button and Benny Spindler raised to 375,000 from the small blind. Smelling a rat, or perhaps simply sitting with a premium hand, Pastor moved all in for close to 2 million. Spindler soon passed. — SY
4.08pm: Spindler plays back at O’Dwyer
Steve O’Dwyer has had a great level but Benny Spindler has temporarily halted the American’s ascension. O’Dwyer raised to 160,00 from the button and Spindler called. The German then led 180,000 into the 6K10 flop, which was called, and 600,000 into the 8 turn. O’Dwyer frowned and folded. Tough to count Spindler’s stack, it must be around 11,000,000 now.
Juan Manuel Pastor is dribbling away at the moment and will have to get it in again soon – but will anyone call? — RD
4pm: All about the money
All remaining four players are now guaranteed at least £200,000. Nice.
1st £750,000
2nd £465,000
3rd £265,000
4th £200,000
3.58pm: Pastor into the final four
3.55pm: Mattias Bergstrom out in 5th (£155,000)
Steve O’Dwyer doubled up in the hand described below and now he’s knocked out Mattias Bergstrom to increase his stack to more than five million. Benny Spindler had started things with a raise to 160,000 before Bergstrom shoved for 1,340,000 with [10s]J. But he was horrified to see O’Dwyer make the call with [10d][10h]. Spindler folded.
The board ran an inconsequential 33992, and Bergstrom was on his way to the cash desk. We’re down to our final four players. — SY
3.50pm: O’Dwyer doubles
Steve O’Dwyer has doubled through Andre Klebanov. Klebanov had raised from the small blind for 200,000 and O’Dwyer called to see a 249 flop. Klebanov bet 300,000 and and O’Dwyer moved all-in for 1,525,000. Call. Klebanov had pocket fives but O’Dwyer had hit with his Q9. He stayed ahead on the 2 turn and [10d] river. and is now up to 3 million. — SY
3.45pm: Three hands
1. Mattias Bergstrom opened the cut-off for 175,000 and was three-bet by Andre Klebanov 410,000 to chip up to 410,000.
2. Benny Spindler gets a walk from Juan Manuel Pastor in the small blind. No-one wants to mess with Spindler.
3. Steve O’Dwyer opened the cut-off for 170,000 and takes the blinds and antes. He’s back up to 1,740,000. — RD
3.40pm: Pastor all-in
It was folded around to Juan Manuel Pastor who moved all-in from the button for 1,970,000. Both Benny Spindler and Mattias Bergstrom folded from the blinds. — SY
3.36pm: Kevin Iacofano out in 6th (£120,000)
After getting crippled by Mattias Bergstrom Kevin Iacofano has just been knocked out by Benny Spindler who, somewhat typically, flopped the nuts. Spindler opened to 160,000 from the cut-off and called Iacofano’s 255,000 shove.
Iacofano: Q10
Spindler: 87
The 569 flop hit Spindler hard giving the German a straight, the A turn and 4 river no help for Iacofano who scores his second EPT final table finish. Spindler up to 10,000,000. — RD
3.28pm: Double up for Bergstrom
Mattias Bergstrom has doubled up at the expense of Kevin Iacofano, who is now crippled. Benny Spindler had opened (as usual) for 160,000 before Iacofano moved all-in only for Bergstrom to call all-in. Spindler got out of the way.
Iacofano: A6
Bergstrom: AQ
Bergstrom looked in good shape, and he stayed ahead on the 39J9K board. That sent Bergstrom up to 2.8 million while Iacofano was left with just 260,000. — SY
3.24pm: New chips
A new 100,000 chip is in play. Well, there is more than one of them, but you know what I mean. — SY
3.22pm: And we’re off (again)
Six players remain, Spindler still huge with almost half the chips in play.
3.12pm: Chips at the break
The stacks and seats are as follows:
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 3,775,000
Seat 3: Stephen O’Dwyer, 2,080,000
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, Team PokerStars Pro, 2,130,000
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, PokerStars player, 9,615,000
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 1,830,000
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstrom, 1,305,000
Can Kevin Iacofano beat the fourth place finish he scored at EPT Copenhagen last season? Can Spindler break the 50% of chips in play mark? Find out as we restart after the break. — RD
3.11pm: Party time
Check out the wicked-bad-good EPT London party from last night.
3.04pm: Break
That’s the end of level 28. Players are now on a 15-minute break. — SY
3.03pm: Spindler still
Three more hands see Benny Spindler picking up pots, one of them a walk in the big blind. Only Mattias Bergstrom put up some resistance, moving all-in for 1,095,000 after yet another Spindler pre-flop raise of 120,000. Spindler looked like he wanted to call, but couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. — SY
2.54pm: Spindler maintaining the pressure
Benny Spindler is not the kind of player to sit back on a chip lead and is using his big to exert maximum pressure on the remaining five players. He’s raising and taking blinds and has three-bet two of the last three hands, winning one and losing the other.
Spindler three-bet squeezed for 400,000 from the big blind over a Steve O’Dwyer button raise and Juan Manuel Pastor call. O’Dwyer shoved and won the pot – he’s back up to 2,200,000.
Spindler then three-bet small to 280,000 from the button against Andre Klebanov who made the call. Both players checked down a dangerous looking board with Spindler’s pocket four taking the pot. Spindler on around 9,300,000. — RD
2.40pm: Pastor shove
Benny Spindler opened under the gun for 120,000. It was folded around to Juan Manuel Pastor in the big blind who shoved for just over one million. Spindler mucked. — SY
2.35pm: Back into the action
Andre Klebanov marks the return to the action with a four-bet into Mattias Bergstrom from 300,000 to 540,000 to push the Swede down further to 1,400,000. — RD
2.25pm: MONSTER POT: Spindler slays Adeniya, out in 7th (£86,350)
Benny Spindler has just eliminated Martins Adeniya to move up to 9,300,000, almost half the chips in play. It was a giant flip for a 7,300,000 pot and one that Adeniya had predicted would happen at the break. Investigative reporter Simon Young had overheard the Londoner saying that Spindler would be four-betting him for stacks. He wasn’t wrong.
Mattias Bergstrom opened from under-the-gun for 150,000 and Spindler made the call on the button. Adeniya, big blind, pulled out raising chips and pushed out a squeeze to 475,000. Bergstrom passed and Spindler announced that he was all-in. Adeniya stopped chewing his gum for long enough to say, “I call.”
Adeniya: AK
Spindler: 1010
“It’s a big one,” said Adeniya.
Again, he wasn’t wrong. The board ran out J832J to push a monster stack to Spindler who must be a huge favourite to take the EPT title now. Adeniya sent to the rail with £86,350. These two were always going to clash in a monster pot. One had to come out worse. Small break now to shift chips around. — RD
2.15pm: Huge pot for Spindler
Benny Spindler has won what must be the biggest pot of the tournament so far after Mattias Bergstrom was caught ‘at it’.
Spindler had opened for 120,000 and Bergstrom called from the big blind. On the K89 flop, Bergstrom checked, Spindler bet 140,000 and then Bergstrom re-popped to 460,000. Call. The turn was 3 and now Bergstrom bet a hefty 700,000. Again he couldn’t shake off Spindler. The river was A and again Bergstrom made it 700,000. Spindler was going nowhere, however, and made the call.
Spindler: A9
Bergstrom: 45
Spindler had made two pair, although one would have been enough. Bergstrom had complete air. Spindler up to 5.7 million, while Bergstrom is now 1.7 million. SY
2.10pm: UTG FTW
Three hands in a row, all taken down by raises under the gun. First Kevin Iacofano won the blinds and antes, then Martins Adeniya and finally Mattias Bergstrom did the same.
Adeniya was particularly pleased. “That’s the first pot I’ve won today,” he said with a cheery grin. — SY
2.01pm: Pastor all-in
Juan Manuel Pastor opened under-the-gun for 125,000 and Martins Adeniya made the call from middle position. The Spanish Team PokerStars Pro check-called 150,000 on the 24K flop and check-shoved over Adeniya’s 230,000 bet on the 9 turn. Pastor took the pot and is up to 2,200,000. — RD
1.48pm: More for Iacofano
Kevin Iacofano bet 130,000 and was called by Juan Manuel Pastor in the big blind. Pastor then check-called Iacofano’s 200,000 bet on the K95 flop to see a [10d] turn. Both checked. On the A river, Pastor checked then folded when Iacofano made it 275,000. — SY
1.45pm: Bergstrom betting
Mattias Bergstrom opened for a bet of 160,000 and got a call from Steve O’Dwyer. Both checked the A5K flop, but Bergstrom’s 170,000 bet on the 7 river was good for the pot. — SY
1.41pm: We’re back
Game on. We’ve got seven player left and no short stacks. Anyone could win. — RD
1.28pm: Break
That’s the end of the level, and the players are on their first 15-minute break of the day. Rick Dacey has been dispatched to hoover up the official chip counts.* — SY
*Chips now hoovered. Check the chip counts page, Adeniya still leading with 4,465,000.
1.26pm: Final table preview
Here’s a video to watch in the break. Or not. It’s up to you.
1.25pm: More for Klebanov
Kevin Iacofano has lost a sizeable chunk to Andre Klebanov. He opened for 110,000 and Klebanov called from the big blind. The flop was 433 and Klebanov check-called Iafocano’s 130,000 bet. Both checked the A turn, but on the 5 river Klebanov led out with a meaty 325,000. Iacofano called quickly, but will wish he hadn’t as Klebanov showed 34 for the flopped full house.
Klebanov up to 3,225,000. – SY
1.20pm: Klebanov active
Andre Klebanov is the most active player at the table so far. First he opened for 100,000 and got a call from Benny Spindler in the big blind. On the 410Q flop, Spindler check-folded to Klebanov’s 125,000 continuation bet.
Klebanov opened again soon after for 100,000 and this time Mattias Bergstrom called. But the pattern was repeated – on the 76Q flop, Bergstrom check-folded to Klebanov’s 125,000 continuation bet. — SY
1.15pm: O’Dwyer moving up
Steve O’Dwyer has won the last two hands for a 700,000 chip increase. Martins Adeniya opened for 100,000 and was called by Mattias Bergstrom before O’Dwyer shoved all-in from the big blind. Two folds pushed him up to 1,600,000.
The next hand O’Dwyer called Kelbanov’s 100,000 button raise from the small blind and check-called 1,250,000 on the K23 flop, 175,000 on the 4 turn before both players check-called the 9 river.
Klebanov: Q5
O’Dwyer: A4
O’Dwyer took the pot with a pair of fours to chip up to 2,000,000, increasingly a threat at this final table.
“You didn’t want to try and win that hand?” asked O’Dwyer who refused to answer whether he would have called a third bullet or not. — RD
1.08pm: Miroslav Benes out in 8th (£64,000)
He came to the final table as the short-stack, and despite some heroic all-ins Miroslav Benes is now out.
Benny Spindler raised to 100,000 and Benes shoved for 560,000. Call. Benes had 99 and was up against the German’s KQ. The race was on, but it didn’t last long as the flop came K2[10h] to shoot Spindler into the lead. It got worse for Benes as the turn was K and river 2 to make Spindler’s full house.
Spindler is now up to more than 4 million and we’re down to seven players. — SY
1.05pm: Benes gets another one through
Miroslav Benes gets another shove through and is up to around 575,000. He still needs a double but if he does so now he’ll be well back into this final table. — RD
1.03pm: Pastor aggression
Mattias Bergstrom raised to 110,000 and it was folded around to Team PokerStars Pro Juan Manuel Pastor on the button, who called. The blinds got out of the way and the two of them saw a 3Q5 flop.
Bergstrom eyed-up Pastor and bet 150,000. The Spaniard, however, seemed to have hit something, raising up to 395,000. That was too much for the Swede, and Pastor picked up the pot. — SY
12.59pm: O’Dwyer all-in
Andre Klebanov raised to 105,000 but faced a swift all-in shove from Steve O’Dwyer in the next seat. The bet was around 1.2million and Klebanov thought better of it. He passed. — SY
12.56pm: Pastor folds to Benes shove
Miroslav Benes just managed to pick up the blinds after shoving into Juan Manuel Pastor’s big blind. The Spanish player must have had some serious rags to make the call there – Benes’ shove was for around 330,000. Vital pick up for Benes. — RD
12.46pm: Klebanov takes it from Spindler
Andre Klebanov has won a small on from Benny Spindler, who had opened for 100,000. Klebanov led 100,000 into the turn and 260,000 into the river of a A2Q5J board to win the pot with a fold. — RD
12.46pm: Bergstrom first blood
Mattias Bergstrom has won the first pot after raising to 110,000 and firing the 92K flop into Andre Klebanov who had defended from the blinds. Miroslac Benes passed and realistically he has to get his chips in this orbit. — RD
12.45pm: And we’re off
A little later than planned, but the final table is under way. The button is on short-stack Miroslav Benes, which will come as a relief to him, seeing as he now has a few hands before having to invest a chunk of his 370,000 in the blinds. — SY
12.35pm: In their seats, on their marks…
We’re seeing Benny Spindler’s face on the monitor in the press room. Now Andre Klebanov’s. The players are getting seated, play should start soon. Miroslav Benes the man that has to move.
Seat 1: Miroslav Benes, PokerStars online qualifier, 370,000
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 2,30,000
Seat 3: Stephen O’Dwyer, 1,250,000
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, Team PokerStars Pro, 1,915,000
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, PokerStars player, 3,435,000
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 2,685,000
Seat 7: Martins Adeniya, 4,736,000
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstrom, 3,620,000
We’re not sure where the button will be starting but it will dictate how many hands Benes has before he has to get it in. I think Benes may start with the button on seat one. — RD
12.30pm: Mission Impossible?
Miroslav Benes is watching the TV table being set up, a takeaway cup of coffee in his hand and a look of nervous excitement on his face. The Czech recreational player starts today as the short stack with just seven-and-a-half big blinds (370,000) and is some distance from the rest of the pack.
“I have five or six hands to do something. Every day I’ve been a short stack and every morning I’ve told myself it’s like Mission Impossible,” said Benes knowing full well that he’s going to need a bit of luck not to take the 8th place finish for £64,000.
The Czech has made it through every day and is just a couple of double up away from doing the impossible yet again. Good luck to the online qualifier. — RD
12.10pm: Getting ready for the off
Juan Manuel Pastor is sat on the floor by the TV table. Is this some kind of protest? No, it’s Neil Stoddart arranging the players for some arty final table shots. That also means our final table is just minutes away. Ready the cards, grab the rail and gird your loins… we’re going in. — RD
11.45am: As Bill Withers would say… a lovely day
Morning, campers. What a glorious day it is in London; the sun is shining, birds are singing in the concrete jungle trees, and people everywhere have smiles as wide as the Hammersmith flyover. So it is with great joy that I…. oh, to heck with it. Best to be honest, my mother always said. Today, myself and I suspect many media colleagues are putting on a brave face. You see, last night was the PokerStars party, and when PokerStars throws a party, one tends to feel a little ‘delicate’ next day.
But what a night! Poker celebs, free booze, a magician, juggler, free booze, sweets (mmm, the sweets), dancing, free booze – all at the fine night spot that is Kensington Roof Gardens. Needless to say, it went off with a bang. I, of course, was there purely in a working capacity. Any headache or slight wooziness this morning is absolutely down to a slight cold coming on. Or something like that.
Anyway, the party brought to a close a wonderful week of poker at EPT London, save for the final events today. The final of £20,000 High Roller (which, incidentally, was probably the size of the bar bill for one of my colleagues last night) plays out shortly, and you’ll be able to follow coverage of that here. But myself and noble colleague Rick Dacey will be covering the main event final table. Someone is going to finish today £750,000 richer (which, incidentally, should cover a red-haired blogger’s bar bill last night).
Eight are in contention, and you can see their profiles here. We are supposed to kick-off at noon, but I suspect we’ll be a little delayed while interviews and photos are completed. And that’s a good thing: we may be a little more awake by then.
While you wait for the show to begin, why not have a peep at what was going on at the PokerStars party last night? I remember it all. Honest. — SY
PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of post-party appearance this morning): Simon Young (brave face) and Rick Dacey (braver face).
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
Here are the full profiles for each of our EPT London Main Event final tables players. One of these eight players will be leaving London with £750,000 and a highly coveted EPT title, but that’s not say that the other seven will leave empty handed.
Check out the payouts by clicking here.
Seat 1: Miroslav Benes, 32, Czech Republic – PokerStars qualifier – 370,000
There’s one at most EPT final tables, an online qualifier that had dreamt of making it to the final table but hadn’t actually thought it would happen; Miroslav Benes assumes that mantle at EPT London. Benes, who owns a company that produces tools for fixing machines, is a keen recreational player who focuses on online tournaments. Given the field he’s had to navigate to make it this far, it seems that his leisure time has been well spent.
He’s only had one significant live cash – sixth in the PokerStars Prague Open in 2010, so what does it feel like to have made the final table of an EPT? “It feels like a big success already because I qualified online. I just came here with my girlfriend for the trip, I didn’t think I’d make it this far.”
Benes may be starting the final as a short stack, just seven-and-a-half big blinds, but the online qualifier literally has nothing to lose. He’s already guaranteed himself £64,000 and an early double up or two will put him back in with a chance for a six-figure score.
Seat 2: Andre Klebanov, 21, Chemnitz, Germany / Belarus – 2,730,000
Klebanov started playing poker online when he was 18 first blooding himself on the sit-and-gos, as many players do, but later started playing multi-table tournaments – and it seems that move is working out for him here in London. This main event is the second that he’s entered and the German-Belarusian thought that it might be another early bust out, he was down to 4,000 chips in the second level of the tournament.
But, much to his relief, he rallied away from an early departure and now guaranteed himself a minimum £64,000 payday. Klebanov holds dual nationality – he was born in Belarus but he now lives in East Germany. He said he’d buy a kangeroo if he wins. Okay, perhaps we made that up.
Seat 3: Steve O’Dwyer, 29, Pennsylvania, USA – 1,250,000
Steve O’Dwyer hails from the United States originally, but recently relocated to Malta in order to be able to play online poker again. As well as thriving online, O’Dwyer – who studied communications and broadcasting at East Carolina University – also does pretty well for himself in the live poker realm. His first cash was in 2007 when he made the money at the PCA. In December 2009, O’Dwyer earned his largest live score to date after placing sixth in the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for over $200,000. Earlier this year, O’Dwyer tasted victory after winning a $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Bellagio Cup VII in Las Vegas for $259,452. A month later in August, he won the Epic Poker League’s $1,500 Pro-Am event for $43,810. At the last EPT stop, O’Dwyer finished fifth in the €10,000 High Roller for €46,900. His total lifetime tournament earnings amount to over $1.1 million.
Seat 4: Juan Manuel Pastor, 44, Madrid, Spain – Team PokerStars Pro – 1,915,000
Pastor started out in media marketing before focusing on playing poker. He learnt the basics of the game from his grandfather, but what started out as a fun pastime soon turned into a serious money-making opportunity and he is now one of the most successful Spanish players on the circuit as well as an acclaimed poker commentator and broadcaster.
Pastor’s first real break was two top eight finishes in Barcelona at the 2006 World Heads-Up Poker Championships. He also thrived in regional poker events in the Campeonato Espana de Poker including taking down a $600 NL tournament in 2008 for €22,200. He has also had several deep runs at EPTs, including 54th place at the Season 6 Grand Final for €30,000. Overall, Pastor has earned nearly $220,000 in live tournament winnings. His most recent cash was ten days ago when he bubbled the final table of the PokerStars Estrellas Ibiza event for €7,450. Pastor is married with two sons and a daughter.
Seat 5: Benny Spindler, 26, Darmstadt, Germany – PokerStars player – 3,435,000
This is Spindler’s second deep run in the EPT London Main Event – he finished 12th here two years ago for £28,000. That result followed his biggest ever cash – and his first brush with fame – when he came third at the 2009 PCA for $1.1 million. Spindler’s other huge result was second place in last season’s EPT Grand Final High Roller for €316,000 (the event won by Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier). Despite all these great results however, Spindler is planning to ease up on live events for a while and concentrate on playing online Pot Limit Omaha. He took up poker in 2006, starting in the micro limits before grinding his way right up to the high stakes cash games. Originally from Darmstadt in Germany, Spindler has been living in London for the last year. He said: “I like London and a lot of my friends live here … like Sebastian Ruthenberg, Philip Gruissem, Tobias Reinkemeier and Fabian Quoss”.
Seat 6: Kevin Iacofano, 26, Cleveland, Ohio, USA – 2,685,000
Originally from Cleveland, Iacofano moved to Las Vegas in 2007 in order to pursue a career as a poker professional. He is considered one of the best online poker players in the world but is here in London making his second EPT final table. Back in February, Iacofano final tabled Season 7’s Copenhagen stop, eventually finishing in fourth place for $183,580. That was also his last EPT so he is effectively on back-to-back final tables. His other notably big cash was making the final of a 2009 WSOP $1,500 PLO event. He finished third for $96,128. Heading into this final table, Iacofano has $439,766 in live tournament winnings. Online, Iacofano holds over $875,000 in winnings on PokerStars and one WCOOP bracelet coming in 2009 when he won Event No. 8 for $64,000. Iacofano is an avid sports fan, following the Cleveland Browns, Cavaliers and Indians. He’s also a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Seat 7: Martins Adeniya, 26, London, UK – 4,736,000
Londoner Martins Adeniya turned pro three years ago after leaving a high-paying job at Lloyd’s insurance. He had tried working during the day and grinding online at night but soon found he was earning far more as a player. A deep run in a 2009 online tourney cemented his decision to turn pro and gave him enough of a bankroll to start playing live events and cash games. The switch has turned out to be a good one: to date, Adeniya, who graduated in business administration, has earned more than $250k live and even more online.
He first came to media attention when he was the overnight Day 1a chip leader at last season’s EPT Snowfest in Austria. He ended up finishing 15th in that event for €11,495. His biggest result to date was 13th place in the 2010 WSOP $25k NL Six Max event for $58,699 and two weeks later bubbling the final of the $2,500 NL Six Max for $40,547. He was also runner-up in the $500 Venetian Deep Stack event in May 2010 and min-cashed the 2009 WSOP Main Event. Adeniya loves the travel element of playing live tourneys, seeing new sights and experiencing new cultures.
Seat 8: Mattias Bergstr̦m, 24, Stockholm, Sweden Р3,620,000
High Stakes cash game player Mattias Bergström, also called Bettan by his friends, is 24 years old and comes from Stockholm. He started playing poker back in high school after watching the EPT on TV. He’s been around on the EPT tour for years now and has played about ten events before this one. This is his first cash in a big international tournament. His biggest tournament winning prior to this was the Swedish Championship in 2009 where he finished fifth for around $40 000. Here in London he’s being supported by his friends Joel Nordkvist, Gustav Sundell and Ramzi Jelassi among others.
This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.
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