Valeriy Pak Wins $338,460 and the Eureka High Roller Trophy After 17 Hour Poker Session

October 17, 2023

There has been another winner crowned at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus, as the $2,200 Eureka High Roller has come to its conclusion following a three-way deal involving Valeriy Pak, Takahiro Tsugu and Alexander van der Swaluw. Pak then won the flip for the trophy to be confirmed as the overall winner.

Pak took home $338,460, while Tsugu and Van Der Swaluw locked up $300,000 and $292,320 respectively in a day that lasted nearly 17 hours.

Day 2 began with 216 players, from an initial 1,444 entries, who were already in the money and featured notable names such as EPT Main Event winners Anton Wigg (49th - $7,775), Piotr Nurzynski (146th - $3,850) and Tom Middleton (102nd - $4,425).

EPT Cyprus $2,200 Eureka High Roller Final Table Results

_{*Denotes ICM deal}

Day 2 Recap

Maximilian Silz and PokerStars ambassador Alejandro Lococo came into the day as the chip leaders after topping the field on Day 1a and 1b, respectively. Lococo had a premature exit and bowed out in 103rd place for $5,100. Silz put in a deeper run before being ousted in 29th place for $10,275.

The field was whittled down to the final table of nine players after 13 hours of play. Luke Martinelli’s (10th - $32,000) ace-three outflopped Wael Sarkis’ ace-jack, but a jack on the turn and a brick on the river marked the end of the Australian’s journey.

The chips were then passed around the table with several double-ups taking place, which included aces being cracked in consecutive hands to prolong nine-handed play.

After 90 minutes of the final table, someone had to be the first to exit, and that player was Baurzhan Akimov. He ran king-ten into ace-king and couldn't connect on the runout. Akimov collected $41,575, which marked his biggest ever live cash, taking him over the $100,000 mark in live tournament earnings.

Aziz Efe was next to go. He was reduced to crumbs after doubling up Sarkis and was finished off by Pak. Like Akimov, Efe’s payday of $54,075 also gave him his biggest-ever tournament score.

Pak then claimed his second elimination in quick succession as his pocket jacks remained best against Sarkis’ pocket nines. Sarkis banked $69,925 and secured a career milestone of passing $1 million in live earnings.

It was then Guillermo Gordo’s turn to book his best-ever tournament payout, which netted him $90,875. His sixth-place finish came at the hands of Joris Ruijs. Shortly after, David Karsenty jammed into ace-king with suited connectors but failed to leapfrog the big slick and was ousted to set up four-handed play.

Pak began to pull away, but Van Der Swaluw and Rouijs doubled through him in back-to-back hands to halt his domination. Van Der Swaluw then claimed the rest of Rouij's chips after he rivered a full house to bust his compatriot.

The three remaining players quickly came to an ICM deal and decided to flip for the trophy. Still the chip leader, Pak flopped trip queens to seal the victory.

Editor & Live Reporter

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum's proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.

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