German Claims EPT Polish Open Title

After what turned out to be the longest day of the week for our two finalists, a champion has finally been crowned in amateur poker player Michael Schulze of Schleswig, Germany. Michael started the day as the overall chip leader and only gave away the lead three or four times during his heads-up match against Portuguese high stakes Internet pro Ricardo "Rico Suave" Sousa before eventually reclaiming command of the match and finishing the job. Strictly a recreational poker player, Michael told interviewers that he only plays for fun and that the money, roughly $946,269 USD, won't really affect him all that much.

For Ricardo Sousa, on the other hand, the runner-up finish means the world. The $536,276 that Ricardo won here today catapults him to the top of the Portuguese all-time money list, leaps and bounds beyond his next-closest countryman. Ricardo's result was perhaps just as big for poker in Portugal as it was for the man himself, as the country is currently in the infant stages of its own poker boom.

Congratulations to Ricardo, Michael and all of the Polish Open finalists for their outstanding individual performances. That concludes our coverage of the 2008 PokerStars.net EPT Polish Open. Next up for the PokerNews tournament coverage team: San Remo, Italy, for an April Fool's Day date with Casino San Remo and the EPT.

Until then, from Warsaw, Poland - good night and good luck!

Tags: Michael Schulze