2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura

Vilamoura Championship Main Event
Day: 5
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Event Info

2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
7♦8♣
Prize
€404,793
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€1,561,700
Entries
322
Level Info
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
5,000

The Last and Final Table

[user66118]
[user66118]
We're down to just eight players at the inaugural PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura, and we're almost set for the final table! Sometime this evening, one of the remaining men will walk away with more than €400,000 and their first EPT title. Here's how the table is set up:

1) Ryan Franklin - 1,047,000
2) Jan Skampa - 926,000
3) Jeff Sarwer - 1,983,000
4) Antonio Matias - 3,003,000
5) Andrei Vlasenko - 371,000
6) Joao Silva - 780,000
7) Michel Abecassis - 488,000
8) Pierre Neuville - 1,027,000

We're scheduled for a noon kickoff -- just about a half hour from now. Sit tight; we'll be back soon with the action!

Seat 1: Ryan Franklin, 18, Lake Tahoe, USA - PokerStars player - 1,047,000 chips

[user46392]
[user46392]
Despite living in the one of the best casino destinations in the world, Ryan is still way too young to play in his home town and has had to come all the way to Portugal to play in his first live tournament. Since turning 18, Ryan has been playing a lot online, and has had some outstanding results including $94k for second place in a $750k guaranteed event, and $71k for winning a $200k rebuy event last month. Ryan, who just graduated from high school, is now taking a year off to focus on poker before going to university next year. He said he was "super-excited" to have made a final table in his very first live event.

Seat 2: Jan Skampa, 23, Prague, Czech Republic - 926,000 chips

[user46392]
[user46392]
Jan Skampa is an Economics Student at Charles's University in his home town of Prague but spends most of his time as a poker player. The 23-year-old has been playing poker for five years, now having learned the game from friends, but he's been playing seriously for just three years, scoring his first big result in August at the WPT in Slovakia, $24,508 for eighth place. He followed that with a win a month later, $24,881 at a WPT side event in Cyprus. His progress this week hasn't always been straight forward. He finished well on day one but ended day two as one of the short stacks. But on day three he was able to turn things around with some good cards and good situations, and by making the final table in Vilamoura he's already guaranteed the biggest pay day of his career.

Seat 3; Jeff Sarwer, 31, Kingston, Ontario, Canada - 1,983,000 chips

[user46392]
[user46392]
Sarwer has gone deep in two EPTs back to back. He was disappointed to bubble the final table at EPT Warsaw last month, finishing tenth for PLN 85,870 (approx €30,705) and was determined not to make the same mistake this time around. However he played steadily throughout Day 4 and goes into tomorrow's final in second place with 1,983,000 in chips. Like Team PokerStars Pro Ylon Schwartz, Sarwer is one of several players who have made the successful switch from chess to poker. Now 31, he learned chess at the age of four and one of his matches was the inspiration for the climax in the film Searching for Bobby Fischer. He has been playing poker seriously for around a year and cashed at EPT Prague last year. For the last three years, he has been living in Gdansk, Poland, and is a fluent Polish speaker.

Seat 4: Antonio Matias, 54, Setubal, near Lisbon, Portugal - 3,003,000 chips

[user46392]
[user46392]
António Matias couldn't have hoped for a better experience at his very first EPT. The 54-year-old Portuguese businessman usually plays cash games but didn't want to miss the first EPT in his home country. He is thrilled to have reached his first final table in a live tournament, even though he admits that he almost never plays live. He said: "I'm an economist and the General Director of a travelling agency. Poker is really just a hobby for me as my work means I spend a lot of time abroad - in Luanda, Angola - or I'm at home in Setúbal with my wife and two daughters. "No Limit Hold'em is my beach", says Matias, who also likes watching football in his free time and is a keen supporter of Benfica, one of the top three teams in Portugal.

Seat 5: Andrei Vlasenko, 45, Moscow, Russia - 371,000 chips

[user46392]
[user46392]
Andrei has only been playing poker for a year and says this is by far his best result so far. The 45-year-old businessman originally hails from Moscow in Russia but has been living in Marbella on Spain's Costa del Sol for the last 11 years where he works in real estate. He said he is thrilled to have made the EPT Vilamoura final table but reckons his wife Olga will be even more excited than him - "She taught me everything I know," he laughed. Olga has been supporting Andrei at the tournament and also caring for the couple's two-year-old daughter Daria.

Seat 6: João Silva, 27, Lagos, Algarve, Portugal - 780,000 chips

[user46392]
[user46392]
Even though there is another Portuguese player at the final, it's João Silva is the one who can really say he is playing at home. The 27-year-old pro has come to his first EPT from Lagos, a small city in the Algarve region around half an hour from Vilamoura. Only 14 months ago he quit his job as an IT consultant to dedicate himself 100% to poker. He says he prefers playing cash but his tournament results this year are pretty impressive. He has already made more than €32,000 in four live tournaments since August, including three final tables and a first place in Casino Estoril. When he is not playing poker, he loves to go to the Algarve's beaches and kite surf. Even though he is far away from the chip lead, he assures that he has only one goal in EPT Vilamoura: "to win it!" He also plans to attend other EPTs.

Seat 7: Michel Abecassis, 57, Paris, France - 488,000 chips

[user46392]
[user46392]
Before becoming one of the best-known faces of French poker, Michel Abécassis embraced many different careers. He originally studied to become a doctor but, despite qualifying, he quickly set aside his stethoscope to become one of the best bridge players in the world. After 13 French Champion titles and two European titles, Michel decided he had to find more lucrative employment. He became a journalist, snagging a job at the French magazine Elle where he swiftly became chief editor. In 1997, Michel discovered poker and thus began another career, his most successful to this date. He has five titles in French tournaments, two WSOP final tables and one WCOOP PLO title from 2002. Despite playing many EPTs, this is Michel's first EPT final table - he came tenth in London in 2006 and 21st in Warsaw last month.

Seat 8: Pierre Neuville, 67, Knokke, Belgium - PokerStars player - 1,027,000 chips

[user46392]
[user46392]
Pierre started playing poker 50 years ago at university when he and his fellow students used to play every day. He then took 25 years off while working at Hasbro where he eventually became Vice President. Once he retired two years ago, he decided to follow his dream of playing poker around the world. He took his wife to the PCA in the Bahamas in 2008 and finished 18th place, scuppering his wife's doubts that he could compete against world-class players. The following season he did even better and, although hugely disappointed to bubble the final table, he took ninth place at EPT5 San Remo for €78,800. He believes making the final here in Portugal has a lot to do with being better prepared. Up against younger players, Pierre tries to give himself an edge by making sure that he is fit and also by planning scenarios ahead of time. Pierre has had tons of support from the Belgian poker community and woke up this morning to a barrage of emails from fans. He feels he is proving that 'older' players can handle the modern game against young aggressive players.
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