Barring the ongoing High Rollers event, the EPT season has come to an end, and we have ourselves a brand new EPT champion.
Nicolas Chouity came into this final table with around 40% of the chips in play and never once lost the chip lead in what may be the most one-sided final table battle in EPT history. The online qualifier takes home to Lebanon not only the trophy and the €1.7 million prize money, but also the knowledge that he bested one of the toughest tournament fields ever assembled to win the title of 2010 EPT Grand Final champion.
Chouity is no stranger to winning tournaments, having enjoyed very considerable success in online No Limit Hold'em tournaments for some time now, but his largest live cash to date was right here in Monte Carlo at last year's EPT Grand Final where he came 50th for €31,000. This win blows that out of the water, and we think it's safe to say that we'll be seeing a lot more of Mr. Chouity on the tournament circuit next season.
As Chouity raises his hard-won trophy above his head and his considerable crowd of supporters at the rail cheer ecstatically and wave a Lebanese flag behind him, it's time for us to wave goodbye to Monte Carlo and to EPT Season 6 as a whole. New champions have been crowned, fortunes have been won by some and lost by others - but win or lose, it has been an extraordinary year for live poker and one that PokerStars and the EPT will be looking to improve upon even further next season.
The EPT has already announced that its next stop will be a new one, Tallinn, Estonia in August. We will be back on the EPT poker trail then, and of course will be back here tomorrow for the High Rollers final table, but other than that, this EPT Season - c'est fini. Until Season 7, from all of us here in Monte Carlo, it's over and out.
Josef Klinger raised his button to 450,000 and Nicolas Chouity made the call to see an flop. Chouity check-called 600,000 from Klinger before both players checked the on the turn. They saw a river too and Chouity checked again before calling 900,000 from Klinger. Both players turned over an ace, but Klinger's kicker played against Chouity's , and Klinger took the pot.
Nicolas Chouity raised to 325,000 and Josef Klinger called.
The flop was , Klinger checked and Chouity bet 425,000. Klinger moved all-in and Chouity called instantly.
Klinger:
Chouity:
Klinger was ahead but there were split options, the meant Chouity had outs for a split and the river was the . The Chouity fans cheered just for the fact their man had escaped with a chopped pot as Klinger looked very disappointed.
It was passed to Nicolas Chouity in the small blind.
"How much do you have?" he asked Dominykas Karmazinas.
"2.7 million," came the reply from the Lithuanian.
"Ok, I'm all-in," said Chouity.
Karmazinas looked at his cards and sighed for a second before calling.
Karmazinas:
Chouity:
Chouity did not like the flop and it was looking like Karmazinas' kicker might play but suddenly the came on the turn and Chouity celebrated with his fans. He still had to avoid a four or a seven on the river though and the came instead.
Karmazinas, for his five days of effort, receives €700,000, the biggest pay out of his young life.
Chouity starts the heads-up with 21,465,000 against Josef Klinger's 4,025,000.
Wow, someone had some raising juice with their dinner.
Josef Klinger made it 380,000 from the button, but Nicolas Chouity made it 1.2 million to go from the small blind. Both big blind Dominykas Karmazinas and raiser Klinger folded, and Chouity once again took the pot.
By the by every hand that is won by Chouity is accompanied by raucous applause from his rail, and a chant of, "Oleeee, ole ole ole, Nicolaaaaaas, Nicolaaaaaaas!" It's like a Chouity party in here at the moment.
Nicolas Chouity continues to hold dominance as we come back. He has more chips still than the other two combined and continues to add to his stack.
First he fired a bet in an unraised pot blind on blind against Dominykas Karmazinas on a board to win one pot. Then he raised from the button and fired a flop bet of 300,000 on a board to push Josef Klinger off his hand.
The two shorter stacks are getting pushed around early on.