Today marks the third and final day of the 2012 PokerStars.com EPT Sanremo €10,000 High Roller. Just seven players remain, and all are vying for the €288,000 top prize, along with the magnificent Shamballa Jewels bracelet valued at €5,000.
Leading the way is Joel Nordkvist with 1.205 million in chips. That's nearly 400,000 chips more than Benny Spindler's second-place stack of 844,000. Keven Stammen, Philipp Gruissem, Joseph Cheong, Igor Kurganov and Kent Roed round out the rest of the crew, and you can see their seating assignments and stacks below.
EPT Sanremo High Roller Final Table
Seat
Player
Chips
1
Kent Roed
317,000
2
Benny Spindler
844,000
3
Joseph Cheong
392,000
4
Joel Nordkvist
1,205,000
5
Keven Stammen
744,000
6
Igor Kurganov
318,000
7
Philipp Gruissem
460,000
Everyone left is guaranteed at least €32,900, but there is plenty to play. Gruissem will not only be playing to win the most money, but he's also in line to win his third EPT High Roller title. Kurganov and Spindler are looking for their second.
PLay kicks off at 2:00 PM local time, so stay tuned right here to PokerNews for all the live coverage coming to you shortly.
It was only the third hand of the day and we already have the first elimination. Yesterday, with just two hands to go until the end of the day Igor Yaroshevskyy got busted in 8th place and today another Igor went home early.
Benny Spindler raised to 42,000 on the button before the flop and Igor Kurganov three-bet all in for 318,000. Spindler made the call and they went for a showdown.
Kurganov:
Spindler
The flop went Qh} pairing Kurganov's jack, but also giving Spindler a set of queens. The on the turn gave Kurganov hope to turn his two pair into a full house or hit a diamond for a flush. However, the on the river was not what Kurganov needed and he was eliminated from the tournament in 7th place. He will collect a cash prize of €32,900.
Philipp Gruissem opened with a raise to 32,000 from under the gun and Kent Roed called in the hijack seat. Joseph Cheong then moved all in from the button for 364,000 and Gruissem went all in as well, only he had around 200,000 in his stack. Roed got out of the way and the two went for a showdown.
Cheong:
Gruissem:
Gruissem was behind and needed help from the board to save his tournament life. The flop ran reducing Gruissem's chances even more. The on the turn left him with almost no hope while the on the river gave a set for Cheong and eliminated Gruissem in 6th place for €41,200.
Kent Roed raised to 54,000 from the big blind and Benny Spindler made the call from under the gun. Joel Nordkvist on the button called as well and the three saw the come on the flop.
Roed bet 113,000 and Spindler folded his hand. Nordkvist asked how much did Roed had left in his stack and the answer was 96,000. Nordkvist then shoved all in and Roed made the call.
Nordkvist:
Roed:
Nordkvist was in fron with a pair of jacks while Roed was down to just two outs. The on the turn and the on the river bricked and Roed hit the rail in 5th place for €57,600.
From the button, Benny Spindler raised to 40,000. Joseph Cheong reraised all in from the small blind for 213,000, then Joel Nordkvist took a minute to think in the big blind. He eventually folded, then Spindler made the call after thinking for a minute himself.
Spindler showed the and was up against the for Cheong.
On the flop, Spindler took the lead when the fell. The turn was the and gave Cheong a straight draw. The river couldn't do it for him, though, when the landed, and Cheong was eliminated.
After the hand, Spindler and Nordkvist chatted a little about the hand, and Nordkvist said he folded pocket sevens.
Just two hands after Joseph Cheong was eliminated in third place, Joel Nordkvist was all in and at risk against Benny Spindler.
Keven Stammen raised to 45,000 on the button, and Spindler reraised to 125,000 from the small blind. Nordkvist was in the big blind, and he moved all in for around 850,000. Stammen folded, and Spindler called.
Spindler held the to dominate Nordkvist's . On the flop, the fell, and Spindler maintained his lead.
The turn was the the the river the , both missing Nordkvist and sending him to the rail in third place.
Just when it all seemed to be inches away from the end, the club on the turn made all the difference.
Benny Spindler raised to 48,000 before the flop and Keven Stammen made the call. The flop went and Stammen checked. Spindler bet 50,000 and Stammen raised to 130,000. Then Spindler three-bet to 250,000 and Stammen four bet all in for 810,000. Spindler made the call and both players opened their cards.
Spindler:
Stammen:
Spindler flopped a set while Stammen showed a flush draw and a straight draw. The dealer flipped the on the turn and Stammen hit the flush. The bricked on the river and Stammen doubled up to 1,7 million.
He went from almost nothing to a monster chip lead and then back again. Keven Stammen's heads-up performance was impressive, but it finally ended with Benny Spindler's pocket aces crushing Stammen's pocket sevens.
Spinlder raised to 100,000 before the flop and Stammen three-bet all in. Spindler snap called and flipped the best starting hand.
Spindler:
Stammen:
Stammen needed the two remaining sevens in the deck to hit the board, but none of them came on the flop as the dealer opened . The turn brought and Stammen got up from his seat to congratulate his opponent. The on the river didn't change anything and Keven Stammen finished the tournament in second place and will collect €200,000 in prize money.
The 2012 PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Sanremo €10,000 High Roller has wrapped up, and emerging victorious was Benny Spindler to add to his EPT trophy case.
This victory marks Spindler's second EPT High Roller title, and third EPT title. He won the EPT Tallinn High Roller in 2011, and he also won the EPT London Main Event that same year. To claim this title, Spindler had to defeat a very tough final table, and endure a five-hour heads-up match with second-place finisher Keven Stammen.
Spindler began the day second in chips to Joel Nordkvist, but the Swede wound up finishing in third place. When the final duel began, Spindler held the chip lead with 3.409 million in chips to Stammen's 791,000.
After some battling back from Stammen, followed by a double up, the two were much closer to even and talks of a deal surfaced. After some jockeying of the numbers, the two agreed to do a deal where Spindler would take €223,000, Stammen would take €200,000, and then there was €30,000 left for the winner. Well, that winner wound up being Spindler to give him a total score of €253,000.
On the final hand, Stammen moved all in with the — a very good hand for heads-up play — but Spindler had picked up the mother of all hands with the . He even had Stammen's suits dominated. The board ran out to eliminate Stammen and give Spindler the title.
For his win, Spindler earned €253,000, the gorgeous trophy and the magnificent Shamballa Jewells bracelet.
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on the turn gave Kurganov hope to turn his two pair into a full house or hit a diamond for a flush. However, the 
on the river was not what Kurganov needed and he was eliminated from the tournament in 7th place. He will collect a cash prize of €32,900.
reducing Gruissem's chances even more. The 
on the turn left him with almost no hope while the 
on the river gave a set for Cheong and eliminated Gruissem in 6th place for €41,200.
come on the flop.
on the turn and the 
and was up against the 
for Cheong.
fell. The turn was the 
and gave Cheong a straight draw. The river couldn't do it for him, though, when the 
landed, and Cheong was eliminated.
. On the flop, the 
the the river the 
and Stammen checked. Spindler bet 50,000 and Stammen raised to 130,000. Then Spindler three-bet to 250,000 and Stammen four bet all in for 810,000. Spindler made the call and both players opened their cards.
on the turn and Stammen hit the flush. The 
bricked on the river and Stammen doubled up to 1,7 million.
. Both players checked.
