Andras Nemeth Wins EPT Barcelona €25K Single-Day HR for €605,600
After nearly 12 hours of high-quality poker Andras Nemeth came through 95 entrants to take down the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona €25,000 Single-Day High Roller for €605,600 in an event that will be remembered for its final hand.
Nemeth was one of a group of players at the final table who had to sit and wait patiently for their spots with the eventual third-place finisher Matthias Eibinger using his commanding chip lead to dictate the action.
But when Eibinger finally lost the lead, the momentum changed as Nemeth, alongside Wai Leong Chan, progressed to a final duel that would not disappoint, as Nemeth came from behind to seal victory on the river against Chan's pocket aces.
Final Result €25,000 Single-Day High Roller
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andras Nemeth | Hungary | €605,600 |
| 2 | Wai Leong Chan | Malaysia | €420,800 |
| 3 | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | €278,280 |
| 4 | Byron Kaverman | United States | €217,820 |
| 5 | Chin Wei Lim | Malaysia | €175,600 |
| 6 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | €136,860 |
| 7 | Michel Dattani | Portugal | €108,350 |
| 8 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russia | €84,400 |
| 9 | Sean Winter | United States | €63,900 |
Action of the day
The High Roller events at the 2018 PokerStars EPT Barcelona have been hugely popular with the world's best players making their way to the Casino Barcelona over the past ten days, and today's event was no different.
Players such as Michael Dyer, Stephen Chidwick, Bryn Kenney, Luc and Sam Greenwood, Nick Petrangelo, Patrik Antonius, Dan Shak, Timothy Adams, Alex Foxen, Ryan Riess, Mikita Badziakouski, and PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu all joined in on the day's action but were unable to make a run into the money spots.
When the money bubble finally arrived for the remaining 14 players, with only 13 spots paid, the play became tense, and the bubble level had to be extended as the short stacks were determined to hang about. Salman Behbehani twice doubled, as did Michel Dattani, and would-be champion Nemeth won a vital flip against Pascal Lefrancois with ace-ten before a hand that burst the bubble spectacularly.
Juan Pardo Dominguez, who was sat comfortably in the middle pack of chip stacks, limped from the hijack for 30,000 and when the action was on chip leader Matthias Eibinger in the small blind, he put full pressure on Pardo Dominguez by raising enough to out the Spaniard all in. But Pardo Dominguez had trapped Eibinger and snap-called with pocket aces.
Eibinger held ace-eight of clubs and was all set to give up a significant portion of his stack when the flop fell deuce-deuce-six with one club. The turn king of clubs gave Eibinger more outs, and when the five of clubs hit the river, everyone was in shock as Eibinger had stolen the pot with the nut flush and condemned Pardo Dominguez to an exit on the bubble.
The exits then came thick and fast with Seth Davies, Salman Behbehani, Pascal Lefrancois and Dan Smith all cashing before the final table of nine were set.
Sean Winter (9th place - €63,900), Vladimir Troyanovskiy (8th place - €84,400) and Michel Dattani (7th - €108,350) departed before Jean-Noel Thorel, who finished as runner-up in the €50,000 Single-Day High Roller just two days ago, saw his final table run come to a halt when his all in with top pair was called by Chan who held two pair and held to eliminate the Frenchman in sixth place for €136,860.
Chin Wei Lim (5th place - €175,600) and Byron Kaverman (4th place - €217,820) was next to exit before the final three was set.
Eibinger had coasted along nicely with his post-money bubble chip lead but found chips hard to come by as the levels increased and the stacks became shallow. His run came to an end when he shoved jack-ten from the button and ran into Chan's ace-queen in the small blind and wasn't able to survive, which resulted in a second High Roller bronze medal for the Austrian in the space of a week after he took the same finishing position in the €100,000 Super High Roller event.
And despite the heads-up battle turning out to be a short affair, it did not disappoint for the spectators.
Nemeth and Chan traded pots over a series of hands with the chip stacks at a near even match when Nemeth limped on the button only to see Chan raise. Nemeth decided to put full pressure on Chan as he moved all in, but Chan responded with an instant call.
Chan tabled pocket aces, and Nemeth flipped over ace-deuce and was in danger of being left with less than three big blinds. The rail gathered to see the four-five-four flop and Nemeth's friends sensed a potential comeback. The queen turn card put Chan further in the lead and on the verge of sealing the pot, but when the three of clubs rolled off on the river Nemeth had hit his wheel draw, and a stunned Chan could not believe it as Nemeth's rail exploded into celebration.
Just seconds later it was confirmed that Nemeth had Chan covered and it was all over.
The PokerNews live reporting team is still in Barcelona capturing all the poker action from the EPT festival. Check the PokerStars EPT Barcelona Live Reporting for the full list of events.
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