Shiina Okamoto Continues Hot Streak with EPT Barcelona Women's Event Victory
If the poker world didn't know already, they certainly do now. There's no Women's Event safe from Shiina Okamoto!
Fresh from a third-place finish in the PokerStars Women's Summer Festival High Roller earlier this month, Okamoto has been in Barcelona all this week looking to add to the four cashes she recorded at the festival last year.
And after cashing the PokerStars Open Main Event for €3,360, her next cash was a win.
Okamoto Tops 126-Player Field
Just ten players returned for Day 2 of the Women's Event after the likes of Ivonne Montealegre (13th - €1,250) and Juliane Papazian (11th - €1,440) cashed in the 126-player field.
Okamoto came into the final day's play as chip leader, and dominated proceedings as the likes of Cecile Ticherfatine, who sits third in the GPI Female POY standings, hit the rail.
Once play reached three-handed, Okamoto was battling against Scarlett Hostein and Marina Mendy, both from France. With play dead even, Okamoto rivered a straight to eliminated Hostein to reach heads-up but fell behind to Mendy during heads-up play.
After Mendy limped, Okamoto jammed with 9♠8♣ and was called by the A♣2♣ of Mendy. The 6♥4♦3♦10♠7♦ saw Okamoto river a straight to stay alive, and would go on to take down the tournament and €15,510 in prize money.
EPT Barcelona Women's Event Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shiina Okamoto | Japan | € 15,510 |
| 2 | Marina Mendy | France | € 9,700 |
| 3 | Scarlett Hostein | France | € 6,930 |
| 4 | Sylwia Studniarz | Poland | € 5,330 |
| 5 | Linda Kinhult | Sweden | € 4,100 |
| 6 | Oleksandra Khamidova | Ukraine | € 3,150 |
| 7 | Cecile Ticherfatine | France | € 2,490 |
| 8 | Migle Kriksciunaite | Lithuania | € 2,080 |
| 9 | Iryna Tsikhanskaya | Belarus | € 1,730 |
"European players are just very professional, and their way of playing is very polite"
Earlier this month, Okamoto told PokerNews how much she enjoyed playing against European opponents at the live felt.
"European players are just very professional, and their way of playing is very polite," she said in an interview. "When I go to EPTs, players don't talk that much. I think that's because they're just here to play poker. So I do like casual atmospheres, but I also like the serious atmosphere as well."
