The Estonian Heater: Ladva Chases National #1 Spot After Paris SHR Win
Winning four Estonian Chess Championships just wasn't enough for Ottomar Ladva. He had already grabbed the EPT Barcelona €25,000 High Roller title two years ago, winning over €400,000.
But now he's notched another huge victory in his blossoming poker career, defeating 2025 GPI Player of the Year Punnat Punsri heads-up to win the EPT Paris €100,000 Super High Roller for €970,920.
The victory comes just three weeks after he triumphed in the Onyx High Roller Series Main Event, where he took home $1,150,000. These victories have seen him close the gap to Vladimir Korzinin at the top of Estonia's all-time money list.
EPT Paris €100,000 Super High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottomar Ladva | Estonia | €970,920 |
| 2 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | €609,600 |
| 3 | Teun Mulder | Netherlands | €406,400 |
| 4 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | €271,000 |
Super High Roller Recap
Just ten players advanced to the final day's play, with Orpen Kisacikoglu leading from Jean-Noel Thorel. The field swelled as several new faces took to the field for the first time, with Bryn Kenney, Brandon Wilson and Thomas Eychenne all entering. Last year's GPI Player of the Year Punnat Punsri also jumped in, with the field topping out at two dozen entries.
The first three would make early exits, with Thorel taking over at the top of the counts and leading when the final table of eight was reached.
It was the Frenchman at the head of proceedings, but he wasn't responsible for the bubble bursting. That duty went to Teun Mulder, who picked up A♠K♣ to eliminate Kayhan Mokri who held A♦Q♥. The board ran out J♣8♥4♦2♠8♠ and Mokri won't be adding to a stellar 2025 that saw him cash for over $13 million.
Despite Thorel holding the chip lead for most of the day, he would fall in fourth place for €271,000. Three-handed, the average stack was around 67 big blinds, with play continuing into the small hours of the morning.
Play reached heads-up at around 10 p.m. on Sunday evening, with the elimination of Mulder, but a winner wasn't crowned until after 3 a.m.
Punsri and Ladva would battle for over five-and-a-half hours of swingy heads-up play, with both players at one point recovering from 5:1 chip deficits. Ladva eventually overcame Punsri to take the title, the second-biggest cash of his career and a fourth PokerStars Spadie.
