PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Final Day 4 | 2008 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final - Monte Carlo

04-16-2008 19:02 UTC+2

Amit Makhija Eliminated in 20th Place ($73,325)

[user25067]

Denes Kalo opened the pot from early position, Glen Chorny flat-called, Amit Makhija re-raised to 100,000, Kalo folded, Chorny moved all in and Makhija called.

Chorny {Q-Hearts}

Makhija

The flop was {9-Clubs}

, the turn was the {5-Diamonds}

, the river was the {A-Hearts}

, and Chorny's queens held, eliminating Makhija, who also happens to be a close friend of his.

After the hand, Johnny Lodden was spotted muttering to some friends on the rail that he had folded 4-4 and would have flopped a full house.

Tags: Amit Makhija Denes Kalo Glen Chorny

04-16-2008 18:55 UTC+2

Thomas Boekhoff, MIA

[user38449]

All of the players have returned to their seats since the last break, except one Thomas Boekhoff of Germany, whose seat remains vacant.

Joe Hachem called the floor over to the table to bring the matter to their attention and since then, several announcements have been made over the loudspeaker letting Boekhoff know that play has recommenced. One theory is that Boekhoff assumed that the last break was the dinner break.

So far he's lost an orbit of antes and blinds (25,000 chips); we'll let you know if / when he turns up.

04-16-2008 18:55 UTC+2

Ilikyan Eventually Finds A Double Up

[user67765]

Valeriy Ilikyan open-shoved his short stack of 100,000 into the middle and found a customer in Walid Bou Habib.

Habib: {8-Hearts}

Ilikyan:

The flop looked good for Ilikyan to double up when it came {A-Hearts}

, but amazingly the turn and river came {5-Diamonds}

and both players play the straight on the board and split the pot!

A few hands later Eric Liu opened with a raise to 30,000 and Ilikyan came over the top once again for just over 100,000 in chips. Liu made the call and flipped {A-Spades}

which held the lead over Ilikyan's {K-Hearts}

.

However that all changed on the flop of {Q-Clubs}

. The turn of the {5-Hearts}

ended it all, and to rub salt into the wound the river landed {K-Clubs}

to give Ilikyan a full house and a double-up to around 225,000 chips.

Tags: Valeriy Ilikyan

04-16-2008 18:47 UTC+2

Dinner Info

[user38449]

The tournament staff has just provided us with the following information about the dinner break: The clock will either be stopped midway through the level, or when the field reaches 16 players - whichever comes first.

04-16-2008 18:33 UTC+2

Players Return from Break

[user25067]

Level: 21

Blinds: 6,000/12,000

Ante: 1,000

04-16-2008 18:16 UTC+2

Break

[user67765]

The players are now taking a 15-minute break. We have 20 players remaining.

04-16-2008 18:01 UTC+2

Stefan Geim Eliminated in 21st Place ($73,325)

[user25067]

David Miara raised to 40,000, Stefan Geim moved his remaining 100,000 all in from the cutoff and Miara called the additional 60,000.

Miara {A-Clubs}

Geim

The flop was {10-Clubs}

, giving Miara top pair and the nut flush draw. The turn was the {K-Hearts}

, the river was the {7-Spades}

and the freeroll winner from Germany hit the rail, having successfully turned $0 into a $73,325 payday.

After the hand, Miara was up to 780,000.

Tags: David Miara Stefan Geim

04-16-2008 18:00 UTC+2

Rasmussen Doubles Through Esfandiari

[user67765]

In a massive hand on the feature table, Stig Top Rasmussen has just been caught in a huge trap from Antonio Esfandiari but somehow made a miraculous escape.

It is believed that Esfandiari had limped in from early position before a mid-position raise saw Rasmussen come over the top with a massive overbet for all of his 700,000 chip stack. Esfandiari sat there looking at his pocket queens and made a huge call. The other players stepped aside and the cards were revealed.

Esfandiari: {Q-Spades}

Rasmussen: {A-Diamonds}

Rasmussen's adventurous move looked like it was going to end his tournament when the flop came {7-Clubs}

. However a miraculous {A-Spades}

on the turn gave Rasmussen a sensational three-outer to take the lead in the hand. The river peeled off the {J-Clubs}

and Stig Top Rasmussen scoops a 1.4 million chip pot to become our new tournament chip leader, taking the lead from Esfandiari, who slips to just below a million in chips.

Tags: Stig Top Rasmussen

04-16-2008 17:59 UTC+2

Big Stacks Collide

[user67765]

On the feature table the action was folded around to Oyvind Riisem in the small blind who raised the big blind of Maxime Villemure. Not one to give up his blinds without a fight, Villemure re-raised making it 85,000 to go.

Villemure hoped to take down the pot right there but Riisem decided to 4-bet, adding another 200,000 into the middle as a huge pot was developing.

Villemure, who has been playing very solidly all tournament, went into the tank for a long time before eventually laying down his hand to avoid a clash with his fellow big stack.