2009 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final

€10,000 EPT Grand Final Main Event
Day: 1b
1a1b2345
Event Info

2009 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
9♠6♠
Prize
€2,300,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€10,000
Prize Pool
€9,350,000
Entries
935
Level Info
Level
33
Blinds
120,000 / 240,000
Ante
0
Sort
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Better Late than Never

[user75032]
[user75032]
We're now almost two hours into the day, and finally we have a Great Dane in the house. Gus Hansen entered the room in the last few minutes, stopping for several fan photos before assuming his seat at Katja Thater's table.

Tags: Gus Hansen

Value? What Value?

[user75032]
[user75032]
There are some grumblings in the room that the players haven't gotten as much for their money this year as they did in previous years. In addition to paying 6% juice, 3% of the prize pool is being withheld for tournament staff. So right off the top that's 9%. Then factor in certain freebies that are non-existent this year. There are no free beverages in the tournament area (it's so bad even the dealers are required to pay for bottles of water -- at 4 euros apiece!), no food to speak of, the opening party was eliminated from the event this year (perhaps because it conflicted with the Ante Up For Africa charity tournament), and other little things that many players appreciated are missing from the tournament.

Of course, poker players like to grumble about anything and everything. Maybe it shouldn't be so surprising that they've found something to complain about.

Shallow Du-bai's Some Time

[user46298]
[user46298]
Dave 'Dubai' Shallow, sat at the media-surrounded Table Becker, just called for a ruling on an admittedly ambiguous raise from an opponent whose English was a little shaky.

Three players (Shallow in position) had made it to the flop of {8-Diamonds} {2-Hearts} {5-Diamonds} , building a pot of around 4,500 on the way. Boris Becker checked, and so did the other two.

The turn brought the {Q-Hearts}. Becker checked again, the midposition player bet 1,000, and Shallow quickly raised on the button to 3,800. Becker passed and the bettor now reached for a 5k chip and threw it in, while holding up eight fingers. This was admittedly confusing. Shallow called the floor, saying, "He raised his fingers? You can't use hand signals in a poker tournament!"

The ruling was that this was indeed the case - now the argument changed to whether 6k was a legitimate raise or not. Just as the whole thing threatened to bore the other end of the table to death, Shallow folded.

Tags: Boris BeckerDave Shallow

Great Dane Has Arrived

[user46298]
[user46298]
People were still sauntering to their seats well into the second hour, among them Gus Hansen, one of the most widely recognised European players of all time. He's said before that his reputation and TV time definitely affect the way people play against him, and adapting to that is now part of his game in itself.

Just now his {K-Diamonds} {6-Spades} came good when, having flopped trips on a {6-Clubs} {6-Hearts} {2-Clubs} board, he got paid 3,025 on the river (the other board cards being {10-Clubs} {4-Hearts} ). His opponent mucked. Last time I saw Hansen at a tournament, he was talking into a tiny recording device constantly, but it doesn't look like that has made an appearance here.

Tags: Gus Hansen

Level: 3

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 0

Fish Fry

[user46392]
[user46392]
EPT Budapest winner Will Fry had lost half his chips, but he's got them back again now courtesy of Benjamin Kang.

Kang, Fry and Joe Hachem saw a {K-Spades} {8-Spades} {9-Clubs} flop and it checked around to Kang on the button who bet 400. Hachem called from the big blind and the action went back on Fry, who promptly raised to 1,200. Kang made it 3,400, Hachem ducked out of the way, and after a moment's pause Fry pushed his remaining chips across the line, declaring, "I think I have to gamble." "I think I have to call," was the reply from Kang, and over the cards went.

Kang: {A-Spades} {9-Spades}
Fry: {K-Clubs} {K-Hearts}

Turn: {Q-Clubs}
River: {2-Clubs}

"I think I have to gamble with the nuts!" commented an amused Thierry van den Berg as Fry raked in his new 27,000 stack. "Fish!"

"Fishy fishy," agreed Fry cheerfully.

Tags: Benjamin KangWill Fry

Opponent Not too Tricky for Vicky

[user75032]
[user75032]
As we were making the rounds getting chip counts, we came to Vicky Coren's table. The board showed {4-Hearts} {5-Hearts} {8-Spades} {3-Clubs} {7-Spades}. Coren, in position, let out an audible, "Wow" after her lone opponent bet 5,900.

Coren stared at the board for a few seconds, then turned to her right glance at her opponent. When he glanced back, she broke into a charming smile. "This is a tricky one," she said. A few seconds later she threw 5,900 chips across the betting line.

"It wasn't that tricky," her opponent declared, turning over a busted flush draw with {K-Hearts} {Q-Hearts}. Coren tabled {10-Hearts} {10-Spades} to take the pot and increase her count to 64,000.

Tags: Vicky Coren

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