After a very long day of action yesterday for Day 2 of the 2012 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona €10,000 High Roller, Day 3 ended in a flash. It took just about seven hours of play before crowning a champion and that player proved to be France's Laurent Polito, who earned €270,229, the title and the Shamballa Jewels bracelet.
Polito began the day third in chips behind Tobias Reinkemeier and Alex Bilokur. Together, the three of them made it down to three-handed play before Reinkemeier fell in third place, setting the stage for a heads-up clinic put on by Polito.
When the heads-up match began, Polito was down nearly one million in chips, but that didn't deter him from crushing. First, a deal was struck between the two where Bilokur would take home €295,451 and Polito €270,229, based on the chip counts. Left to play for was the title, the trophy and the Shamballa bracelet.
Nearly the entire match went Polito's way, as he constantly had the upper hand (or better hand) against Bilokur, specifically at the showdown. Bilokur just couldn't get anything going and Polito stole the show by winning pot after pot. After taking the chip lead, Polito continued to take chunks from Bilokur before the final hand came up.
The final hand summed up the entire heads-up match altogether, as it was Polito who held the better of it when Bilokur put the money in. Even though Bilokur went all in with pocket nines, which could be considered a preflop monster heads up, Polito held two queens. No help came for Bilokur on the flop, turn or river and he was eliminated in second place.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Player
Prize
1
Laurent Polito
€270,229
2
Alex Bilokur
€295,451
3
Tobias Reinkemeier
€119,660
4
Stanislav Labutkin
€95,180
5
Carlos Mora
€73,430
6
Jean-Noel Thorel
€54,390
7
Bertrand Grospellier
€43,150
8
Joao Vieira
€32,630
That wraps up PokerNews' coverage from the €10,000 High Roller, but there's still plenty of action left here at EPT Barcelona. The Main Event still has four players remaining with over €1 million to first place. Be sure to check out that coverage as well.
Alex Bilokur raised to 80,000 on the button and Laurent Polito reraised to 230,000 from the big blind. With a stack of about 1.25 million to start the hand, Bilokur moved all in. Polito's eyes lit up when he heard those sweat words from Bilokur and he quickly called.
Bilokur:
Polito:
The flop came down and Polito's queens stood strong. The was placed out on the turn, which meant Bilokur needed a nine and a nine only on the river to stay alive.
The river card completed the board with the and Bilokur was officially eliminated — the queens for Polito had done it. Due to the deal struck earlier when heads-up play began, Bilokur took home €295,451, which was actually the larger prize of the two.
donpeters
Laurent Polito and Alex Bilokur discuss a deal
Alex Bilokur and Laurent Polito have made a deal. The chip counts below reflect those used to make a straight ICM deal. Bilokur has the lead and will take €295,451. Polito will take home €270,229. The two will leave the title to play for and the Shamballa Jewels bracelet.
Alex Bilokur checked the board and Tobias Reinkemeier fired 120,000. Behind him, Stanislav Labutkin raised all in for approximately 455,000 and then Bilokur called. Reinkemeier folded.
Labutkin tabled the for top pair, but he was out-kicked by the for Bilokur.
The river completed the board with the and Bilokur won the pot to eliminate Labutkin in fourth place. For his finish, Labutkin earned €95,180.
Action moved to Tobias Reinkemeier in the small blind and he raised to 70,000. Carlos Mora reraised all in for 394,000 and Reinkemeier called.
Reinkemeier:
Mora:
The flop put Reinkemeier in front when the fell. From there, his pair of nines held after the hit the turn and the landed on the river. Reinkemeier won the pot and sent Mora out the door in fifth place for €73,430 in prize money.
From under the gun, Stanislav Labutkin raised to 43,000. Laurent Polito called from the next seat and then Alex Bilokur called on the button. In the small blind, Tobias Reinkemeier reraised all in for 353,000. Action folded over to Polito and he announced that he was all in. Bilokur folded.
Reinkemeier:
Polito:
The flop missed Reinkemeier and kept Polito in the lead when the fell, but Reinkemeier added some addiitonal outs with a club flush draw.
The turn was the and Reinkemeier took the lead with a pair of queens. The river completed the board with the and Reinkemeier successfully doubled up.
Jean-Noel Thorel was running good so far, but Alex Bilokur did much better on the last hand and eliminated the Frenchman from the tournament.
Laurent Polito opened the hand with a raise to 40,000 from the button and Bilokur called from the small blind as well as did Thorel from the big. The flop went and all three checked.
Bilokur bet 55,000 on the turn and Thorel raised to 400,000. Polito went out of the way and Bilokur shoved. Thorel called and opened for a flush. However, he soon got disappointed to see Bilokur's for a king-high flush. The on the river didn't change a thing and Thorel hit the rail.
From under the gun, Alex Bilokur raised to 34,000. Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier called all in from the next seat for 25,000 and play folded to Tobias Reinkemeier in the cutoff seat. He reraised and made it 85,000 to go. Play folded back to Bilokur and he announced that he was all in. Reinkemeier folded.
Grospellier:
Bilokur:
The board came and Grospellier was eliminated in seventh place. He took home €43,150 for his finish and the field dropped down to six players.
Joao Vieira has been eliminated in eighth place. He was all in preflop with against the pocket tens for Stanislav Labutkin. No help came for Vieira on the flop, turn or river and he was off to the payout desk to collect his €32,630 reward.
From under the gun, Jean-Noel Thorel limped in. Action then folded to short stack Kristijonas Andrulis on the button and he raised to 150,000, effectively telling the table he was all in as he only had 36,000 behind. Play folded back to Thorel and he announced a call. The dealer asked him for 150,000, which seemed to surprise Thorel that it was so much. Either way, he was verbally committed and put the chips out.
The flop came down and Thorel announced that he was all in. Andrulis quickly called off the last of his chips with the , but was behind the for Thorel.
The turn was the , giving Andrulis some additional outs, but the on the river missed him. Andrulis was eliminated in ninth place and took home €27,190. With his elimination, the tournament is now down to the official final table and everyone is guaranteed €32,630.
and Polito's queens stood strong. The 
was placed out on the turn, which meant Bilokur needed a nine and a nine only on the river to stay alive.
and Bilokur was officially eliminated — the queens for Polito had done it. Due to the deal struck earlier when heads-up play began, Bilokur took home €295,451, which was actually the larger prize of the two.
board and Tobias Reinkemeier fired 120,000. Behind him, Stanislav Labutkin raised all in for approximately 455,000 and then Bilokur called. Reinkemeier folded.
for Bilokur.
and Bilokur won the pot to eliminate Labutkin in fourth place. For his finish, Labutkin earned €95,180.
fell. From there, his pair of nines held after the 
hit the turn and the 
landed on the river. Reinkemeier won the pot and sent Mora out the door in fifth place for €73,430 in prize money.
fell, but Reinkemeier added some addiitonal outs with a club flush draw.
and Reinkemeier successfully doubled up.
![[user72235]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
turn and Thorel raised to 400,000. Polito went out of the way and Bilokur shoved. Thorel called and opened 
for a flush. However, he soon got disappointed to see Bilokur's 
against the pocket tens for Stanislav Labutkin. No help came for Vieira on the flop, turn or river and he was off to the payout desk to collect his €32,630 reward.
and Thorel announced that he was all in. Andrulis quickly called off the last of his chips with the 
, but was behind the 
