The final six players were set late last night and they will return today for the final day of competition in the €50,000 EPT Super High Roller. It's been a successful week at the 2019 PokerStars EPT Prague festival for two particular players already, and they are the ones at the top of the table when the action resumes.
Adrian Mateos bagged up a slight chip lead with 2,795,000, edging out Jean-Noel Thorel who will return to 2,705,000. Mateos took down the opening event which was the €10,000 No-Limit Hold'em for just under €200,000 and with it earned his sixth EPT title. On the very next day, Thorel was victorious in a single-day €25,000 high-roller. The two will have their sights set one of the more prestigious titles of the festival along one of the biggest paydays.
They will have some stiff competition, however, as the other four players have large poker resumes in their own right. Stephen Chidwick (1,920,000), Steve O'Dwyer (1,770,000), Bertrand Grospellier (1,200,000), and Ben Heath (615,000) have all had plenty of recent success and could just as well walk away with the title as well.
Final Table Draw
Seat
Player
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Bertrand Grospellier
France
1,200,000
30
2
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
1,920,000
48
3
Ben Heath
United Kingdom
615,000
15
4
Steve O'Dwyer
Ireland
1,770,000
44
5
Adrian Mateos
Spain
2,795,000
70
6
Jean-Noel Thorel
France
2,705,000
68
The action will get underway at 12:30 p.m. local time with just over 50 minutes remaining in level 17. The blinds will be 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante and each player will receive an additional three time extensions.
The money bubble burst last night when Seth Davies was eliminated which means the final six players are each guaranteed at least €149,410. Each elimination will come with a hefty pay jump all the way up to the winner earning €725,710.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be here to bring you all of the important hands and eliminations until a winner is crowned later today.
Jean-Noel Thorel opened to 100,000 from under the gun and Ben Heath shipped all in for 575,000 on the button. Thorel asked for a count and then splashed in the chips to call.
Jean-Noel Thorel:
Ben Heath:
It was a coin flip but Thorel held the advantage after the flop. The on the turn was no help to Heath and the on the river only improved Thorel to a set of sevens. Heath came into the day as the shortest stack and will be the first to exit.
On a flop Jean-Noel Thorel check-called 75,000 from the big blind against Stephen Chidwick.
The turn brought the and Thorel checked again. This time Chidwick bet 500,000 and Thorel check-raised to 1,000,000. Chidwick used a time extension before calling.
The river was the . Thorel checked and Chidwick moved all in for 1,555,000. Thorel snap-called.
Chidwick showed for a full house with Thorel showing for a straight.
"Very unlucky," said Chidwick as he scored a huge double through the chip leader.
Jean-Noel Thorel was all in from the big blind and after Steve O'Dwyer opened from the button, Adrian Mateos folded the small blind and the cards were turned over.
Jean-Noel Thorel:
Steve O'Dwyer:
Thorel jumped into the lead on a flop. The turn gave O'Dwyer the better flush draw but the river was enough to eliminate Thorel in fifth place.
Stephen Chidwick opened and called a three-bet jam from Steve O'Dwyer for around 1,500,000.
Stephen Chidwick:
Steve O'Dwyer:
Chidwick was ahead and stayed that way on the , dodging a rivered gutshot to send O'Dwyer to the rail in fourth place. Chidwick now has over half the chips in play three-handed.
Adrian Mateos opened to 130,000 on the button. Bertrand Grospellier folded his small blind and Stephen Chidwick shoved from the big blind.
Mateos asked how much Grospellier was playing, and used his last time extension before calling.
Stephen Chidwick:
Adrian Mateos:
The flop had Mateos still in the lead, but the turn switched things in favour of Chidwick. The river was the and Mateos was eliminated in third place. He takes home €320,170 as Chidwick takes a commanding chip lead into heads-up.
In a limped pot, Stephen Chidwick checked and Bertrand Grospellier bet 100,000 on the flop.
The turn was the and Chidwick check-called 325,000.
The river was the . Chidwick checked for the third time and Grospellier announced all in for 825,000. Chidwick flicked in a chip to call wth for a rivered two pair. Grospellier held for a straight and doubled up.
Stephen Chidwick opened to 200,000 and Bertrand Grospellier three-bet all in for 2,375,000. Chidwick called.
Stephen Chidwick:
Bertrand Grospellier:
The flop came keeping Grospellier in the lead for another double up. However, the paired Chidwick and the bricked sending Grospellier out in second place.
Stephen Chidwick defeated a battling Bertrand Grospellier heads-up to win the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague €50,000 Super High Roller for €725,710.
The Frenchman came into heads-up with a huge deficit to make up, but two double-ups saw him put up a fight. However, the day was Chidwick's who walked away with his 16th six-figure or more cash of the year.
Grospellier meanwhile secured his biggest cash in two and a half years, taking his lifetime earnings above $14.5m.
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize (EUR)
Prize (USD)
1st
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
€725,710
$804,123
2nd
Bertrand Grospellier
France
€501,590
$555,787
3rd
Adrian Mateos
Spain
€320,170
$354,764
4th
Steve O'Dwyer
Ireland
€245,460
$271,982
5th
Jean-Noel Thorel
France
€192,100
$212,856
6th
Ben Heath
United Kingdom
€149,410
$165,554
Winner's Reaction
Coming into the final table third in chips, Chidwick said that the final table is a "fun kind of balancing act."
"You have to change every single hand depending on the stacks," Chidwick told PokerNews. "It depends on how people are playing and it's all about trying to get away with as much as you can. It's about getting in a good chip lead position and that's where you want to be at the final table without risking too many chips."
Chidwick admitted that he had one eye on the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race.
"It's close at the top, so I hope this will help," he said. "I've not had a good record in the big buy-in events at PokerStars festivals. I think this is my first win over 25k at a PokerStars event.
Now over $13m in cashes this year, Chidwick admitted that the cashes will continue to rack up because of the size of the buyins in modern poker.
"I'm always looking to get better year by year, but the biggest difference in recent years is just the size of the buyins."
Final Day Recap
It didn't take long for the first elimination of the day, with Ben Heath sent packing on just the third hand of the day. Jean-Noel Thorel was the beneficiary, with his sevens holding against Heath's ace-queen to not only eliminate the Brit but also move into the chip lead.
Thorel seemed in command for large portions of the early going, chipping up to within touching distance of five million in chips before the pivotal hand came against Stephen Chidwick.
Chidwick had turned a full house while Thorel had turned a straight. The pair got it in on the river and Chidwick doubled into the lead to sit with almost six of the eleven million in play.
Thorel in Reverse
Yesterday, Bertrand Grospellier scored successive doubles through Thorel, and it seemed that streak of luck for him in the battles between the Frenchmen would continue. Getting it in dominated with king-queen against Thorel's ace-queen, Grospellier spiked a king on the flop to double up.
A further double from Steve O'Dwyer would push Thorel closer to the exit before O'Dwyer delivered the coup de grâce to send the Frenchman packing in fifth.
Chidwick in Command
O'Dwyer and Grospellier would both trim the lead of Chidwick, but he still led the way at the first break of the day. When the four players resumed, it was Chidwick who padded his chip lead by sending O'Dwyer to the rail. After Chidwick opened with aces, he called a three-bet shove from O'Dwyer who held eights and held to move further ahead.
Adrian Mateos came into the final day as chip leader and had a pretty easy time of it up until now. However, he was next to go. Again it was Chidwick who finished him off, holding queen-jack and turning a jack to best the ace-ten of Mateos.
Heads-up Action
Coming into heads-up, Grospellier held 1.6m to Chidwick's 9.4m in the chips. Grospellier battled away, but that didn't stop Chidwick soon opening an even bigger gap. However, two doubles from Grospellier extended the contest including one where Chidwick rivered the nut flush only for his opponent to turn over a straight flush.
However, with the mounting blinds eventually, the chips had to get in, and all it took was a ten on the turn to seal the victory for Chidwick and for him to add another victory to an already illustrious list of poker achievements.
That concludes PokerNews coverage of the largest buy-in event of the PokerStars EPT Prague festival, but there's still plenty of poker going on, including the EPT Prague Main Event which kicked off earlier today.