2022 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

€50,000 Single-Day High Roller I
Day: 1
Event Info

2022 PokerStars EPT Barcelona

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
108
Prize
€872,940
Event Info
Buy-in
€50,000
Prize Pool
€2,862,090
Entries
59
Level Info
Level
24
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
100,000
Players Info - Day 1
Entries
59
Players Left
1

€50,000 Single-Day High Roller I

Day 1 Completed

Perseverance and Stubborness Pay Off For Mike Watson in the €50,000 Single-Day High Roller

Level 24 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Mike Watson
Mike Watson

Try and try again. Or, if you’re Mike Watson, try four times and you might end up as the €50,000 Single-Day High Roller champion at the PokerStars and Barcelona©Casino European Poker Tour and €872,940 richer.

Watson didn’t get off to a promising start to this tournament. He was eliminated just a few minutes into the day and had to rebuy. Then he was knocked out two more times and forced to head back to the registration cage. He ended up buying in four times for a total of €200,000.

“Just pure stubbornness, I guess, more than anything else,” Watson said following his victory. “It was a good tournament. I took a little break after the third one. I ran a nice run over the dinner break. Got myself ready to go, in a good headspace. Obviously, it paid off in the end. Ran a lot better on the fourth one than the first three.”

Watson’s journey through this tournament began with a first-level knockout and ended with him making a straight flush to beat Kahle Burns heads-up and earn the trophy and top prize. The Canadian veteran pro already had more than $15 million in live winnings, but his year had been defined by close misses. Already in 2022, he’s finished in the top-four of an event six times but had yet to win before today.

“It feels really good to win. I’ve had a lot of close calls this year, but I haven’t had many where I actually closed the deal. So it feels really good to win one,” he said.

€50,000 Single-Day High Roller Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Mike WatsonCanada€872,940
2Kahle BurnsAustralia€572,420
3Arthur ConanFrance€415,000
4David YanNew Zealand€314,830
5Pascal LefrancoisCanada€243,280
6Aleksejs PonakovsLatvia€186,040
7Michael SoyzaMalaysia€143,100
8Michael AddamoAustralia€114,480

Event Recap

Stephen Chidwick
Stephen Chidwick was the unfortunate soul who popped the money bubble.

The event began with 59 entries, including 39 unique players, generating a total prize pool of €2,862,090. Along the way, the likes of Adrian Mateos, Patrik Antonius, Dan Smith, and David Peters would all fall short of making the final table.

Stephen Chidwick was eliminated on the final table and money bubble when he was forced all in after posting the big blind. Michael Addamo, the Australian poker superstar, was knocked out in eighth place when he got his short stack all in with ace-four but couldn’t outrun the ace-king of David Yan.

Yan also took out Michael Soyza in seventh place, winning a coin flip with pocket fives against ace-ten. Aleksejs Ponakovs, the one-time chip leader of the tournament, was next to fall when he called Burns’ all-in shove for his last 710,000 with pocket tens against ace-queen. An ace on the flop spelled disaster for Ponakovs as he finished in sixth place.

Watson doubled up against Yan with ace-five against king-queen, ending up with a straight on the river, to crack the 1,000,000 chip milestone. Fellow Canadian Pascal Lefrancois fell in fifth place after losing with king-queen versus Burns’ ace-king as Burns began to take control of the final table.

Kahle Burns
Kahle Burns ultimately had to make do with a runner-up finish

Burns took out Yan with a pair of fours, out flopping Yan’s ace-eight with king-four, and also eliminated Arthur Conan to step up the heads-up match. After losing a big pot to Watson, Conan was forced to call for his last 230,000 with nine-deuce against ace-ten and flopped a nine, but Burns spiked an ace on the turn to bust the Frenchman and take a commanding lead into heads-up with 3,725,000 to Watson’s 2,175,000.

It wouldn’t take long before the two opponents swapped roles. Watson moved all in on the turn for 1,950,000, and Burns called with a pair of jacks, but Watson had two pair eights and sevens to double up and take a big chip lead. The tournament was finally brought to an end after 16 hours when Burns bet 100,000 on a nine-queen-six board with two spades, Watson raised to 300,000, Burns moved all in for 900,000, and Watson called with ten-eight with one spade. Burns had a pair of queens and stayed ahead on the ten of spades turn, but Watson improved to a straight flush on the seven of spades river.

“It’s a fun way to win it, with a straight flush,” Watson said.

Watson won’t have long to rest after his grueling day. He plans on entering the €100,000 High Roller on August 14 and chasing another title.

That concludes PokerNews's coverage of the €50,000 Single-Day High Roller. Stay tuned throughout EPT Barcelona for all the tournament updates from Casino Barcelona.

Tags: Adrian MateosAleksejs PonakovsArthur ConanDan SmithDavid PetersDavid YanKahle BurnsMichael AddamoMichael SoyzaMike WatsonPascal LefrancoisPatrik AntoniusStephen Chidwick

Kahle Burns Eliminated in 2nd Place (€572,420)

Level 24 : Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Kahle Burns
Kahle Burns

Kahle Burns bet 100,000 on a flop of {9-Spades}{q-Hearts}{6-Spades} before Mike Watson raised to 300,000 in the big blind. Burns responded by moving all in for 900,000 and Watson called.

Kahle Burns: {k-Hearts}{q-Clubs}
Mike Watson: {10-Diamonds}{8-Spades}

Burns was ahead with his pair of queens while Watson was on a straight draw. The {10-Spades} on the turn didn't change anything, but the {7-Spades} on the river gave Watson a straight flush and the title.

"That will be a nice one for the photos. When do you ever see that," Burns said as he congratulated Watson.

"Never. You can say I need a straight flush to win," replied Watson.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Mike Watson ca
Mike Watson
5,900,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
EPT 2X Winner
Profile photo of Kahle Burns au
Kahle Burns
Busted

Tags: Mike WatsonKahle Burns

Level: 24

Blinds: 50,000/100,000

Ante: 100,000

Watson Gets Paid on the River

Level 23 : Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante

It was yet another limped pot that was checked to the turn with the board showing {2-Diamonds}{10-Hearts}{7-Diamonds}{3-Diamonds}. Mike Watson bet 180,000 and Kahle Burns called on the button.

The river came the {j-Diamonds} and Watson bet another 480,000. Burns tanked for about a minute before announcing a call as Watson turned over {q-Diamonds}{10-Spades} for a queen-high flush to take the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Mike Watson ca
Mike Watson
4,900,000
900,000
900,000
EPT 2X Winner
Profile photo of Kahle Burns au
Kahle Burns
1,000,000
-900,000
-900,000

Tags: Kahle BurnsMike Watson

Level: 23

Blinds: 40,000/80,000

Ante: 80,000

Watson Doubles Into the Lead

Level 22 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Mike Watson - Kahle Burns
Mike Watson - Kahle Burns

In a limped pot, Kahle Burns bet 155,000 on the {8-Clubs}{4-Diamonds}{7-Hearts} flop and Mike Watson called.

The turn brought the {j-Diamonds} and Watson checked to Burns, who bet another 600,000. Watson then announced he was all in for 1,950,000 and Burns used two time banks before calling.

Mike Watson: {8-Spades}{7-Spades}
Kahle Burns: {j-Hearts}{6-Clubs}

Watson was ahead with two pair against Burns' pair of jacks, and the {2-Hearts} on the river was harmless as Watson took the chip lead.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Mike Watson ca
Mike Watson
4,390,000
2,215,000
2,215,000
EPT 2X Winner
Profile photo of Kahle Burns au
Kahle Burns
1,510,000
-2,215,000
-2,215,000

Tags: Kahle BurnsMike Watson

Arthur Conan Eliminated in 3rd Place (€415,000)

Level 22 : Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Arthur Conan
Arthur Conan

Arthur Conan raised to 290,000 from the button and Mike Watson called in the small blind.

Both players checked to the river on a board of {j-Hearts}{2-Clubs}{6-Clubs}{10-Clubs}{j-Diamonds}, when Watson bet enough to put Conan all in.

Conan, with 230,000 behind, used all three of his remaining time banks before folding.

The next hand, Conan was in the big blind and called when small blind Kahle Burns put him all in.

Arthur Conan: {9-Spades}{2-Spades}
Kahle Burns: {a-Hearts}{10-Hearts}

Conan took the lead on the {6-Diamonds}{9-Clubs}{5-Hearts} flop with a pair of nines, but the {a-Diamonds} on the turn gave Burns back the advantage with a pair of aces. The river came the {k-Spades} and Conan was eliminated.

Burns and Watson have agreed to take a 10-minute break before the start of heads-up play.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Kahle Burns au
Kahle Burns
3,725,000
225,000
225,000
Profile photo of Mike Watson ca
Mike Watson
2,175,000
625,000
625,000
EPT 2X Winner
Profile photo of Arthur Conan fr
Arthur Conan
Busted

Tags: Arthur ConanKahle BurnsMike Watson