2023 PokerStars EPT Paris

€10,300 EPT Paris High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info

2023 PokerStars EPT Paris

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a8
Prize
€810,500
Event Info
Buy-in
€10,300
Prize Pool
€4,137,600
Entries
431
Level Info
Level
34
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Players Info - Day 3
Players Left
1

€10,300 EPT Paris High Roller

Day 3 Completed

Portugal's Diogo Coelho Takes Down €10,300 High Roller (€810,500)

Level 34 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Diogo Coelho
Diogo Coelho

The third and final day of the €10,300 High Roller at PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris finally wrapped up after 13-plus hours of play in an event that required last-minute structure adjustments to finish on time. Portugal's Diogo Coelho was the one left standing at the end of it all to take home the trophy and €810,500 after defeating Russia's Aleksandr Shevliakov in a brief heads-up battle.

Despite being a High Roller event, the tournament managed to attract a massive field of 431 runners to generate a prize pool of €4,137,600. The field included many of the high-stakes regulars like Timothy Adams (23rd - €32,900) and Tom-Aksel Bedell (15th - €50,000), as well as plenty of up-and-coming players looking for their first major score.

One of those up-and-comers was Coelho, a 27-year-old who has been playing professionally for five years but had just $75,304 in live tournament earnings before binking more than ten times that.

“I’m feeling well. Very hyped in the moment," Coelho told PokerNews in a winner's interview. "It’s amazing. I’ve never won a prize like that before, so for me it’s everything.”

EPT Paris €10,300 High Roller Final Table Results

 PLACEPLAYERCOUNTRYPRIZE (IN EURO)
 1Diogo CoelhoPortugal€810,500
 2Aleksandr ShevliakovRussia€505,800
 3Toni KaukuaFinland€361,300
 4Martin StausholmDenmark€277,800
 5Mauricio Ferreira PaisGermany€213,700
 6Mario NavarroSpain€164,400
 7Martin JacobsonSweden€126,500
 8Christian PedersenDenmark€103,700
 9Vlada StojanovicSerbia€86,400

The final table included a star in 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Martin Jacobson (7th - €126,500) and fellow Scandinavians Christian Pedersen (8th - €103,700) and Toni Kaukua (3rd - €361,300).

Coelho, who is primarily an online grinder, acknowledged the final table had many "good players who usually play more live poker than me" and "probably feel more comfortable than me" on the live felt.

"But I don’t think they have a lot of edge on me because of that," he said. “I think it was a fun tournament, a fun final table. A good vibe for almost everyone.”

Day 3 Action

It was shaping to be a long day from the beginning when 44 players returned on Day 3 for some deep-stacked poker across 60-minute levels.

It took several hours to reach the final three tables after the eliminations of 2022 GPI Player of the Year Stephen Song (39th - €21,600), recent PCA $50,000 7-Handed champion Conor Beresford (31st - €24,900) and bracelet winner Antoine Vranken (25th - €28,600).

Conor Beresford
Conor Beresford

Several players fell to make way for the final two tables, including Jun Obara, who bowed out in 20th place when he called down Coelho with just ace-high before getting the bad news as Coelho had flopped trips.

Other players to fall ahead of the final table include David Miscikowski and Rui Ferreira before the Balenciaga-sporting Fahredin Mustafov bowed out in tenth place as his nines couldn't survive a flip against Coelho's suited ace-queen. Ace-queen was also that hand that doomed Vlada Stojanovic in ninth place when his king-jack couldn't pull ahead in a heads-up pot against Shevliakov.

Next out was Christian Pederson, who suffered a tough beat as his kings were cracked by the ace-deuce of Kaukua in a pivotal hand that propelled Kaukua to his deep run.

Jacobson entered the final table as a short stack but managed to ladder and double up before falling in seventh to Coelho. The Swede who famously won $10 million in the 2014 World Series after running up a short stack had to settle for €126,500 this time around.

Kaukua had the chip lead and was pushing his opponents around for most of the final table until losing a critical flip to give Coelho the lead and to take the role of the short stack.

Toni Kaukua
Toni Kaukua

“It’s a crucial pot," Coelho recalled. This pot, If I lose, I’m out of the tournament. If I win, I have 70% of the chips in play. So it’s a very important flip.”

The talkative Finn managed to ladder a bit before getting it in with ace-king to dominate the ace-nine of Coelho. Unfortunately, a runner-runner flush sent Kaukua packing and set Coelho up to have a big heads-up chip lead.

Heads-up play lasted for around a half hour as Shevliakov managed to stay afloat with less than 15 big blinds but could never get anything going.

In the final hand, Coelho open-jammed with ace-eight and Shevliakov called off with queen-seven. An ace-high flop all but sealed it and Shevliakov failed to improve to go out as the runner up.

As soon as the river card hit, Coelho's rail of Portuguese grinders, including Daniel Custodio and 11th-place finisher Ferreira, both of whom stuck around for a winner's photo, erupted in celebration as their friend locked up his biggest score.

That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of €10,300 High Roller on the final day of the inaugural EPT Paris stop. Check out the EPT Paris hub to see coverage of other events here in France's capital.

Diogo Coelho
Diogo Coelho

Tags: Aleksandr ShevliakovAntoine VrankenChristian PedersenChristian PedersonConor BeresfordDavid MiscikowskiDiogo CoelhoTom-Aksel Bedell

Aleksandr Shevliakov Eliminated in 2nd Place (€505,800)

Level 34 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Aleksandr Shevliakov
Aleksandr Shevliakov

Diogo Coelho open-jammed from the button and Aleksandr Shevliakov called off from the big blind with a short stack.

Aleksandr Shevliakov: {q-Spades}{7-Clubs}
Diogo Coelho: {a-Spades}{8-Diamonds}

Coelho took a massive lead on the {a-Clubs}{2-Clubs}{5-Hearts} flop with a pair of aces and the {3-Diamonds} turn had Shevliakov drawing to just a chop with four. But the river bricked off with the {5-Diamonds} and Coelho's rail erupted in cheer as he locked up the victory and send Shevliakov out in second for €505,800.

Player Chips Progress
Diogo Coelho pt
Diogo Coelho
21,000,000 4,000,000
Aleksandr Shevliakov ru
Aleksandr Shevliakov
Busted

Tags: Aleksandr ShevliakovDiogo Coelho

Toni Kaukua Eliminated in 3rd Place (€361,300)

Level 34 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Toni Kaukua
Toni Kaukua

Toni Kaukua open-jammed a stack of 2,700,000 on the button and Diogo Coelho re-shoved in the small blind.

Toni Kaukua: {a-Hearts}{k-Hearts}
Diogo Coelho: {a-Diamonds}{9-Spades}

Kaukua had his opponent dominated and the flop of {5-Diamonds}{7-Spades}{5-Spades} didn't change anything. However, the {q-Spades} created a sweat as Coelho picked up a flush draw. He hit it on the {6-Spades} river as Kaukua was sent to the rail in third place.

Player Chips Progress
Diogo Coelho pt
Diogo Coelho
17,000,000 5,000,000
Aleksandr Shevliakov ru
Aleksandr Shevliakov
4,300,000 -3,100,000
Toni Kaukua fi
Toni Kaukua
Busted

Tags: Diogo CoelhoToni Kaukua

Shevliakov Doubles Again; Now Firmly In Second Place

Level 34 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

Diogo Coelho shoved from the small blind and Aleksandr Shevliakov called in the big blind. Players flipped their cards for yet another preflop all in confrontation.

Aleksandr Shevliakov: {a-Spades}{j-Spades}
Diogo Coelho: {q-Clubs}{5-Spades}

The board ran out {7-Spades}{3-Hearts}{10-Clubs}{a-Diamonds}{8-Diamonds}. Shevliakov paired up his ace on the turn and once again doubled up. He now has over 7,000,000 in chips, much less than first place Coelho but still firmly in second place.

Player Chips Progress
Diogo Coelho pt
Diogo Coelho
12,000,000 -1,900,000
Aleksandr Shevliakov ru
Aleksandr Shevliakov
7,400,000 2,700,000

Tags: Aleksandr ShevliakovDiogo Coelho

Martin Stausholm Eliminated in 4th place (€277,800)

Level 34 : Blinds 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Martin Stausholm
Martin Stausholm

After several circuits of play that has involved mostly raise, folds and the occassional double up, a player has finally been eliminated.

Martin Stausholm shoved all in and was called by Diogo Coelho. The players flipped their cards.

Martin Stausholm: {10-Spades}{8-Hearts}
Diogo Coelho: {4-Diamonds}{4-Hearts}

The board came {6-Spades}{7-Diamonds}{q-Clubs}{5-Diamonds}{6-Hearts}. The flop gave Stausholm a straight draw and he also had outs to pair up. The turn improved the straight draw but the river was a blank for Stausholm. Coelho managed to fade all those outs and his pocket fours held up.

Stausholm was eliminated in 4th place for €277,800.

Player Chips Progress
Diogo Coelho pt
Diogo Coelho
13,900,000 3,900,000
Martin Stausholm dk
Martin Stausholm
Busted

Tags: Diogo CoelhoMartin Stausholm

Level: 34

Blinds: 150,000/300,000

Ante: 300,000

Stausholm Doubles With Aces Full

Level 33 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante

Aleksandr Shevliakov shoved from the small blind and got called by Martin Stausholm called in the big blind. Players flipped their cards.

Martin Stausholm: {a-Hearts}{a-Spades}
Aleksandr Shevliakov: {j-Diamonds}{10-Hearts}

The board ran out {9-Hearts}{a-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}{2-Clubs}{9-Clubs}. The flop gave Stausholm a set of aces and Shevliakov picked up a straight draw. He didn't find any help on the turn or river and Stausholm improved to aces full for the double up.

Player Chips Progress
Aleksandr Shevliakov ru
Aleksandr Shevliakov
4,700,000 -1,300,000
Martin Stausholm dk
Martin Stausholm
1,700,000 -1,100,000

Tags: Aleksandr ShevliakovMartin Stausholm

Kaukua Doubles Through Coelho

Level 33 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante

Toni Kaukua open-jammed a stack of 2,000,000 from the small blind and Diogo Coelho called in the big blind with a bigger stack.

Toni Kaukua: {k-Hearts}{6-Hearts}
Diogo Coelho: {a-Clubs}{j-Clubs}

The flop landed {6-Diamonds}{2-Clubs}{k-Diamonds} to give Kaukua two pair and the Finn doubled up as the board finished out {7-Spades}{a-Hearts}.

Player Chips Progress
Diogo Coelho pt
Diogo Coelho
10,000,000 -2,000,000
Toni Kaukua fi
Toni Kaukua
4,000,000 -500,000

Tags: Diogo CoelhoToni Kaukua