€25,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 1 Completed
2023 PokerStars EPT Paris
€25,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
2023 PokerStars EPT Paris
Buy-in
€25,000
Prize Pool
€1,034,880
Entries
44
Level
24
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
100,000
Entries
44
Players Left
1
Level 24
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
A winner has been crowned nearly 15 hours after the start of the second big buy-in contest during the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris festival. American poker pro Chris Brewer came out on top of 44-entry strong field at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile after defeating Brazil's Felipe Ketzer in heads-up.
Both shared the biggest slice of the €1,034,880 prize pool with Brewer earning a payday of €357,180, while Ketzer had to settle for a consolation prize of €232,800. Also among those to finish in the money were Daniel Dvoress, Nick Petrangelo, Ren Lin, and Orpen Kisacikoglu. The runner-up of the opening €10,200 Mystery Bounty High Roller Event, Kayhan Mokri, ended up as the bubble boy.
Final Result €25,000 No-Limit Hold'em
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Brewer | United States | €357,180 |
| 2 | Felipe Ketzer | Brazil | €232,800 |
| 3 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | €160,400 |
| 4 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | €119,000 |
| 5 | Ren Lin | United States | €93,100 |
| 6 | Orpen Kisacikoglu | Turkey | €72,400 |
Brewer held the lead on several occasions during the late stages of the tournament and wasn't faced by a subtle joke of Conor Beresford on the rail either when the tournament was approaching the money bubble, as the Brit subtly pointed out the run-bad of the former track runner in expensive high-equity situations. On top of that, he had already avoided an agonizing setback just before the end of the late registration period to defeat his curse.
Brewer got three-outered on the flop only to river a one-outer himself and knock out €10,200 Mystery Bounty Event winner Andre Marques in a key situation that set the pace for the remainder of the night. From there on, it wasn't an easy ride either as especially eventual runner-up Ketzer pulled several rabbits out of a hat by hitting multiple runner-runner full houses.
Among the usual suspects in the high-stakes competitions were Stephen Chidwick, Steve O'Dwyer, Alex Kulev, Pedro Garagnani, and Kannapong Thanarattrakul. All of them bowed out early on and played no role during the frantic race towards the money bubble. Seth Davies went from one of the bigger stacks in the field to the rail within two hands and Jean-Noel Thorel also suffered a very similar fate as well once the final two tables were set.
PokerStars ambassador Sam Grafton was his usual jovial and bubbly self, providing plenty of entertainment for everyone involved. The self-described "best player with a stack of six big blinds and fewer" escaped from elimination with a short stack on multiple occasions but eventually bowed out against Brewer in a duel of small pocket pairs. Tauan Naves and Rui Neves Ferreira lost most of their chips to Ketzer, who entered the final table with the lead.
Tom Orpaz experienced a roller coaster ride throughout the day before he bluffed off most of his chips and then jammed at the wrong time with a suited king. Brazil's Bruno Volkmann was flipped out by Brewer, who continued to gain momentum. What followed was a tense bubble period dominated by highly-sophisticated ICM and GTO implications, after which successful bounty hunter Mokri came up short.
Once the money was reached, the chip lead changed numerous times soon after Orpen Kisacikoglu became the first player to collect a cash prize. Ren Lin took over the top spot only to see his "no gamble, no future" approach backfire with a double-up for Dvoress. He was then eliminated by Brewer when ace-four were no match to pocket kings and the victory of Brewer with more than half of the chips in play seemed inevitable.
However, it took several hours for that to eventually happen as part of a topsy-turvy conclusion in which Ketzer battled bravely until the very end. A slow-played pair of kings would eventually be his downfall, as Brewer kept a cool head despite numerous setbacks and turned the best of it.
The second edition of the €25,000 No-Limit Hold'ems follows one day later and many of today's participants will very likely be back in action. Stay tuned for more high-stakes poker from the French capital, as the PokerNews live reporting team will be back on the floor to provide updates of several marquee events.
Level 24
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
One hand after the previous all-in clash, there wasn't a big pot by any means as they were on the 
turn. Felipe Ketzer had bet 250,000 in the big blind and then called the all-in of Chris Brewer before telling his rail he had slow-played a big hand.
Felipe Ketzer: 
Chris Brewer: 
The river was a blank 
and that finally wrapped up the tournament with a victory for Brewer, while Ketzer's valiant comeback efforts came up one spot close. He has to settle for a payday of €232,800 while Brewer has earned the top prize of €357,180.
Both are likely back the following day for another edition of the €25,000 Single-Day High Roller. A recap of today's action is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,400,000
1,340,000
|
1,340,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 24
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer got one shove through from the button and the next button saw him with a raise to 200,000. Chris Brewer moved all-in for 1,480,000 and was snap-called as the Brazilian rail instantly gathered closer to the final table.
Chris Brewer: 
Felipe Ketzer: 
Ketzer was ahead but Brewer got there on the 
runout.
"Let's play five big blind stacs," Ketzer joked, as the seemingly never-ending battle continued.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,060,000
1,480,000
|
1,480,000 |
|
|
1,340,000
-1,480,000
|
-1,480,000 |
Level 24
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer jammed the button with the 
and Chris Brewer called with the 
in the big blind. They chopped it after the 
runout and Ketzer remained around 14 blinds.
In the next hand, Brewer limped the button and Ketzer raised to 305,000 for his opponent to call.
Ketzer min-bet the 
flop and earned a call from Brewer. After the turn, Ketzer announced all-in and a curious Brewer asked for a count. Once it was deemed to be for 955,000, Brewer sigh-called.
Felipe Ketzer: 
Chris Brewer: 
The double of the Brazilian was locked up with his set of eights and the 
river didn't matter anymore. Brewer was left speechless and he silently cut out the chips to pay off the all-in.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,820,000
1,010,000
|
1,010,000 |
|
|
1,580,000
-1,010,000
|
-1,010,000 |
Level 24
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Chris Brewer limped the button and called a raise to 275,000 by Felipe Ketzer, which led them to the 
flop. Ketzer check-called a bet of 100,000 and the 
on the turn was checked by both.
Ketzer then jammed the 
river for 480,000 and Brewer was groaning right away.
"Guess I have to call, you never have an ace there or a flush ..." he mentioned more to himself than the opponent.
Ketzer tabled the 
for a full house, once more, and Brewer gasped all but an "how?" while exposing the .
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,590,000
-760,000
|
-760,000 |
|
|
1,810,000
760,000
|
760,000 |
Level 24
: Blinds 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer moved back up to 2.1 million to then raise the button to 210,000. Chris Brewer defended the big blind and they checked all the way on the 
board. Ketzer announced king-high and Brewer won the pot with the 
.
Brewer limped his next button and Ketzer checked it back to see the 
flop for free. Ketzer check-called a min-bet and both opted to check the on the turn. The Brazilian led the 
river for 525,000 and Brewer snap-called, winning the pot with the for a straight after a muck by Ketzer.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,350,000
760,000
|
760,000 |
|
|
1,050,000
-760,000
|
-760,000 |
Level: 24
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 100,000
Level 23
: Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Felipe Ketzer limped the button and Chris Brewer checked his option from the big blind, which led them to the flop. Brewer check-called for 80,000 and did so again for 140,000 on a 
turn.
After the river, Brewer checked the third street in a row and Ketzer moved all-in for 625,000. The instant call by Brewer with the followed but Ketzer had him pipped with the 
.
Brewer jammed the next button and Ketzer forfeited the big blind and big blind ante.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,590,000
-925,000
|
-925,000 |
|
|
1,810,000
925,000
|
925,000 |
Level 23
: Blinds 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Chris Brewer raised to 200,000 on the button and Felipe Ketzer called. On a flop, Ketzer check-called for 160,000 and the turn was checked through by both. Ketzer bet the 
river for 90,000 and Brewer folded.
The next limped pot then went to Brewer with a pair of fours before he limped the next button, Ketzer checked the option. Following a 
flop, Ketzer opted to check-call a bet of 160,000 and did so again for 450,000 on the turn.
The 
on the river completed a potential back door flush and brought a four-card straight on the board. Ketzer bet small for just 265,000 and Brewer called with the former announcing two pair.
Ketzer then showed his 
for nines and sixes, which Brewer had beat holding the for tens and fours.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,515,000
755,000
|
755,000 |
|
|
885,000
-755,000
|
-755,000 |