Seat 3: Thierry Gogniat, 67, Libourne, France (2,950,000)
A restaurateur from the Bordeaux region of France, recreational player Thierry Gogniat has been grinding the live poker circuit for nearly 20 years alongside his wife, Isabel Baltazar, one of the most experienced French players.
While their restaurant, L’Atmosphère, remains their shared professional venture, their passion for poker runs just as deep. Nearly 15 years after his wife’s eighth-place finish at EPT Barcelona 2011, he now finds himself at the final table of the EPT Main Event as well. They are the only husband/wife team to both make it so far.
“I’m a miraculous,” Gogniat said at every break on Day 5, having managed to ladder up pay jumps with his micro-stack. “I was solid when I needed to be. I had lung surgery in November, and the people around me were worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle the long tournament hours — but I’m here, and I feel great!”
The man who has the seven and three of hearts tattooed on his chest has already shattered his previous best live score, which stood at just over $92,000. He will be able to count on the unwavering support of his wife Isabel on the rail, as well as his daughter and grandchildren cheering from afar.
Final table bios courtesy of Jan Kores/PokerStars
Career statistics
Earnings: $576,673
EPT cashes: 2
Best result: 66th, 2018 EPT Monte Carlo
Tournament progression
Day 1: 91,000 (105/284, 1B)
Day 2: 168,000 (108/179)
Day 3: 1,300,000 (12/49)
Day 4: 4,475,000 (2/16)
Day 5: 2,950,000 (5/7)
Key hands
Gogniat busted veteran British pro Neil Channing on Day 3 in a classic flip, his ace-king making two pair to beat Channing's two queens. Gogniat also eliminated Zdenek Zizka in 18th place when his ace-king held against Zizka's ace-ten.
Gogniat was among the chip leaders when he and Sami Bechahed tangled in a massive pot. Gogniat five-bet shoved with ace-king, but Bechahed snap-called for 3,485,000 and turned over two aces. Gogniat was left with just four big blinds approaching the final table. He eventually got in his last 210,000 against both Casimir Seire and Jorge Abreu, and hit a pair of tens on the flop to win the pot and move back up past 1,000,000.