€1,100 Main Event
Day 4 Completed
€1,100 Main Event
Day 4 Completed
The first-ever PokerStars Open proved to be a huge success. The €1,100 Main Event attracted a record-setting 2,423 entries to Casino di Campione in Italy, more than doubling the guarantee and generating a prize pool of €2,326,080. During four long days of poker, the massive field was whittled down to only one player, Adrian State.
The Romanian regular was declared the winner after a short but eventful heads-up battle against the last Italian standing,Giorgio Soceanu. State took home €363,000 for his victory, the largest cash of his already-accomplished career. Soceanu was awarded €225,000 for his runner-up performance, more than doubling his total live earnings.
Place | Player | Country | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Adrian State | Romania | €363,000 |
2 | Giorgio Soceanu | Italy | €225,200 |
3 | Barnaba Perone | Italy | €160,880 |
4 | Manel Montalban | Spain | €123,760 |
5 | Salvatore Russo | Italy | €95,190 |
6 | Jakub Sterba | Czechia | €73,210 |
7 | Gaspare Sposato | Italy | €56,330 |
8 | Andreas Putz | Austria | €43,340 |
"It's a big privilege to win," a grateful State stated after he had received the trophy. "This tournament was huge, and I have had a difficult period, running under EV. I was preparing a lot for this tournament, so when this win came to me, I was very happy."
State's victory put him in a good spot on the newly introduced PokerStars Live League, but State told PokerNews he is not planning to expand his schedule for the sake of ending the year as number one on the leaderboard. "I gladly participate when I have free time, but I would like to spend more time at home with my wife and my little daughter."
Although the Main Event attracted about double the number of entries the organization had expected, the tournament was still finished according to schedule. "We put some bets on if the tournament would finish Monday or Tuesday," State jokingly said. "The staff is amazing, they managed extremely well to finish the tournament in time." State finished the interview with three words describing his feelings toward the new PokerStars Open series: "I love it."
State was one of 26 contenders when Day 4 kicked off, and he started in the middle of the pack. The final three tables were quickly reached as Michael Desiderio and Luca Bartolacci lost their short stacks, picking up the €8,600 they were guaranteed. State cruised along for the next three hours, not getting involved in any of the eliminations. Eventually, Day 1 chipleader Darius Neagoe was left without chips in 17th for €14,680, and the final two tables were set.
After a quiet start of the day, State came into the picture when he knocked out Christian Andronico in 12th (€21,380) with a flopped set. His momentum continued as he eliminated Friedrich Raez (10th - €25,650) on the final table bubble, allowing State to start the unofficial final table second in chips behind Barnaba Perone.
State maintained his position near the top by knocking out the short-stacked Andreas Putz in eighth, while the chip lead become a close affair when Soceanu eliminated UKIPT London champion Gaspare Sposato in seventh in a huge cooler. State finally conquered the lead when he kicked Jakub Sterba out in sixth, but could not hold onto it for long as Soceanu won a flip for over 100 big blinds to eliminate Salvatore Russo in fifth.
Not much later, State and Soceanu played what might be the deciding hand of the tournament. Both players rivered a full house, but State had the higher one and won an enormous pot. State solidified his lead by knocking out online qualifier and start-of-day chipleader Manel Montalban, who satellited his way to a fourth place and a six-figure score.
Soceanu tried to battle back, but State proved to be unstoppable three-handed, growing his chip lead further with nearly every hand. Meanwhile, Perone had become almost invisible and missed out on the heads-up as he called off his final seven big blinds with nine-deuce.
State's dominance across the latter half of the final table awarded him with a six-to-one lead to start the heads-up. Soceanu appeared to start a comeback after doubling up once, but it was cut short as he was soon back down to his original deficit. Eventually, State put Soceanu at risk for his final 16 blinds preflop and won when his ten-eight made a straight against Soceanu's ace-nine.
An elated State jumped out of his seat and ran to his rail to celebrate his new lifetime best score and his first PokerStars Main Event win. Casino di Campione poker room manager and former Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano awarded State his beautiful trophy as cheers and well-earned applause was heard throughout the venue.
That concludes the first-ever PokerStars Open event here in Campione, but many more are scheduled throughout the year. If PSO Campione is anything to go by, huge fields and massive payouts await those who participate. The next stop will be at EPT Monte Carlo, where the PokerStars Open will run from April 30 to May 4.
In the meantime, check out the PokerNews live reporting hub for exciting poker action from around the world.
Adrian State open-shoved on the button, and Giorgio Soceanu quickly called off his stack of 9,900,000 in the big blind.
Giorgio Soceanu: A♠9♠
Adrian State: 10♣8♣
Soceanu flopped a pair on 9♦Q♥4♥, while State had a gutshot and a ten to contend with. The K♥ turn did nothing for either player, but the J♣ river completed State's straight.
The opponents shook hands and hugged before a disappointed Soceanu left the stage to pick up his runner-up prize of €225,200, more than doubling his total lifetime earnings.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
![]() |
72,000,000
15,000,000
|
15,000,000 |
![]() |
Busted |
Giorgio Soceanu limped in on the button, and Adrian State checked his option in the big blind.
Soceanu made a bet of 1,000,000 on the 10♥2♠4♠ flop, and a quick call followed from State. Both players checked the 4♦ turn for State to fire an over-bet of 5,000,000 on the 7♣ river.
Soceanu quickly called, but mucked his Q♠10♣ for top pair when State tabled trips with A♣4♥.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
![]() |
57,000,000
8,000,000
|
8,000,000 |
![]() |
15,000,000
8,000,000
|
8,000,000 |
Adrian State raised his button to 1,200,000 and saw Giorgio Soceanu call his big blind. State continued for 1,000,000 on the 3♥K♣2♠ flop, and Soceanu check-called.
The Q♦ turn was checked to the 6♣ turn, where Soceanu led out for 3,500,000. State made a quick call with 4♠2♣, but his bottom pair was outclassed by Soceanu's K♦2♥ for two pair.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
![]() |
49,000,000
5,000,000
|
5,000,000 |
![]() |
23,000,000
5,000,000
|
5,000,000 |
Giorgio Soceanu limped in on the button, and Adrian State checked in the big blind.
The 9♦Q♠10♠ flop went check-check, and State checked again on the A♠ turn. Soceanu fired a bet of 1,000,000, with State calling after some time. The 8♠ river saw Soceanu commit his stack of 7,100,000 for a massive over-bet.
State spent some time in the tank before he opted to slam in a call. Soceanu tabled K♠6♠ for the nut flush, leaving State's 10♣8♥ for two pair in the dust.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
![]() |
54,000,000
7,000,000
|
7,000,000 |
![]() |
18,000,000
7,000,000
|
7,000,000 |
Level: 39
Blinds: 300,000/600,000
Ante: 600,000
Giorgio Soceanu limped in from the big blind with 10♠8♦ and Adrian State checked K♦7♦ in the big blind.
The 9♦K♥J♠ flop checked through to the 3♥ turn, where State check-raised Soceanu's bet of 500,000 to 1,500,000.
Soceanu put in a call to the 5♦ river, where State fired 4,500,000 chips. Soceanu had no options with his missed draw and folded his cards to grant State the pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
![]() |
61,000,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
![]() |
11,000,000
3,000,000
|
3,000,000 |
Adrian State raised his button to 800,000 with unknown cards, and Giorgio Soceanu called his K♦7♦ in the big blind. State continued for 600,000 on the 10♦7♣7♥ flop, which Soceanu raised to 1,700,000.
State made a quick fold as Soceanu made a small dent in his chip deficit.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
![]() |
58,000,000
4,000,000
|
4,000,000 |
![]() |
14,000,000
4,000,000
|
4,000,000 |
The two players are back in their seats and the cards are in the air for the conclusion of the PSO Campione Main Event.