Adrian State raised to 500,000 as first to act, after which Giorgio Soceanu defended his big blind. The 9♥8♠7♦ flop was checked through to the J♥ turn, where Soceanu check-called the 500,000 bet of State.
Soceanu then led out for 1,300,000 when the board paired on the 9♣ river. In response, State put in a massive raise to 9,500,000, about half his stack.
Soceanu looked puzzled but quickly tossed in a call. State tabled J♠J♦ for the best full house. Soceanu grimaced as he tabled 7♠7♣ for the bottom full house, losing the gigantic pot to State.
Manel Montalban raised to 600,000 under the gun. It folded to Adrian State in the big blind, who defended. The 3♦9♥8♥ flop checked through to the Q♣ turn.
Sate checkec, Montalban tossed in 800,000, and State raised to 2,400,00. Montalban made the call, and the 7♣ river completed the board.
State pondered for a while before putting Montalban all-in for 4,600,000. Montalban spent several time banks while weighing his options. Eventually, he decided he could not fold and made the call for his tournament life.
State showed K♦Q♦ for top pair, pipping Montalban's Q♥J♦ to send the online qualifier out in fourth place. Montalban took home €123,760 for his efforts, being the first player to be rewarded with a six-figure payout.
Giorgio Soceanu raised his small blind to 750,000, and Adrian State defended his big blind.
Soceanu continued for 500,000 on the 5♠6♠5♦ flop and was called by State. Soceanu slowed down on the 3♣ turn, checking to State before calling his bet of 2,000,000.
The K♦ river saw State size up to 3,000,000. Soceanu instantly tossed in a calling chip, and won the pot with his J♥jc] when State showed Q♥7♥ for the bluff.
Giorgio Soceanu sat in the small blind and raised to 750,000. Adrian State defended his big blinds as the nemesi went off to the 7♣3♦J♥ flop.
Soceanu tossed in a bet of 500,000, which State quickly called. The 7♥ turn was checked to State, who made a sizable bet of 2,500,000.
State then over-bet the 4♠ river for 8,500,000. Soceanu shrugged and tossed in a calling chip for State to table 8♦7♠ for trip sevens. Frustrated, Soceanu showed K♣J♠ for a no-good pair of jacks.
State ended the hand with two-thirds of the chips in play, a dominant lead over the other two contenders.
Small blind Adrian State put Barnaba Perone all-in in the big blind. Perone called off his last 2,775,000, and the cards hit their backs.
Barnaba Perone: 9♠2♦
Adrian State: K♥2♣
Perone could not find a nine on the 5♠7♥J♥7♦3♥ board and took his exit in third place. Meanwhile, Adrian State and Giorgio Soceanu prepared for their heads-up, which State would begin with a six-to-one lead.
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.
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.
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.
Giorgio Soceanu
PokerStars Open Campione Final Table Results
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
Winner's Reaction
"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."
Poker Room PS Open Campione Main Event
Final Day Action
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 Andronicoin 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.
Final Table
State maintained his position near the top by knocking out the short-stackedAndreas 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.
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.
Adrian State and Rail
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 PokerNewslive reporting hub for exciting poker action from around the world.
