€25,000 High Roller
Day 1 Completed
2019 The Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge
€25,000 High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 The Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge
Buy-in
€25,000
Prize Pool
€408,170
Entries
17
Level
16
Blinds
4,000 / 8,000
Ante
4,000
Pauli Ayras Wins €25,000 High Roller at the Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge (€163,300)
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 4,000 ante
The first-ever Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge (PAPC) in the Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn had its biggest tournament on tap today with the €25,000 High Roller. The buy-in was off the charts for Estonian proportions, easily eclipsing the country's previous all-time high of €10,300 set by the EPT Tallinn High Roller in 2010. A total of 17 entries were made — four by the tournament's namesake Patrik Antonius himself — and in the end, it was the Finn's countryman Pauli Ayras who lifted the trophy.
Ayras defeated Holland's rising star Teun Mulder heads-up to claim the first-place prize of €163,300. Mulder received €122,400 for finishing second, Germany's high-stakes juggernaut Koray Aldemir finished in third (€81,600), while Tommie Janssen was the fourth and final player to cash (€40,870). Timothy Adams bubbled the event after buying in twice.
2019 PAPC €25,000 High Roller Official Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pauli Ayras | Finland | €163,300 | $183,492 |
| 2 | Teun Mulder | Netherlands | €122,400 | $137,535 |
| 3 | Koray Aldemir | Germany | €81,600 | $91,690 |
| 4 | Tommie Janssen | Netherlands | €40,870 | $45,924 |
"It was nice to win, I played really solid all day," Ayras said to PokerNews. "Nothing really crazy happened before heads-up play."
"The heads-up player was a really tough player from Holland. I think he was one of the best players in this tournament," he added in praise of runner-up Mulder.
"Still, I just feel I was one step ahead of him at all times and figured out what he was doing."
Ayras is no stranger when it comes to 25K's. He finished second in the €25,000 EPT Barcelona High Roller last year, finishing ahead of the likes of David Peters and Alex Foxen. It delivered him a career-high score of €256,000. Today, he added a second six-figure ship and his first live poker title on top of it.
Check out the full Facebook live interview PokerNews held with Pauli Ayras after his victory
2019 PAPC €25,000 High Roller Action of the Day
Six players kicked off the biggest buy-in tournament ever in Estonia around 2 p.m., and ultimately a total of 17 entries were made. Notable players such as Robert Mizrachi, Joris Ruijs, James Romero and Dan "Jungleman" Cates all tried their luck but to no avail. High-stakes regular Adams became the bubble boy after open-shoving over twenty big blinds in a blind on blind situation against Ayras. The Canadian held king-queen but couldn't defeat Ayras' ace-queen to become the last player to leave empty-handed.
For Antonius himself, it became a dreadful day at the tables. The star of the show bought in no fewer than four times and found himself on the receiving end of some nasty coolers and bad beats multiple times. Antonius wasn't able to spin up his from his fourth and final attempt, leaving him empty-handed for the day.
It was Ayras who caught fire against Antonius right off the bat, making a early double-up at the Finn's expense when the latter called off pocket queens on a board containing two eights. Ayras held a third eight in his hole cards to take most of Antonius' first batch of chips.
The pocket queens would end up becoming Antonius' bane throughout the day, as the tournament's star also lost the majority of his second buy-in with pocket queens, this time after getting two-outered by pocket eights. On bullet three, he was out in mere minutes after shipping queens into kings. On his fourth and final attempt, being short, Antonius shoved all in with queen-eight suited, only to run into queens himself this time. Cruelly, the ladies held up, and Antonius was forced to watch any subsequent action in his own event from the rail.
Runner-up Mulder dipped his feet for the first time in a €25,000 event, and it became a fruitful affair for the 24-year old from The Hague, Netherlands. It's not the first time Mulder has tasted success in Tallinn; two months ago, the Dutchman won the €2,200 High Roller at the Kings of Tallinn festival in the same casino. Upon winning, he also received a free package for the €1,500 PAPC Main Event as an added bonus, and the return journey has already paid off big time before the Main Event is even underway.
The Dutchman held the chip lead for the majority of the final table, but ultimately had to bow to Ayras heads-up. Despite it being his first-ever 25K, Mulder's calm and composed nature kept any visible excitement under wraps.
"Admittedly, I found it exciting, but overall, I wasn't very nervous. I knew what I had to do," Mulder said to PokerNews afterwards. "But with this being my first 25k event, I'm truly happy, happy that I finished second. It was just a bummer that I lost the heads-up while starting out with the chip lead. But still, I'm very happy, overall."
Mulder credited Poker Ambition, a poker team coached by several high stakes Dutch players, as one of the underlying factors of his success.
"My coaches are working very hard and are extremely professional, I've already learned a lot from them. There were definitely a few concepts that came into play today," Mulder said in praise of his team.
The PAPC will continue on Thursday, April 4 at noon, with the first of two starting days of the €1,500 PAPC Main Event. The €10,200 PAPC Championship will commence on Saturday, April 6, and both events will play down to a winner on Sunday, April 7.
The PAPC also celebrates the launch of the FLOP app (First Land of Poker), which is still shrouded in some mystery. The launch of this app will be on Friday, April 5, and more details will be revealed by then. Check back regularly on PokerNews for all the latest live from the first-ever Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge at the Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn, Estonia.
Teun Mulder Eliminated in 2nd Place (€122,400)
Level 16
: 4,000/8,000, 4,000 ante
Pauli Ayras just won the PAPC High Roller for €163,300 and the trophy while Teun Mulder collected the runner prize of €122,400.
In the final hand, Mulder opened up to 18,000 and got a call from Ayras.
Mulder fired out on all three streets after the action was checked to him and got calls. He first bet 32,000 after the 
came on the flop before he bet 75,000 after the 
came on the turn.
Mulder jammed for 198,000 after the 
completed the board on the river and Ayras paused for a moment.
"I got to call," Ayras said before he called.
Mulder turned over 
and Ayras turned over 
for a pair before he screamed: "Yes!" Stay tuned for the recap of the day's action in the PAPC High Roller.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
850,000 | 360,000 |
|
Busted |
Heads-Up Photos
Photos courtesy of Rene Velli/Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge
Level: 16
Blinds: 4,000/8,000
Ante: 4,000
Ayras Back on Top
Level 15
: 3,000/6,000, 3,000 ante
It's been a back and forth heads-up match with Pauli Ayras now back in the lead with 490,000 in chips.
In a recent hand, he opened for 15,000 from the button and got a call from Teun Mulder. Both players checked the 
flop. Mulder led out for 20,000 after the came on the turn and got a call.
The paired the board on the river and Mulder checked. Ayras bet 40,000 and Mulder paused for about 30 seconds before making the call. Ayras turned over 
for two-pair.
Shortly after the hand, the players went on a scheduled 15-minute break.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
490,000 | 80,000 |
|
|
360,000 | -80,000 |
One for Ayras, One for Mulder
Level 15
: 3,000/6,000, 3,000 ante
Pauli Ayras raised to 15,000 and Teun Mulder called. Mulder called 15,000 on the 
flop and 35,000 on the turn. The 
on the river got snap-checked by both players.
Mulder showed 
but Ayras tabled the winner with 
.
Mulder got those chips back in the next hand, when he raised to 15,000 and Ayras called. Mulder bet 10,000 on the 
flop and 60,000 on the 
turn, which his opponent both called.
On the river, Ayras checked, Mulder bet 140,000, and Ayras let it go.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
440,000 | |
|
|
410,000 |
Mulder Retakes the Lead
Level 15
: 3,000/6,000, 3,000 ante
Teun Mulder has taken back the lead. He opened the button to 15,000 and got a call from Pauli Ayras.
Ayres bet 10,000 after the 
came on the flop and Mulder called. Both players checked after the 
came on the turn.
Ayres fired out for 30,000 after the 
completed the board on the river and Mulder snap-called. Mulder turned over 
for top pair and Ayres showed he rivered a lesser pair after he turned over .
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
440,000 | 70,000 |
|
|
410,000 | -70,000 |
Ayras Takes the Lead
Level 15
: 3,000/6,000, 3,000 ante
Teun Mulder raised to 15,000 and Pauli Ayras defended. On the 
flop, Ayras check-called 15,000 from Mulder. Both players then checked the on the turn.
Ayras bet 20,000 on the 
river, Mulder raised to 100,000, Ayras three-bet shoved all in for about 300,000 and Mulder snap-folded to surrender the lead to the Finn.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
480,000 | 150,000 |
|
|
370,000 | -150,000 |
Level: 15
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 3,000