Mike Watson Wins €50,000 Majestic High Roller (€1,000,000)!
And that's a wrap here at the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe for the €50,000 Majestic High Roller. Emerging victorious from the 60-entry field is Mike Watson for a cool €1 million!
This field attracted 49 players with 11 rebuys being added to the prize pool. A buy-in of €50,000 was required for each entry, and a prize pool of €2.88 million was generated. With the top eight spots set to pay out, Day 3 was not only going to see a winner crowned, but also the bubble burst.
Nine players came back for Day 3, but unfortunately for Winfred Yu, he would be the last one leaving empty-handed. On his final hand, Yu lost with pocket eights versus Philipp Gruissem's 
thanks to a ten on the river. With the final eight all guaranteed at least €115,000, it was time for eliminated players to hit the payout desk.
First to go was David Benefield, then Steve O'Dwyer, Jani Sointula and Tobias Reinkemeier in that order. After Reinkemeier headed out the door, fellow German Gruissem hit the rail before play continued for a little bit longer three-handed and the players went on a 75-minute dinner break. At the break, Watson held the chip lead with John Juanda in second place and Richard Yong in third.
The food must have had some extra spice in it for Yong as he came back from dinner in a fury. Within a few hands, Yong had the chip lead and was mashing away. But then, he picked up ace-king on back-to-back hands and doubled up both of his opponents, one after another; first Watson, then Juanda. That left Yong as the short stack once again and he was bounced from the tournament shortly thereafter.
When heads-up play began, Juanda had 4.83 million in chips to Watson's 4.17, making things fairly close. Juanda inched out at first, but then a massive collision of stacks occurred. Juanda held the 
versus Watson's dominated 
, but a jack on the turn gave Watson just the ingredient he needed for the double up. With that pot, Watson took a huge lead and knocked Juanda to under ten big blinds. Things didn't last long from there.
On the final hand, Watson put Juanda all in with the 
, and Juanda called with the 
. The flop, turn and river ran out 
and Watson had done it. He secured the victory while Juanda was left with a not-so-shabby payday of €600,000 for second place.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Watson | Canada | €1,000,000 |
| 2 | John Juanda | USA | €600,000 |
| 3 | Richard Yong | Malaysia | €400,000 |
| 4 | Philipp Gruissem | Germany | €275,000 |
| 5 | Tobias Reinkemeier | Germany | €200,000 |
| 6 | Jani Sointula | Finland | €160,000 |
| 7 | Steve O'Dwyer | USA | €130,000 |
| 8 | David Benefield | USA | €115,000 |
That wraps up the PokerNews coverage from this Majestic High Roller, but there's plenty of action still going on here in Cannes with the Main Event. Be sure to check out the WSOP Europe Main EVent coverage here.
and was up against the 
for Yong.
fell, and Juanda added a pair of jacks. Yong wasn't out of it yet, as he picked up a straight draw.
, which left Yong needing just a nine on the river to double up. One last burn card, then the 
landed and officially eliminated Yong in third place. He earned €400,000 for his finish while Watson and Juanda were left to battle for the title.
, and Gruissem was knocked out. Just three players remain right now, and Watson has a big chip lead.
and was crushing Reinkemeier's 
fell to give him a Broadway straight. The turn was the 
and Sointula was eliminated. Just five players remain and Gruissem is back up with the big stacks.
, putting O'Dwyer in great shape to double up. Unfortunately for him the 
, and O'Dwyer's tournament run was over. Just six players remain, as Juanda extended his chip lead.
and was in a dominating position to knock out Benefield who held the 
. On the flop, both players paired when the 
and river the 
to finish things off.
and was up against the 
and that gave Gruissem a better pair to eliminate Yu in ninth place.
