World Poker Tour Venice: Alessio Isaia Wins One For Italy
World Poker Tour Venice kicked off last Thursday with 523 entrants ponying up €3,300 ($4,512 US), creating a prize pool of €1,521,930 ($2,081,132 US) in the process. Among those taking to the felt were Max Pescatori, Dario Minieri, Dragan Galic, Jose "Nacho" Barbero, Arnaud Mattern, and Jeff Hakim. Following both Day 1 sessions, it was Italy's own Alessio Isaia at the top of the counts with 219 players remaining. When Day 2 came to a close, 2010 European Poker Tour London Champion David Vamplew was top dog among 57 left.
As fate would have it, the two of them led the way into the final table, as well. Here is how the rest of the table stacked up.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Vamplew | 4,100,000 |
| 2 | Alessio Isaia | 2,910,000 |
| 3 | Szabolcs Mayer | 2,585,000 |
| 4 | Max Lykov | 2,175,000 |
| 5 | Adrien Camille Garrigues | 1,555,000 |
| 6 | Emmanuel Rodrigues | 1,465,000 |
| 7 | Luca Fiorini | 470,000 |
| 8 | Renato Paolini | 405,000 |
The action was fast and furious at the start. Short-stacked Renato Paolini shoved the first two hands. He found action on the first, but on hand #2 Max Lykov looked him up with A♣K♣. Paolini was behind with K♦J♣ and failed to catch up, hitting the rail in eighth place. Lykov didn't hold on to the chips for long, though, and was next to fall. The Russian pro found himself needing help with 8♣7♣ against Emmanuel Rodrigues' A♠A♥ on an A♣K♣3♦ board. But Lykov found no help from the turn or river and busted the next hand.
Luca Fiorini was the next to go. He got his chips in as a favorite but met a cruel river defeat. Fiorini's A♣10♠ had Alessio Isaia A♥7♣ crushed, but the board ran out 8♠3♦2♥9♦7♠ to pair Isaia's inferior kicker. Following Fiorini out the door was Adrien Camille Garrigues. A limped pot turned into a massive one as Garrigues bluff-raised all-in on a 10♠8♠4♣2♠6♦ board with A♦4♥. Szabolcs Mayer called with K♠4♠ and sent Garrigues away in fifth place.
Emmanuel Rodrigues exited in fourth place after getting his chips in with A♣2♣ against David Vamplew's 8♥8♣. The cards came down K♠9♠8♦, instantly leaving Rodrigues drawing dead. However, Vamplew was the next to fall as his K♠Q♠ failed to improve against Szabolcs Mayer's A♥J♥.
The chip counts to start heads-up play were well in Mayer's favor. He had a stack of 12,865,000, dwarfing Isaia's 2,800,000. What followed was the longest heads-up duel in the history of the World Poker Tour. After eight hours of back-and-forth action, Alessio Isaia emerged victorious. On the final hand, Mayer moved all-in with Q♣6♣. Isaia looked down at A♥Q♦ and called, holding up through the 8♣4♠2♠3♥J♣ board. For his efforts, Isaia took home a €380,000 ($519,569 US) payday and the title of champion.
Final Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alessio Isaia | €380,000 |
| 2 | Szabolcs Mayer | €228,990 |
| 3 | David Vamplew | €149,910 |
| 4 | Emmanuel Rodrigues | €101,960 |
| 5 | Adrien Camille Garrigues | €73,180 |
| 6 | Luca Fiorini | €57,830 |
| 7 | Max Lykov | €43,370 |
| 8 | Renato Paolini | €31,960 |
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*Photo courtesy of the PartyPoker Blog
