Steven Silverman Wins the Season 9 EPT Grand Final €25,000 High Roller
The €25,000 High Roller at the 2013 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final has come to a close. Winning the prestigious event and earning the largest score of his poker career was Steven Silverman.
€25,000 High Roller Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Silverman | €775,400* |
| 2 | Tony Gregg | €760,000* |
| 3 | Fadar Kamar | €760,000* |
| 4 | Vanessa Selbst | €290,300 |
| 5 | Toby Lewis | €232,400 |
| 6 | Chris Moore | €193,500 |
| 7 | Igor Kurganov | €154,700 |
| 8 | Victor Sbrissa | €116,100 |
*Denotes a three-handed deal.
Silverman entered the final day of play third in chips out of the remaining 12 players, but all eyes were on two others — Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst and defending champion Igor Kurganov. Selbst was the winner of the $25,000 High Roller at the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and the chip leader entering Day 3. Kurganov defeated a field of 133 entries last year to win this event and was looking to complete the miraculous back-to-back feat.
Kurganov fell in seventh place, and the dream to win the title for the second year in a row had come to a close. On his final hand, Kurganov was all in with the A♦10♦ versus Silverman's A♣Q♠ during Level 23 with the blinds at 15,000/30,000/4,000. The board ran out 7♥6♣3♦J♦2♣, and Kurganov was gone with a payday of €154,700.
Selbst, who looked like she had the tournament firmly in her grasp, fell later on in fourth place. With the blinds up to 20,000/40,000/5,000 in Level 24, Tony Gregg raised to 80,000 on the button, Selbst reraised to 185,000 from the small blind. Gregg made it 480,000 to go, and Selbst moved all in for around 1.8 million. Gregg called and it was his A♣K♣ up against Selbst's Q♦J♦.
The flop was Q♣4♣2♦ and put Selbst in the lead with a pair of queens. The 8♠ on the turn meant Gregg needed an ace or a king on the river. The A♠ peeled off on fifth street to give Gregg just what he needed, and Selbst was busted in fourth place for €290,300.
When play got down to three-handed action, the story was more about the deal that wasn't happening than the actual play of poker. Fady Kamar was firm on what he wanted and tried to squeeze every little bit he could out of Silverman and Gregg. After a few attempts at striking a deal, play carried on, but then Kamar began to chip back up. In the end, the three struck a deal that earned each €760,000 with €15,000 and the title left to play for.
From there, Kamar fell in third place, leaving Silverman and Gregg heads up for the trophy, the extra bit of cash and the Shamballa Jewels bracelet.
Silverman had the lead to begin the match, and the two good friends enjoyed a coffee before getting down to battle. Following their little break, it only took a few hands before Silverman scooped a massive pot from Gregg to stretch out his lead.
Gregg had opened to 100,000 on the button with the blinds at 25,000/50,000/5,000, and Silverman three-bet to 375,000 from the big blind. Gregg called, and the flop came down K♥K♣4♣. Silverman led for 380,000, and Gregg made the call.
The turn card was the 7♦, and Silverman checked. Gregg fired 320,000, and Silverman made the call to see the A♠ land on the river. Both players checked. Silverman showed the A♦A♣, and Gregg mucked his hand. That left Gregg with 1.925 million in chips and gave Silverman 5.98 million.
On the final hand, the two found all the money in with Silverman holding the A♠J♠ versus Gregg's 2♣2♥. The 6♥5♦3♥ flop kept Gregg in front, but the J♣ put Silverman in the lead on the turn. Gregg needed a deuce or a four on the river, but couldn't find it when the dealer slapped the J♥ on the end of the board. With that, the man who has previously made the PCA Main Event final table twice was eliminated in second place and took home €760,000.
Silverman scored the extra €15,000 for a total first-place prize of €765,000. This was by far the largest score of his career, and one that will feel extremely good given that Silverman was in on this event via a €3,000 satellite.
Earlier in the event, Silverman joked about "running the gauntlet" by suggesting that if he won he would go on and play the €100,000 Super High Roller. It turns out, he will indeed play the €100,000 Super High Roller, which will begin on Monday at 12 p.m. CET.
While that concludes the PokerNews coverage of the €25,000 High Roller, you can check out our updates of the €10,000 Main Event or the €100,000 Super High Roller that is to come.
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