Noah Boeken Wins 2013 Master Classics of Poker Main Event for €306,821
The Master Classics of Poker has been held every year in the Netherlands at the Holland Casino dating back to 1993, and it is one of the favorite stops for poker players along the tournament circuit. Since its inception, top players such as Surinder Sunar (1993), Johan Storakers (2003), Robert Mizrachi (2004), Trond Eidsvig (2007), and Ole Schemion (2012) have all captured the title, with the largest first-place prize coming in 2006 when Ali Jalali won the event for a massive €700,000.
The 2013 installment of the €4,000 Main Event completed this weekend, and you can now add well-known Dutch poker professional Noah Boeken to the list of champions. Boeken defeated a field that had 246 players and 52 reentries to earn the €306,821 first-place prize.
2013 MCOP Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noah Boeken | €306,821 |
| 2 | Simon Persson | €182,913 |
| 3 | Clyde Terlaan | €105,027 |
| 4 | Luuk Gieles | €83,786 |
| 5 | Andrew Chen | €71,985 |
| 6 | Charlie Combes | €59,004 |
| 7 | Johan Verhagen | €47,203 |
| 8 | Rob Hollink | €35,403 |
| 9 | Dmitry Nemirovsky | €23,602 |
While Boeken, along with notables Rob Hollink and Andrew Chen, headlined the final table, it was Luuk Gieles who started as the chip leader.
Following the elimination of Dmitry Nemirovsky in ninth place, Hollink, the Dutch poker legend with one World Series of Poker gold bracelet and third on Holland's all-time money list, finished in eighth place. Hollink was all in with the Q♣Q♦ for his last 300,000 or so and up against the A♣K♠ for Gieles. The flop, turn, and river ran out A♥9♦2♣J♥3♦ to give Gieles a pair of aces and leave Hollink with zero chips.
Then, Johan Verhagen fell in seventh place and Charlie Combes hit the rail in sixth place before it was Chen's turn to go. Chen was all in and dominated holding the A♦8♣ versus the A♣9♦ for Swede Simon Persson. After no help on the K♣5♥3♠4♠10♠ board, Chen hit the rail in fifth place.
Gieles was then eliminated in fourth place, and it was the same man who busted Chen that got him in Persson. Persson would also eliminate Clyde Terlaan in third place in order to go heads up with Boeken.
When the heads-up match began, Persson held approximately 5.5 million in chips to Boeken's 3.4 million in this Sweden-versus-Netherlands duel. Straight away, Persson began to extend his lead, but Boeken didn't give up. He fought back and eventually claimed the lead from Persson in a very big way thanks to a backdoor flush.
On the K♦9♠8♣ flop, both Persson and Boeken checked to see the 8♠ pair the board on the turn. Persson checked, Boeken fired 110,000, and Persson called. On the river, the J♠ completed the board, and Persson checked. Boeken slid forward a hefty 375,000, but Persson fired right back with a check-raise to 900,000. Boeken quickly made the call holding the A♠3♠ to defeat the 10♣9♥ for Persson, and with that pot he moved to 6.5 million in chips. Persson was left with roughly 2.3 million.
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Shortly thereafter, Boeken increased his stack to over 7 million, leaving Persson with under 20 big blinds. From there, the match didn't last much longer.
On the final hand, Persson min-raised on the button to 200,000 only to have Boeken move all in from the big blind. Persson quickly made the call to put himself at risk for around 1.6 million total with the J♦J♠. Boeken had an inferior 7♠7♦. The flop was Q♠6♣5♥ and kept Persson in prime form for the double up, but it was the 7♥ on the turn that abruptly shifted the percentages in Boeken's favor. Needing a jack and only a jack on the river to stay alive, Persson couldn't find it when the lowly 2♦ completed the board. For his runner-up finish, Persson claimed a prize of €182,913.
As the last man standing in this premier event, Boeken earned a whopping €306,821 in prize money. For the former European Poker Tour Copenhagen winner, this was the largest live score of his career. Boeken's previous best was in 2007 at the Master Classics of Poker when he took fourth for €139,100.
Prior to this finish, Boeken was 11th on the Dutch all-time money list, according to the Hendon Mob Poker Database. Adding in the prize money from his win here pushes Boeken to over $1.7 million in live tournament earnings and up to eighth on that last, overtaking Paul Berende and sitting just about $100,000 behind David Boyaciyan in seventh place.
Data courtesy of www.pokercity.nl; photo courtesy of nl.pokernews.com.
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