Ruben Visser Wins 2014 Master Classics of Poker Main Event for €225,000
After a long, grueling day, and with the casino getting ready to close, Ruben Visser beat 2011 Master Classics of Poker Main Event winner David Boyaciyan to prevent the latter from becoming the first two-time champion in the event's history.
With just 35 minutes left before the casino would be forced to close for the night and the remaining players left to return for an additional fifth day of action, Visser sealed the deal after just to hands of heads-up play. At the time, both players were virtually even in chips with 55 big blinds, but it was over in the blink of an eye. Visser won a big four-bet pot on the first hand before finishing off his compatriot on the next hand.
Visser and Boyaciyan had done a deal during three-handed play with third-place finisher Andrew Chen. That deal allowed Visser to take home €200,000, Chen €190,000, and Boyaciyan €178,000, with €25,000 left for the winner. Even after this deal was done, there was no playing soft, as all three were still desperate to land the title — particularly Boyaciyan who had the chance to make history. It was not to be, though, and Visser claimed victory.
Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruben Visser | €225,000* |
| 2 | David Boyaciyan | €178,000* |
| 3 | Andrew Chen | €190,000* |
| 4 | Clyde Tjauw Foe | €83,786 |
| 5 | Jussi Nevanlinna | €71,985 |
| 6 | Robbie Hendriks | €59,004 |
| 7 | Ole Schemion | €47,203 |
| 8 | Steven van Zadelhoff | €35,403 |
| 9 | Hzarem Aaquich | €23,602 |
| 10 | [Removed:17] | €18,882 |
*Denotes a three-way deal
The day start off with a bang as defending champion Noah Boeken was eliminated in the very first hand. The Dutchman pushed with the 10♦10♣, but found fellow former MCOP winner Ole Schemion with the Q♣Q♦. The board ran out Q♠8♦4♦6♠10♠ to put the tournament on the bubble of the final table.
Stuart Rutter was eliminated on that bubble, pushing with the A♦8♥ and finding Jussi Nevanlinna prepared to give him a spin with the K♣Q♣. Neither player hit the 2♠6♦3♦ flop or the 2♥ turn, but the K♥ river sent Rutter back on a plane home to London while everyone else set up for the final table.
[Removed:17] was the first player knocked out of the final table when he pushed with the A♥Q♠ into Boyaciyan's K♠K♥. Yan managed to spike a queen on the flop, but couldn't improve any more than that. Visser then knocked out Hzarem Aanquich in ninth place when he held a premium hand in the A♦K♦. Aanquich was doing better with the K♠K♥, but an ace on the flop sealed the deal.
Steven van Zadelhoff was the third player out from the final table, after he had gotten short and was looking for a spot to shove. Unfortunately for the man with the remarkable beard, he shoved the K♣5♦ right into Boyaciyan's A♣A♦. One brick-filled board later meant another Dutch player was eliminated.
Play then continued seven-handed for a while before Visser shoved on a short-stacked Schemion. The German called off with the A♣7♦, but Visser's Q♠5♥ was live and hit the 3♥K♠Q♦Q♣4♥ board better. Schemion, the former MCOP champion back in 2012, added yet another final table to his growing list of achievements, but he wasn't able to notch another win.
Short-stacked survivor and recreational player Robbie Hendriks laddered up to sixth place before pushing with with the A♥2♦ into Chen's A♠A♥, and then it was Nevanlinna who was an unlucky in fifth place when his A♥K♠ lost to Clyde Tjauw Foe's A♦10♥ after a ten hit the flop.
The four remaining players continued for about two and a half hours with no one gaining too much of an advantage until Visser won a crucial, huge flip against Tjauw Foe. Tjauw Foe was crippled with less than two big blinds and eliminated on the very next hand.
After that, the deal was struck between the remaining three players, but Chen suffered a big cooler and was knocked out in third. Heads-up play started out almost even, but it was all over just two hands later with Visser becoming the 2014 Master Classics of Poker champion.
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