Mustapha Kanit Wins 2015 EPT Grand Final €50,000 Super High Roller for €936,500
Welcome to the big time, Mustapha Kanit. You've done it.
The €50,000 Super High Roller at the 2015 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final was a fast-paced, action-packed affair that took just one day to finish. Kicking off shortly after 12:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, the final hand was dealt just before 3:30 a.m. Monday morning.
When registration closed, 66 entries and a prize pool of over €3.2 million were tallied. The top prize was worth €936,500, and it would be the Italian walking away with the title. Entering this event, Kanit boasted live tournament earnings of nearly $2.7 million, and he's now scored the largest payday of his young career. Previously, Kanit's largest result came in early 2014 when he took fourth in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $25,500 High Roller for $492,600.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mustapha Kanit | Italy | €936,500 |
| 2 | Mike Watson | Canada | €672,300 |
| 3 | Martin Finger | Germany | €437,000 |
| 4 | Fedor Holz | Germany | €329,800 |
| 5 | Fabian Quoss | Germany | €256,100 |
| 6 | Andrei Streltsou | Belarus | €198,500 |
| 7 | Mark Teltscher | UK | €156,900 |
| 8 | Ivan Luca | Argentina | €121,700 |
| 9 | Scott Seiver | USA | €92,860 |
The top nine finishers were set to cash, and when the final 10 remained, it was a fighting battle for the short stacks to stay alive. Eventually, Vladimir Troyanovskiy was eliminated in 10th place to serve as this event's "bubble boy."
Scott Seiver had once again reached the money of a super high roller event, but his run ended in ninth place. He was foliowed to the payout desk by Ivan Luca, Mark Teltscher, Andrei Streltsou, and then a trio of Germans — Fabian Quoss, Fedor Holz, and Martin Finger.
The last man standing in Kanit's path to the trophy was Mike Watson, and extremely formidable opponent. Quickly into the match, Kanit doubled against Watson and took the chip lead. From there, there was one small bump in the road for Kanit, which came in terms of a double for Watson when he fell super short, but that was it. Kanit's jovial aggression, backed by the support of his boisterous rail, helped him finish the job.
On the final hand, Kanit's K♣7♥ dominated Watson's K♦5♣. The young pro known as "lasagnaaammm" on PokerStars flopped trips and won from there, holding through the 7♦7♣6♦3♥10♣ board.
For his runner-up finish, Watson took home €672,300, but all eyes were on the champion, Mustapha Kanit.
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