Benjamin Pollak Wins 2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT €25,000 High Roller for €705,840
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Benjamin Pollak has taken down the 2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT €25,000 High Roller after defeating German Koray Aldemir heads up. After an exciting final day's play, and over two hours of heads-up, the pair agreed to a deal splitting the remaining prize money and guaranteeing themselves €655,840 with €50,000 additional reserved for the winner.
Pollak won all three all-ins whilst heads-up, once to get back into contention, the second to wrestle the chip lead away from Aldemir - who had sensationally grabbed it earlier from Laszlo Bujtas - with Pollak's third all-in seeing him secure the title and €50,000 extra in prize money.
"You're a tough one to play against," Pollak said to Aldemir shortly after his victory. "You gave me a headache for two hours."
2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT €25,000 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Payout (EUR) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benjamin Pollak | France | € 705,840 | $787,012 * |
| 2 | Koray Aldemir | Germany | € 655,840 | $731,262 * |
| 3 | Marton Czuczor | Hungary | € 364,460 | $406,373 |
| 4 | Laszlo Bujtas | Hungary | € 300,340 | $334,879 |
| 5 | Michael Addamo | Australia | € 241,290 | $269,038 |
| 6 | Sergio Aido | Spain | € 188,980 | $210,713 |
| 7 | Laurynas Levinskas | Lithuania | € 141,730 | $158,029 |
| 8 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | € 104,610 | $116,640 |
| 9 | Joao Vieiera | Portugal | € 80,990 | $90,304 |
* Reflects a heads-up deal
2019 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT €25,000 High Roller Final Day Recap
Joao Vieira was the first elimination of the day within the first level. Coming into the day as the shortest stack, he got ace-four in against the ace-jack of Sergio Aido to hit the rail.
Less than twenty minutes later, Daniel Dvoress followed him in dramatic fashion. Getting eight-nine in against the pocket jacks of Laszlo Bujtas he made a straight by the turn, but the river improved Bujtas to a full house and Dvoress was eliminated. By this point, Bujtas was pulling away as Benjamin Pollak and Marton Czuczor both doubled behind him.
Lithuanian Laurynas Levinskas went next in seventh place. After flopping top pair with ace-king, he looked set to double before Koray Aldemir rivered a set with pocket jacks and was eliminated. This strengthened Aldemir's position and he moved into the lead before the second break of the day.
Three players returned from that break with 15 big blinds or less, and Super High Roller Champion Aido was next to be eliminated. He was in good shape with pocket aces, but they were cracked by the queen-nine of Bujtas who flopped two pair to regain his chip lead.
One elimination became two in quick succession as Michael Addamo ran ace-six into the ace-ten of Pollak after failing to recover from Czuczor's earlier double.
Aldemir with the Hero Call
What had been a fairly ordinary final table thus far changed completely with an extraordinary hero call from Aldemir. Blind on blind, Aldemir limped and called a raise from Bujtas. The German check-called all three streets against Bujtas, with the Hungarian turning over Doyle Brunson's hand: ten-deuce. Aldemir had flopped top pair and soared into the chip lead with over half the chips in play four-handed.
Bujtas failed to recover and was eliminated in a cooler shortly thereafter as compatriot Czuczor went runner-runner to make a straight.
Three-handed, Aldemir remained in the lead up until the tournament went on dinner break. On resumption, Czuczor's river call with top pair went wrong when Aldemir turned over a full house, and the second Hungarian at the final table was eliminated.
Heads-Up
Aldemir built an early lead and was one card away from sealing victory. However, Pollak made his flush draw on the river to double back into the match. And although Aldemir opened up a gap once more, Pollak's second heads-up double saw him take over the chip lead after his aces held against the jacks of his opponent.
The pair then agreed to a deal, securing each player €655,840 with the winner receiving an extra €50,000. By the third, all in Pollak's run good was on full display. He got it in with middle pair and a flush draw against the top pair of Aldemir and rivered a set to secure the second EPT High Roller title of his career after winning the €50,000 High Roller at EPT Barcelona last August.
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