2008 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final - Monte Carlo

PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Final
Day: 4
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Event Info

2008 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final - Monte Carlo

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a♥5♥
Prize
$3,198,500
Event Info
Buy-in
$15,764
Prize Pool
$13,393,124
Entries
842
Level Info
Level
30
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
10,000
Sort
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Amit Makhija Eliminated in 20th Place ($73,325)

[user25067]
[user25067]
Amit Makhija-- 20th Place
Amit Makhija-- 20th Place
Denes Kalo opened the pot from early position, Glen Chorny flat-called, Amit Makhija re-raised to 100,000, Kalo folded, Chorny moved all in and Makhija called.

Chorny {Q-Hearts}{Q-Diamonds}
Makhija {10-Clubs}{10-Hearts}

The flop was {9-Clubs}{9-Hearts}{4-Clubs}, the turn was the {5-Diamonds}, the river was the {A-Hearts}, and Chorny's queens held, eliminating Makhija, who also happens to be a close friend of his.

After the hand, Johnny Lodden was spotted muttering to some friends on the rail that he had folded 4-4 and would have flopped a full house.

Tags: Amit MakhijaDenes KaloGlen Chorny

Thomas Boekhoff, MIA

[user38449]
[user38449]
All of the players have returned to their seats since the last break, except one Thomas Boekhoff of Germany, whose seat remains vacant.

Joe Hachem called the floor over to the table to bring the matter to their attention and since then, several announcements have been made over the loudspeaker letting Boekhoff know that play has recommenced. One theory is that Boekhoff assumed that the last break was the dinner break.

So far he's lost an orbit of antes and blinds (25,000 chips); we'll let you know if / when he turns up.

Ilikyan Eventually Finds A Double Up

[user67765]
[user67765]
Valeriy Ilikyan
Valeriy Ilikyan
Valeriy Ilikyan open-shoved his short stack of 100,000 into the middle and found a customer in Walid Bou Habib.

Habib: {8-Hearts}{8-Diamonds}
Ilikyan: {A-Diamonds}{K-Clubs}

The flop looked good for Ilikyan to double up when it came {A-Hearts}{2-Diamonds}{3-Diamonds}, but amazingly the turn and river came {5-Diamonds}{4-Clubs} and both players play the straight on the board and split the pot!

A few hands later Eric Liu opened with a raise to 30,000 and Ilikyan came over the top once again for just over 100,000 in chips. Liu made the call and flipped {A-Spades}{10-Diamonds} which held the lead over Ilikyan's {K-Hearts}{Q-Spades}.

However that all changed on the flop of {Q-Clubs}{Q-Diamonds}{5-Diamonds}. The turn of the {5-Hearts} ended it all, and to rub salt into the wound the river landed {K-Clubs} to give Ilikyan a full house and a double-up to around 225,000 chips.

Tags: Valeriy Ilikyan

Dinner Info

[user38449]
[user38449]
The tournament staff has just provided us with the following information about the dinner break: The clock will either be stopped midway through the level, or when the field reaches 16 players - whichever comes first.

Level: 21

Blinds: 6,000/12,000

Ante: 1,000

Stefan Geim Eliminated in 21st Place ($73,325)

[user25067]
[user25067]
Stefan Geim-- 21st Place
Stefan Geim-- 21st Place
David Miara raised to 40,000, Stefan Geim moved his remaining 100,000 all in from the cutoff and Miara called the additional 60,000.

Miara {A-Clubs}{10-Hearts}
Geim {A-Spades}{8-Spades}

The flop was {10-Clubs}{7-Clubs}{5-Clubs}, giving Miara top pair and the nut flush draw. The turn was the {K-Hearts}, the river was the {7-Spades} and the freeroll winner from Germany hit the rail, having successfully turned $0 into a $73,325 payday.

After the hand, Miara was up to 780,000.

Tags: David MiaraStefan Geim

Rasmussen Doubles Through Esfandiari

[user67765]
[user67765]
Stig Top Rasmussen
Stig Top Rasmussen
In a massive hand on the feature table, Stig Top Rasmussen has just been caught in a huge trap from Antonio Esfandiari but somehow made a miraculous escape.

It is believed that Esfandiari had limped in from early position before a mid-position raise saw Rasmussen come over the top with a massive overbet for all of his 700,000 chip stack. Esfandiari sat there looking at his pocket queens and made a huge call. The other players stepped aside and the cards were revealed.

Esfandiari: {Q-Spades}{Q-Hearts}
Rasmussen: {A-Diamonds}{10-Hearts}

Rasmussen's adventurous move looked like it was going to end his tournament when the flop came {7-Clubs}{3-Clubs}{4-Spades}. However a miraculous {A-Spades} on the turn gave Rasmussen a sensational three-outer to take the lead in the hand. The river peeled off the {J-Clubs} and Stig Top Rasmussen scoops a 1.4 million chip pot to become our new tournament chip leader, taking the lead from Esfandiari, who slips to just below a million in chips.

Tags: Stig Top Rasmussen

Big Stacks Collide

[user67765]
[user67765]
On the feature table the action was folded around to Oyvind Riisem in the small blind who raised the big blind of Maxime Villemure. Not one to give up his blinds without a fight, Villemure re-raised making it 85,000 to go.

Villemure hoped to take down the pot right there but Riisem decided to 4-bet, adding another 200,000 into the middle as a huge pot was developing.

Villemure, who has been playing very solidly all tournament, went into the tank for a long time before eventually laying down his hand to avoid a clash with his fellow big stack.
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