2015 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final

€10,600 Main Event
Day: 6
Event Info

2015 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a8
Prize
€1,082,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€10,000
Prize Pool
€5,640,000
Entries
564
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
20,000

Ace High Good for Lodden; Fares Wins a Couple

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante

Hand #135: Mateos raised to 160,000 under the gun with {k-Hearts}{7-Spades} and Lodden called in the big blind with {a-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}. Lodden check-called a bet from Mateos bet of 130,000 on a {3-Hearts}{5-Diamonds}{5-Spades} flop. The {j-Spades} on the turn was checked by both players, as was the {9-Spades} on the river, and Lodden took it down with ace-high.

Hand #136: El Asmar raised from the button and took the blinds and antes.

Hand #137: Mateos raised small to big with {q-Clubs}{10-Spades}. Fares called with {k-Diamonds}{10-Spades}, and both players checked. The turn was the {7-Hearts} and Mateos check-called a bet of 250,000 from Fares. The river was the {2-Hearts} and Mateos checked. Fares bet 350,000 and Mateos agonised over a decision, before folding.

Hand #138: For the second hand in a row Mateos raised to 160,000, this time from the button with {k-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds}. Fares had {6-Diamonds}{6-Clubs} in the small blind and three-bet to 540,000. Mateos folded and Fares took down the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
8,315,000
-980,000
-980,000
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Winamax
Profile photo of Muhyedine Fares sn
Muhyedine Fares
4,015,000
690,000
690,000
Profile photo of Johnny Lodden no
Johnny Lodden
2,300,000
290,000
290,000
Profile photo of Hady El Asmar lb
Hady El Asmar
2,280,000

Tags: Adrian MateosHady El AsmarJohnny LoddenMuhyedine Fares

Mateos Bluffs Lodden in Amazing Hand

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante
Johnny Lodden
Johnny Lodden

Hand #134: Lodden made it 160,000 to got with {5-Clubs}{5-Diamonds} and Adrian Mateos with {J-Spades}{10-Spades} on the button called. Fares in the small blind called with {9-Hearts}{6-Hearts}, El Asmar had {8-Spades}{6-Spades} in the big blind and called as well. Family pot!

The flop came {A-Spades}{3-Diamonds}{9-Clubs} and it was checked around to Mateos. The Spaniard bet 275,000 and Fares with second pair called, El Asmar folded. Lodden now check-raised to 715,000. Mateos, with nothing but some back doors, called in position. Fares folded the best hand.

With 2,385,000 in the pot, the {4-Clubs} fell on the turn. Lodden (with 2.7 million behind) checked and Mateos bet 650,000. Lodden made the call.

The {A-Diamonds} fell on the river and Lodden checked with 3,685,000 in the pot. Mateos moved all in after some heavy tanking. Lodden tanked even longer.

After about four minutes, he double checked his cards and said "Still the same cards" with a smile.

Eventually Lodden decided against it, and he folded the best hand. Mateos showed the bluff and Lodden couldn't hide his frustration, though he did it with class.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
9,295,000
1,280,000
1,280,000
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Winamax
Profile photo of Muhyedine Fares sn
Muhyedine Fares
3,325,000
-695,000
-695,000
Profile photo of Hady El Asmar lb
Hady El Asmar
2,280,000
-155,000
-155,000
Profile photo of Johnny Lodden no
Johnny Lodden
2,010,000
-430,000
-430,000

Tags: Adrian MateosJohnny Lodden

Season 11 EPT Player of the Year Races Coming Down To the Wire

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante

Beyond all of the tournament titles that everyone guns for on the European Poker Tour, many strive to win the PokerStars EPT Player of the Year award.

Powered by the Global Poker Index, the EPT Player of the Year award is broken down into three tiers. According to EPT.com, "the Silver tier will award points for all events with a buy-in of $600 and lower; the Gold tier will award points for all events with a buy-in of $3,000 and lower; and the Platinum tier will count all events across the EPT Festivals, no matter the buy-in, so every EPT player can take their shot at Player of the Year glory."

Points are accumulated using the GPI formula — "an independent points scoring system that ranks live tournament poker players." There are a few factors that apply to the formula, and you can learn about how it all works by clicking here.

As it stands right now, Dzmitry Urbanovich leads the Platinum level with 3,457.79 points. He's over 160 points of Joao Vieira in second place, and then Vladimir Troyanovskiy is the only other player above 3,000. In a note to the media from PokerStars, Urbanovich was quoted as saying that the award "means more to me than the money."

Platinum Standings

RankPlayerPoints
1Dzmitry Urbanovich3,457.79
2Joao Vieira3,295.89
3Vladimir Troyanovskiy3,128.43
4Davidi Kitai2,899.21
5Benjamin Pollak2,531.25
6Fedor Holz2,484.32
7Daniel Dvoress2,418.42
8Dario Sammartino2,411.31
9David Peters2,392.58
10Ivan Luca2,384.55

With the festival coming to a close, all members in the top 10 have been seen trying to squeak out every last-second points they can. Urbanovich is definitely one of those grinding away in the tournament room, and although he has a solid lead, there could certainly be some movement and pressure at Season 11 comes to a close.

Urbanovich also tops the Gold standings, and he's up again over Vieira. This time, though, Urbanovich is over 350 points ahead of his counterpart, so his lead is slightly more comfortable.

Gold Standings

RankPlayerPoints
1Dzmitry Urbanovich1,944.53
2Joao Vieira1,592.74
3Giuliano Bendinelli1,579.25
4Atanas Kavrakov1,512.22
5Georges Yazbeck1,445.01
6David Peters1,431.14
7Paul Hoefer1,324.30
8Jose Carlos Garcia1,276.09
9Dario Sammartino1,187.77
10Frederik Jensen1,135.49

As for the Silver ranks, France's Jean-Jacques Zeitoun leads with 143.85 points. He's ahead of Stavros Avdoulos with 128.14 points in second place.

Silver Standings

RankPlayerPoints
1Jean-Jacques Zeitoun143.85
2Stavros Avdoulos128.14
3Felix Trau121.48
4Julian Salvesen114.06
5Vincent Siri112.07
6Mariano Martiradonna109.50
7Bryan Ponce Zerna108.85
8Alejandro Perez Torres105.48
9Daragh Davey99.21
10Adam Owen98.23

With today, Friday, May 8, being the last day of the festival and three scheduled events, the race for all three leaderboards should be a fighting finish until the end.

Lodden Shoves

Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante

Hand #130: Johnny Lodden made it 160,000 on the button holding {Q-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds}. Adrian Mateos in the small blind found {7-Spades}{7-Clubs} and three-bet to 440,000. Lodden made the call.

The flop came {5-Hearts}{5-Clubs}{Q-Clubs} and Mateos bet 350,000 into the 1 million pot. Lodden called in position. The {5-Spades} on the turn gave both players a full house. Mateos checked, Lodden bet 350,000 into the 1.7 million pot. Mateos called.

The {9-Hearts} hit the river and Mateos checked again. Lodden tanked for a long time. Eventually, he shoved all in for 1,290,000 into the 2.4 million pot. Mateos instantly folded.

Hand #131: Mateos opened {J-Spades}{7-Clubs} on the button with a raise to 160,000. El Asmar in the big blind defended with {8-Hearts}{5-Hearts}. The flop came {A-Spades}{A-Diamonds}{10-Spades} and El Asmar check folded to Mateos' 160,000 bet.

Hand #132: El Asmar limped in with {J-Clubs}{10-Hearts} from the small blind, Lodden checked with the {5-Diamonds}{3-Clubs} in the big blind. The flop came {Q-Spades}{K-Spades}{7-Clubs} and El Asmar check-called a bet of 105,000. Both players checked the {4-Spades}. The {9-Clubs} hit the river and El Asmar bet 180,000. Lodden folded.

Hand #133: We missed this hand because there was a short promo shown for a documentary film made about Daniel Negreanu.

Tags: Adrian MateosDaniel NegreanuHady El AsmarJohnny Lodden

Level: 29

Blinds: 40,000/80,000

Ante: 10,000

Remko Report Episode #13: REG Charity with Kurganov, Boeree, Mannino, and Donnelly

Level 28 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante
Igor Kurganov
Igor Kurganov

On the 13th episode of the Remko Report, host Remko Rinkema speaks with Igor Kurganov, Liv Boeree, Adriano Mannino, and Ruairí Donnelly about the charity Raising for Effective Giving, otherwise known as REG.

You can subscribe to the entire iBus Media Network on iTunes here, or you can access the RSS feed here. The PokerNews family of podcasts is now available on Stitcher.

Tags: Adriano ManninoIgor KurganovLiv BoereeRaising for Effective GivingREG CharityRemko ReportRemko RinkemaRuairí Donnelly

Mateos Wins a Big Pot Versus El Asmar

Level 28 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

Hand #125: Muhyedine Fares raised to 135,000 under the gun and got called in the big blind by Mateos with {j-Diamonds}{8-Diamonds}. The flop came {2-Clubs}{9-Clubs}{7-Spades} and both players checked. Mateos bet 150,000 on the {5-Clubs} turn and Fares quickly called. The river card was the {j-Spades}. Mateos decided to bet top pair, sliding out a bet of 350,000. Fares mucked his cards and Mateos won the pot.

Hand #126: Johnny Lodden raised to 120,000 from the button with {7-Hearts}{4-Hearts}, and Mateos called from the small blind with {k-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}. The flop was {a-Hearts}{10-Spades}{7-Clubs} and Mateos check-called a bet of 135,000 from Lodden. The turn was {7-Diamonds}, giving Lodden trips. This time however Mateos check-folded to Lodden's bet.

Hand #127: Lodden opened to 120,000 with {10-Spades}{7-Spades} for the second hand in a row, and Mateos three-bet to 325,000 with {6-Spades}{5-Spades}. Lodden folded.

Hand #128: Mateos raised to 120,000 from under the gun with {j-Spades}{9-Clubs} and got calles from El Asmar with {j-Clubs}{10-Hearts} int he small blind and Lodden with {k-Spades}{7-Spades} in the big blind.

All players checked the flop of {6-Hearts}{a-Spades}{j-Diamonds} and the turn card of the {2-Diamonds}. The river was the {9-Hearts} and El Asmar decided to bet 125,000. Mateos, after rivering two pair, raised to 550,000. El Asmar called and Mateos showed him that his jack was no good.

With this hand Mateos extended his chip lead to 7,800,000. El Asmar on the other hand, after coming into the day as chip leader, is currently the tournament short stack.

Hand #129: Lodden just called from the small blind with {k-Diamonds}{j-Clubs} and Mateos raised it up to 200,000 in the small blind with {10-Spades}{6-Spades}. Lodden called, and the flop was {7-Spades}{9-Diamonds}{4-Hearts}. Mateos bet 250,000 and Lodden folded.

Tags: Adrian MateosHady El AsmarJohnny LoddenMuhyedine Fares

Small Pots

Level 28 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

Hand #118: Johnny Lodden raised to 120,000 from the button with {k-Hearts}{5-Diamonds} and Fares called from the big blind with {10-Diamonds}{9-Spades}. The flop came {8-Clubs}{6-Spades}{4-Spades} and Fares check-folded to Lodden's continuation bet of 160,000.

Hand #119: Adrian Mateos on the button and El Asmar in the big blind took a flop. Mateos {A-Clubs}{3-Diamonds} flopped trips with two aces on the table, but he got no action from El Asmar.

Hand #120: Mateos made it 120,000 with the {J-Diamonds}{8-Spades} and everyone folded.

Hand #121: Adrian Mateos with the {A-Diamonds}{2-Hearts} in the big blind received a walk, Lodden didn't want to do anything with his {3-Diamonds}{2-Diamonds} from the small blind.

Hand #122: El Asmar opened {Q-Spades}{J-Diamonds} to 125,000 and Lodden called from the button with {K-Diamonds}{J-Spades}. The flop came {3-Spades}{K-Clubs}{5-Hearts} and El Asmar bet 105,000. Lodden, having flopped top pair, called. The {4-Spades} hit the turn and El Asmar checked. Lodden bet 200,000 and El Asmar instantly folded.

Hand #123: Mateos made it 120,000 from the button. Fares found {K-Spades}{K-Diamonds} in the small blind and three-bet to 255,000. Mateos folded.

Hand #124: Mateos made it 120,000 with {A-Clubs}{3-Spades} Lodden called from the big blind with the {A-Spades}{6-Clubs}. {K-Spades}{10-Spades}{4-Diamonds} and both players checked. The {4-Hearts} hit the turn and again two checks. The {A-Diamonds} paired both. Lodden bet 160,000 and Mateos called. Chop it up!

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Adrian Mateos es
Adrian Mateos
6,990,000
-230,000
-230,000
EPT Main Event Champion
EPT 1X Winner
Winamax
Profile photo of Muhyedine Fares sn
Muhyedine Fares
4,150,000
-200,000
-200,000
Profile photo of Hady El Asmar lb
Hady El Asmar
3,205,000
-625,000
-625,000
Profile photo of Johnny Lodden no
Johnny Lodden
2,565,000
265,000
265,000

Tags: Adrian MateosHady El AsmarJohnny LoddenMuhyedine Fares

PokerStars SCOOP Returns May 10 With $40 Million in Guaranteed Prizes

Level 28 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

Online poker players from around the world are gearing up for the 2015 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) starting this Sunday on PokerStars.

The annual poker festival takes place from May 10-24, featuring 46 events types - or 138 events in total - broken out into low, medium, and high buy-ins with a mouth-watering $40 million in guaranteed prize pools.

Every day during the 15-day poker festival features three different events types, with the first-day featuring four different events. The series kicks off on May 10 at 8:00 am ET with SCOOP-01-L: $11 NL Hold'em featuring a $75,000 guarantee, SCOOP-01-M: $109 NL Hold'em [Sunday Kickoff SE] with a $150,000 guarantee, and SCOOP-01-H: $1,050 NL Hold'em with a $300,000 guarantee.

The series caters to both low-limit and high-limit players with event buy-ins ranging from $7.50 to $21,000, with each event featuring a big guaranteed prize pool.

While most of the events are in no-limit hold'em, the schedule also features just about every poker variant PokerStars offers including limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, H.O.R.S.E., eight-game, 2-7 single draw, and badugi. Additionally, there are many different formats on the schedule including freezeout, turbo, heads-up, knockouts, rebuys, shootouts, and Zoom poker.

The highlight of the SCOOP are the three Main Events taking place on May 24 at 2:30 pm ET. The low SCOOP Main Event features a $1 million guaranteed prize pool for a $109 buy-in, the medium Main Event features a $2 million guaranteed prize pool for a $1,050 buy-in, and the high Main Event features a $4 million guaranteed prize pool for a $10,300 buy-in.

Russia's Ivan "vandir4rek" Soshnikov won last year's $10,300 SCOOP Main Event, beating out 657-players to win $1,048,000 as part of a three-way deal.

Players have a chance to qualify into all the SCOOP events cheaper via satellites running around the clock on PokerStars. Satellites start at just $0.11 or one FPP giving many poker players a chance to play in this year's SCOOP.

Here's a look at the schedule for the 2015 PokerStars SCOOP:

Sunday, May 10

08:00 ET - Event 01, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em - SCOOP Kickoff (2-Day Event)
11:00 ET - Event 02, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [6-Max, Progressive Super-Knockout] (2-Day Event)
14:30 ET - Event 03, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 04, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em [Turbo]

Monday, May 11

11:00 ET - Event 05, $27 / $215 / $2,100: Fixed Limit Badugi
14:00 ET - Event 06, $7.50 / $82 / $700: No Limit Hold'em [Heads-Up]
17:00 ET - Event 07, $7.50 / $82 / $700: No Limit Hold'em [Rebuys]

Tuesday, May 12

11:00 ET - Event 08, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit 5-Card Draw
14:00 ET - Event 09, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 10, $11 / $109 / $1,050: PL Omaha [6-Max, Rebuys] (2-Day Event)

Wednesday, May 13

11:00 ET - Event 11, $27 / $215 / $2,100: Fixed Limit Triple Draw 2-7
14:00 ET - Event 12, $7.50 / $82 / $700: No Limit Hold'em [Ante Up] (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 13, $27 / $215 / $2,100: 7-Card Stud

Thursday, May 14

11:00 ET - Event 14, $27 / $215 / $2,100: NL Single Draw 2-7
14:00 ET - Event 15, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em [Progressive Super-Knockout] (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 16, $27 / $215 / $2,100: PL Omaha [Heads-Up] (2-Day Event)

Friday, May 15

11:00 ET - Event 17, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em [Big Antes, Rebuys] (2-Day Event)
14:00 ET - Event 18, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [6-Max Shootout]
17:00 ET - Event 19, $27 / $215 / $2,100: FL Omaha Hi/Lo [8-Max]

Saturday, May 16

11:00 ET - Event 20, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [4-Max] (2-Day Event)
14:00 ET - Event 21, $7.50 / $82 / $700: PL 5-Card Omaha [6-Max, 1 Rebuy, 1 Add-On] (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 22, $7.50 / $82 / $700: No Limit Hold'em [6-Max, Variable Level Times, Ultra-Deep] (2-Day Event)

Sunday, May 17

11:00 ET - Event 23, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [6-Max] (2-Day Event)
14:30 ET - Event 24, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 25, $27 / $215 / $2,100: PL Omaha [6-Max, Turbo, Zoom]

Monday, May 18

11:00 ET - Event 26, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em [n-Stack]
14:00 ET - Event 27, $11 / $109 / $1,050: Pot Limit 5-Card Omaha Hi/Lo [6-Max, Rebuys] (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 28, $27 / $215 / $2,100: 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo

Tuesday, May 19

11:00 ET - Event 29, $27 / $215 / $2,100: PL Omaha [6-Max, Re-Entry Available]
14:00 ET - Event 30, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 31, $27 / $215 / $2,100: FL Hold'em [6-Max]

Wednesday, May 20

11:00 ET - Event 32, $27 / $215 / $2,100: Razz
14:00 ET - Event 33, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [Re-Entry Available]
17:00 ET - Event 34, $27 / $215 / $2,100: NL Omaha Hi/Lo

Thursday, May 21

11:00 ET - Event 35, $27 / $215 / $2,100: 8-Game
14:00 ET - Event 36, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em [Progressive Super-Knockout] (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 37, $27 / $215 / $2,100: PL Omaha Hi/Lo

Friday, May 22

11:00 ET - Event 38, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [1 Rebuy, 1 Add-On] (2-Day Event)
14:00 ET - Event 39, $7.50 / $82 / $700: H.O.R.S.E.
17:00 ET - Event 40, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [Turbo, Zoom]

Saturday, May 23

11:00 ET - Event 41, $55 / $530 / $5,200: Pot Limit Omaha [6-Max, n-Stack]
14:00 ET - Event 42, $215/$2,100/$21,000: No Limit Hold'em [Heads-Up, High-Roller] (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 43, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [6-Max, Variable Level Times, Progressive Super-Knockout] (2-Day Event)

Sunday, May 24

11:00 ET - Event 44, $27 / $215 / $2,100: No Limit Hold'em [8-Max] (2-Day Event)
14:30 ET - Event 45, $109/$1,050/$10,300: No Limit Hold'em Main Event (2-Day Event)
17:00 ET - Event 46, $11 / $109 / $1,050: No Limit Hold'em SCOOP Wrap-Up [Turbo, Re-Entry Available]

Tags: PokerStars SCOOPSpring Championship of Online PokerIvan Soshnikov