€1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2022 PokerStars EPT Barcelona
€1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2022 PokerStars EPT Barcelona
Buy-in
€1,100
Prize Pool
€6,060,480
Entries
6,313
Level
41
Blinds
1,000,000 / 1,500,000
Ante
1,500,000
Entries
9
Players Left
1
Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/1,500,000, 1,500,000 ante
The final day of €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event at the 2022 PokerStars and Barcelona©Casino European Poker Tour has reached its end after six hours of play that saw the final nine players out of a field of 6,313 play down to the newest EPT Champion in what was the largest live poker tournament in EPT history.
That newest champion was Rick van Bruggen of the Netherlands who captured the €600,000 grand prize. The 27-year-old is more of a cash game specialist and this victory is by far and away the largest live tournament score of his career. He had previously only had $20,000 in career earnings over a six-year span since 2016 through six small cashes spread throughout the Czech Republic and the United States as he discussed in his post-win interview
“This is actually very insane, 600k? I don’t even know what to say. I’m going to spend some money for sure.” He said with a big smile, seemingly basking in the glow of the remarkable win.
Van Bruggen began the day second in chips behind Jack Sinclair. The two chip leaders would immediately start to pound down the rest of the players, with Van Bruggen and Sinclair holding as much as two-thirds of all chips in play between them with eight players still remaining.
But Van Bruggen would take the lead from Sinclair and start to distance himself as the dominating force as it seemed that he could not lose a hand all day. Sinclair meanwhile slipped closer down to the rest of the pack, as his large stack became a smaller one.
Discussing his position at the start of the day he said, “Jack is a very good player so I was trying to just play very tight and hope people bust and then I just got lucky with good cards, ran it up and it was very simple at that point. It was all luck.”
He would use his dominating chip position well as he gave no room to breath to the short stacks, often putting pressure on them so that he could take as many pots as he could. “It was very fun. Every hand I looked at my cards and was like yeah all in whatever it is, 100 big blinds (for me), ten big blinds and ten big blinds (for the opponents) so yeah very very fun.”
€1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick van Bruggen | Netherlands | €600,000 |
| 2 | Jack Sinclair | United Kingdom | €377,120 |
| 3 | Simon Bouaksa | Luxembourg | €268,100 |
| 4 | Hendrik Soering | Netherlands | €206,190 |
| 5 | Kyle Ho | Canada | €158,600 |
| 6 | Bjorn Bruns | Germany | €121,970 |
| 7 | Ahmad Rehaime | Canada | €93,800 |
| 8 | Yoan Asparuhov | Bulgaria | €72,170 |
| 9 | Renat Bohdanov | Ukraine | €55,500 |
Action of the Day
The day began with only eight of the nine players in their seats as Ahmad Rehaime showed up over an hour late to the table.
The first elimination would come after over an hour of play when Renat Bohdanov became the first causality of the day when he shoved pocket fours and lost a flip. Yoan Asparuhov followed him out the door just a few minutes later when he ran into pocket aces.
Rehaime would be the next player to go in seventh place as he could not get any positive traction after his late arrival and his stack was dwindled down and eventually exhausted.
The lone PokerStars online qualifier Bjorn Bruns from Germany hit the rail next in sixth place as he remarkably turned his €109 online qualification into a six-figure score.
It would take some time before the next elimination, which would be Kyle Ho who departed in fifth place and there would be a similar time gap before Hendrik Soering was eliminated in fourth place after he lost a key flip that left him with just a few big blinds.
Three-handed play would not last very long as Simon Bouaksa’s short stack was swallowed up by Van Bruggen to set up heads-up play.
Heads-up was a short affair as Van Bruggen had a overwhelming lead from the start. Sinclair did manage to double up once to edge closer but it would not be enough as Van Bruggen put the finishing touches on his dominating win after taking back the reigns with a few key hands.
That wraps things up for the PokerNews coverage of the ESPT Main Event. Stay tuned for all the other action here in Barcelona throughout the rest of the series.
Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/1,500,000, 1,500,000 ante
Jack Sinclair limped 
from the small blind/button and Rick van Bruggen checked behind with 
from the big blind.
The flop came 
and action checked through.
The turn was the 
which gave Sinclair top pair but gave Van Bruggen two pair. Van Bruggen check-raised to 9,000,000 following Sinclair's 3,000,000 bet. Sinclair made the call which left a pot sized bet on the river.
The river was the 
which gave Sinclair a worse two pair. Van Bruggen shoved for 24,000,0000 and Sinclair called by throwing in a single chip into the middle. He saw the bad news and was eliminated in second place for a payday of €377,120.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
189,400,000
42,800,000
|
42,800,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/1,500,000, 1,500,000 ante
Jack Sinclair limped from the small blind/button with 
and Rick van Bruggen checked behind with 
from the big blind.
The flop came 
and Van Bruggen check-called Sinclair's 1,500,000 bet.
The 
and Sinclair bet 5,500,000 when checked to. Again Van Bruggen called.
The river was the 
which gave Van Bruggen a full house. He decided to check for a third time. Sinclair wasn't prepared to fire the triple barrel as he checked behind surrendering the pot to Van Bruggen.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
146,600,000
10,700,000
|
10,700,000 |
|
|
39,000,000
-14,500,000
|
-14,500,000 |
Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/1,500,000, 1,500,000 ante
Jack Sinclair raised to 3,000,000 from the small blind/button with 
. Rick van Bruggen called in the big blind with 
.
The flop came 
which gave both players middle pair. Van Bruggen checked to Sinclair who bet 2,500,000. Van Bruggen thought his pair was enough to move all in for 23,000,000 effective. Sinclair made the call.
Jack Sinclair:
Rick van Bruggen:
Sinclair had his opponent dominated with the better kicker. Van Bruggen was drawing to three outs and needed a jack to win the tournament. The turn came the 
and the river the which gave the Brit the double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
135,900,000
-28,600,000
|
-28,600,000 |
|
|
53,500,000
27,500,000
|
27,500,000 |
Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/1,500,000, 1,500,000 ante
Rick van Bruggen moved all in from the button for 135,600,000. Simon Bouaksa instantly called from the small blind and Jack Sinclair folded in the big blind.
Simon Bouaksa: 
Rick van Bruggen: 
Bouaksa was at risk as he was all in but he had Van Bruggen dominated.
The flop came 
which gave Bruggen some extra outs as he had an inside straight draw. The turn was the 
which gave Van Bruggen a pair and put him in the lead. The river was the which sent Bouaksa, the recreational poker player, to the rails in third place for a payday of €268,100.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
164,500,000
28,900,000
|
28,900,000 |
|
|
26,000,000
-3,000,000
|
-3,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 41
Blinds: 1,000,000/1,500,000
Ante: 1,500,000
Level 40
: Blinds 600,000/1,200,000, 1,200,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
135,600,000
4,800,000
|
4,800,000 |
|
|
29,000,000
-3,600,000
|
-3,600,000 |
|
|
24,800,000
-600,000
|
-600,000 |
Level 40
: Blinds 600,000/1,200,000, 1,200,000 ante
The final three are now on a 20-minute break as they will continue to play for the trophy and the €600,000 first place prize.
Level 40
: Blinds 600,000/1,200,000, 1,200,000 ante
Jack Sinclair raised to 2,500,000 on the button with . Simon Bouaksa defended in the big blind with .
The flop came 
and action checked through.
Action checked through on the 
turn.
The river was the 
which gave Bouaksa top pair. He bet 3,000,000 and Sinclair quickly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
32,600,000
-3,700,000
|
-3,700,000 |
|
|
25,400,000
3,100,000
|
3,100,000 |