Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/1,500,000, 1,500,000 ante
Ferdinando D'Alessio
On the very first hand of heads-up play, Lucien Cohen raised to 3,000,000 and was called by Ferdinando D'Alessio in the big blind.
The flop of 8♣J♣K♥ saw D'Alessio check to Cohen, who fired 7,000,000. D'Alessio took some time before announcing all in for 36,500,000 and Cohen called instantly.
Ferdinando D'Alessio: J♥9♠
Lucien Cohen: 5♣4♣
D'Alessio was ahead with a pair of jacks, needing to dodge a club. The 5♥ turn brought Cohen some additional outs, but the 8♠ river was safe for D'Alessio to earn the quick double up.
Level 42
: Blinds 1,000,000/2,000,000, 2,000,000 ante
Lucien Cohen
It seems appropriate that Lucien Cohen was holding a coffee in his hand as the final card of the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event was dealt. The man affectionately known as "Ratman" wore the same shirt every day of the tournament after another player spilled coffee on him during the early stages of the tournament at Casino Barcelona. He said it felt like the incident was good luck and it appears he was right.
The ESPT main event needed an extra day at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona, as the largest live tournament field in PokerStars history saw Cohen dominate from start to finish and celebrate with his rail after defeating Ferdinando D'Alessio in heads-up play.
The field of 7,398 entries represented a new record field, which generated a massive €7,102,080 prize pool. In the end, the Frenchman claimed the €676,230 top prize along with the coveted PokerStars trophy.
Lucien Cohen
Cohen, called the "Ratman" due to his pest control business, earns the honor of adding an ESPT series title to the EPT trophy he claimed in Deauville in 2011. That score of €880,000 is the only tournament cash of his career larger than today’s victory. The 59-year-old considers himself a recreational player, but told the PokerStars team after his victory that he has found excitement in the game once again.
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Lucien Cohen
France
€676,230
2
Ferdinando D'Alessio
Belgium
€415,320
3
Petros Karadimos
Greece
€294,620
4
Danilo Velasevic
Serbia
€232,090
5
Ankit Ahuja
India
€177,810
6
Avihai Smadga
Israel
€136,850
7
Parker Talbot
Canada
€105,590
8
Igor Kaufman
Israel
€81,230
Tournament Recap
The top 1,109 players standing after eight opening flights earned a payday of at least €1,750, including notable names such as Conor Beresford (453rd - €3,500), Julien Mariani (960th - €1,880), Dinesh Alt (945th - €1,880) along with PokerStars AmbassadorsFintan Hand (969th - €1,880) and Benjamin Spragg (774th - €2,290).
Perhaps the cruelest elimination came on Day 2, when Ali Alnuaimicalled off his stack with aces full , losing to the quad queens of Aristidis Theodoridis.
Parker Talbot
The final elimination of Day 4 was PokerStars AmbassadorParker Talbot, who saw his pocket pair come up short against D'Alessio to finish seventh, seeing the final six players bag one last time.
Day 5 Action
The remaining six returned to the felt in search of ESPT glory, with Cohen bringing a sizeable chip advantage into the added Day 5. It only took three hands to see the first elimination, as D’Alessio took the final 11 big blinds from Day 1e chip leader Avihai Smadga, who entered the day as the short stack.
From there, Cohen took over the rest of the final table eliminations. His first victim was India’s Ankit Ahuja, who couldn’t catch up to the Frenchman’s pocket pair to hit the rail in fifth spot.
Cohen found another pair to take out Danilo Velasevic in fourth place before making a straight on the river and seeing Petros Karadimoscall off with top pair to finish in third.
Lucien Cohen - Ferdinando D'Alessio Heads Up
Heads-up play began with Cohen holding a better than four-to-one chip advantage over Day 3 leader D’Alessio. The action could have been over in just a single hand, but the Belgian dodged Cohen’s flush draw to pull closer.
There would be no second double for D'Alessio, who earned €415,320after check-raising his top pair only to see Cohen holding a better kicker. Cohen shouted “Ratman” before spilling some of his coffee on the table as he celebrated the victory with family and friends. Perhaps a serendipitous end to a magical run for the double-series champion.
Lucien Cohen
That concludes PokerNews coverage of the ESPT Main Event, but don’t miss any of the action from the rest of the series here in Barcelona.
