Boris Angelov Overcomes Lin to Win Mystery Bounty Event (€185,400 Inc. Bounties)
The $10,200 Mystery Bounty event, running at Casino Barcelona as part of the PokerStars European Poker Tour, has now concluded and a new champion has been crowned.
That champion is Boris Angelov, a player who has been on more than a bit of a heater as of late. Angelov finished second in the 2024 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event for €620,500 and then went on to finish fourth in the WSOP Main Event for a lifechanging score of $2,500,000.
Although his win in the Mystery Bounty might not quite hit those figures, Angelov has now locked up a much deserved PokerStars trophy and a first place finish that cements his name among the greats.
As well as the trophy, Angelov walked away with €110,400 for first place, along with €75,000 in bounties, for a total of €185,400.
$10,200 Mystery Bounty Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize | Bounties | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boris Angelov | Bulgaria | € 110,400 | € 75,000 | € 185,400 |
| 2 | Ren Lin | China | € 71,200 | € 37,500 | € 108,700 |
| 3 | Sondre Svanevik | Norway | € 50,800 | € 10,000 | € 60,800 |
| 4 | Sam Greenwood | Canada | € 39,100 | € 55,000 | € 94,100 |
| 5 | Cristian David | Romania | € 31,300 | € 0 | € 31,300 |
| 6 | Thomas Lee | Australia | € 25,000 | € 15,000 | € 40,000 |
| 7 | Erik Seidel | USA | € 20,000 | € 7,500 | € 27,500 |
| 8 | Thomas Haverstad | Norway | € 16,000 | € 7,500 | € 23,500 |
Final Day Recap
The €10,200 Mystery Bounty event attracted 88 entries, which made for a total prize pool of €413,600. By the end of Day 1, 39 players bagged and tagged, while and a further 12 jumped in before the end of late registration for a field of 51 players at the start of Day 2.
That field was quickly reduced as players dropped left, right and center. Among the early bustouts was Nacho Barbero, as well as PokerStars ambassadors Sam Grafton and Elias Gutierrez.
By the mid-point of the day, Angelov had had already started to accumulate a decent stack. He came into Day 2 fifth in chips and scored an early double knockout and other soon-to-be final tablists gained chips too, including Sam Greenwood and Paul Lagan.
Lagan doubled up right on the bubble as Albert Martinez hit the rail, the final player to bust before the money.
It wasn't long after the bubble had burst that the field was reduced to nine and the unofficial final table was set.
Final Table Set - Lagan Pulls Bounties
With the final table set and the bounty chest open for business, Lagan headed to exchange his tokens during the break and ended up pulling out one of only two top prizes of €50,000.
He sat back down at the table and soon after was involved in a hand against Angelov. The action escalated and by the river Angelov had moved all in. Lagan called and Angelov turned over top set with a pair of kings. Lagan threw his pocket fours on the table having flopped a lower set and then took his leave from the table.
On his way out though, it was time for one more trip to the bounty chest. Lagan pulled a €10,000 envelope and then exchanged his second token. On his final pull, he let out a cheer as he drew the second and last €50,000 bounty from the box.
He may have finished ninth for a humble prize of €12,800 but, with bounties added, Lagan's total for the tournament stood at €130,300, the second biggest haul of anyone in the event.
Ren Lin Mounts Comeback
By this point, Angelov had a significant lead on the final table, eliminating Hall of Famer Erik Seidel in seventh place along the way. It looked like the tourney was his all his. But Ren Lin was about to mount a comeback.
Lin had been nursing a short stack for a while, even falling to around six big blinds before doubling and then tripling up his stack. Lin knocked out Greenwood in fourth place and Sondre Svanevik in third to take the Mystery Bounty to heads-up.
Angelov Overcomes Lin in Heads-Up Battle
Chip stacks were pretty much even as Angelov and Lin returned from a break to take their seat in the heads-up match, the trophy on the table anyone's for the taking. Lin soon managed to take and then extend his lead, winning a couple of showdowns and all ins to reduce Angelov's stack down to shoving size.
It could all have been over when Angelov shoved the button and Lin called with the better hand, but Angelov got the double up and started to fight back.
Moments later, Angelov made a flush to regain the momentum and the pair went back and forth until the inevitable confrontation happened. Both players paired their hands to make two pair on the board and the money went in the middle over the course of three streets. Angelov had the higher pair to win the pot, the tournament, and the trophy.
That concludes the PokerNews coverage of the €10,200 Mystery Bounty. There's still loads more to come at the EPT Barcelona, so check out the coverage hub for more action.
