$1,100 Eureka Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
$1,100 Eureka Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$2,662,850
Entries
2,803
Level
38
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Entries
8
Players Left
1
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
The PokerStars European Poker Tour $1,100 Eureka Main Event saw 2,803 entrants try their hand at winning a piece of silverware here at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa. All who entered wanted to get their hands on a coveted Shard trophy, but only one could. Six flights and three days later, It was player Leo Worthington-Leese who took home the trophy, as well as $314,030 from the $2,662,850 prize pool for his efforts. Having finished third in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event last year for $437,918, he went two better to claim his first EPT trophy.
He bested Frederick Anastasiades in second place and Samuel Fournier in third place. The trio agreed to an ICM chop before three-handed play commenced and played on for the remaining $79,957 and the trophy.
Anastasiades took home a career-best score of $248,479 and Fournier also claimed a career-best score of $237,051.
Day 3 Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Leo Worthington-Leese | United Kingdom | $314,030* |
| 2 | Frederick Anastasiades | Cyprus | $248,479* |
| 3 | Samuel Fournier | France | $237,051* |
| 4 | Aleksandr Razinkov | Russia | $132,120 |
| 5 | Yuan Xu | China | $109,390 |
| 6 | Guoliang Wei | China | $78,770 |
| 7 | Recep Aydemir | Turkey | $60,850 |
| 8 | Alexey Badulin | Russia | $46,600 |
*Indicates ICM deal
Winners Interview
PokerNews caught up with Worthington-Leese after his victory.
"During the final table today I thought I was the best player"
"It feels pretty fu*king good to win this," he said. "I finished third in the 2023 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event to two top regulars, Leonard Maue and Mike Watson, and I didn't think it was my tournament to win.
"During the final table today I thought I was the best player and I wanted to push my edge. I learned a lot from Monte Carlo and since then and feel I have gotten a lot better."
Having spent most of the day yo-yoing up and down the counts, Worthington-Leese said that today was all about momentum.
"The king-queen versus ace-six hand left me short, and I thought if I go out soon it has been a decent run. I had a slow start to the day, didn't play a lot of hands and I was down to five million chips. The ace-jack versus kings hand was a crucial turning point. Then I doubled in back to back hands and regained the momentum."
With one eye on the EPT Cyprus Main Event, and the upcoming EPT festival in Prague this December, Worthington-Leese is still looking to celebrate after what he called on Facebook an "unbelievable last couple of years in poker".
"Tonight's about chilling and treating my friends to some food and drinks!"
Day 3 Action
Yuan Xu came into the day as the chipleader, and each player was guaranteed to walk away with $46,600. He took the first pot of the day against Fournier after making jacks up.
Alexey Badulin came into the day as the short stack and was the first elimination. He doubled up through his compatriot Aleksandr Razinkov, but ultimately ended up giving him his remaining chips after running his queen-jack into Raznikov's ace-king.
The first major collision came between Xu and Anastasiades as the latter took the chip lead when his Big Slick cracked the queens of Xu to storm up the chip counts and overtake the Day 3 chipleader.
Recep Aydemir was next to depart after his pair of fours didn’t hold against the ace-nine of Anastasiades. Fournier then claimed another scalp when Guoliang Wei called off his remaining 3,000,000 with ten-six suited. Fournier’s ace-jack came out on top over a paired board.
Having avoided any big collisions, Worthington-Leese's stack took a hit. As mentioned in the interview, he lost with king-queen versus Razinkov's ace-six suited. However the Brit found back-to-back double ups, taking chips back from Raznikov and leaving Xu short.
It was Xu who fell next as he ran nines into Fournier's aces and was left drawing near dead on the flop. Fournier and Anastasiades kept claiming scalps as he sent Raznikov to the rail in fourth place having called Raznikov's small blind shove from the big.
It was then three handed and negotiations for a potential ICM chop began. The players agreed to the deal and retook their seats and play resumed. Not long after, Fournier was left short by Anastasiades before Worthington-Leese claimed the Frenchman's remaining chips when he made top two pair after shoving preflop with ten-nine.
Heads-Up Play
The second hand of heads-up play saw Anastasiades moving all in and Worthington-Leese snap-calling. The Cypriot was left with crumbs after jamming sevens into queens. The next hand, it was all over as Worthington-Leese made a straight to lock up first place and the trophy.
This tournament may be over, but there is still plenty more to come from here in Northern Cyprus. Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of the EPT action.
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Leo Worthington-Leese has overcome a 2,803 entry-field to take down the European Poker Tour Cyprus Eureka Main Event for $314,030, which resulted as part of an icm deal three-handed.
Worthington-Leese's victory comes after a string of close calls in EPT events, including a third-place finish in the main event at Monte Carlo in 2023.
Stay tuned for a recap of the event.
*denotes icm deal
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
In what would be the final hand of the tournament, Frederick Anastasiades shoved for his last 2,400,000 on the button and Leo Worthington-Leese called to put Anastasiades at risk.
Frederick Anastasiades: K♠2♠
Leo Worthington-Leese: J♠3♥
Anastasiades was the favorite to double and remained that way on the 4♣7♣5♣ flop and 9♣ turn; however, the 6♦ river left Worthington-Leese with a straight to eliminate Anastasiades in second place.
*denotes icm deal
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
84,000,000
4,000,000
|
4,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
The second hand of heads-up play saw Frederick Anastasiades moving all in and Leo Worthington-Leese snap-calling.
Leo Worthington-Leese: Q♠Q♣
Frederick Anastasiades: 7♠7♦
Worthington-Leese practically jumped out of his seat as the cards were tabled. The A♠9♦9♣ flop gave both players two pair. The Cypriot rail insisted the "seven was always coming." However their hopes were dashed over the 6♦ turn and the 8♣ river left Worthington-Leese with 80,000,000 chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
80,000,000
75,860,000
|
75,860,000 |
|
|
2,000,000
-42,000,000
|
-42,000,000 |
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Heads up play has commenced here at the final table.
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Leo Worthington-Leese moved all in from the small blind. Samuel Fournier called in the big blind.
Samuel Fournier: 5♠5♦
Leo Worthington-Leese: 10♣9♠
Worthington-Lees made top pair on the flop of 6♣4♠9♥ and made two pair on the 10♦ turn. The 4♥ river proved inconsequential and Fournier's tournament came to an end
*Denotes ICM Chop
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
41,400,000
15,900,000
|
15,900,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
Samuel Fournier opened to 1,600,000 on the button and was three-bet to 3,600,000 by Frederick Anastasiades from the small blind. It was folded back to Fournier, who called.
Fournier called a 1,300,000 bet from Anastasiades on the 3♣9♠6♥ flop and then Anastasiades check-called a 6,500,000 bet from Fournier on the 8♣ turn.
Both players checked after the A♥ completed the board and Anastasiades tabled A♠3♠ for a rivered two pair.
Fournier shook his head and mucked — awarding the large pot to Anastasiades.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
44,000,000
10,000,000
|
10,000,000 |
|
|
25,500,000
2,500,000
|
2,500,000 |
|
|
14,200,000
-12,400,000
|
-12,400,000 |
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
The final three players are resuming play, details of the potential ICM chop will be confirmed.
Level 38
: Blinds 400,000/800,000, 800,000 ante
One of the most entertaining shows in poker is stepping it up a notch as PokerStars announced that the next season of Big Game on Tour will feature four-time Super Bowl champion and NFL star Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski.
Gronkowski, who spent 11 seasons as a tight end in the NFL and is now a sports analyst, will compete on the upcoming The Big Game on Tour season alongside the pros, Loose Cannons and sports media personality Nick Wright, whose appearance was also confirmed on Thursday.
“I’m always up for a challenge, and diving into the world of poker is going to be an amazing new adventure for me," Gronkowski said in a press release. “I’m beyond excited to play alongside some of the best in the game and tackle the high-stakes action. Just like on the football field, I’ll be bringing my competitive edge and giving it everything I’ve got at the tables.”