Claas Segebrecht Wins the Master Classics of Poker Amsterdam, John Juanda 5th
Claas Segebrecht has won the Master Classics of Poker 2017 Main Event for a €235,087 payday. The German high roller dominated the final table knocking out 5 of his opponents and never relinquished the massive chip lead he started with.
Segebrecht knocked out Belgian poker phenom Bart Lybaert in 2nd place. John Juanda, the most accomplished player at the table if you look at tournament earnings, bowed out in 5th place for €58,800.
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claas Segebrecht | Germany | €235,087 |
| 2 | Bart Lybaert | Belgium | €157,553 |
| 3 | Kai Lehto | Finland | €109,361 |
| 4 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | €78,776 |
| 5 | John Juanda | Indonesia | €58,800 |
| 6 | Moritz Dietrich | Austria | €45,257 |
| 7 | Marijn van Puffelen | Netherlands | €35,777 |
| 8 | Lars Bonding | Denmark | €29,005 |
| 9 | Goran Mandic | Croatia | €23,926 |
The final day of the Main Event started with 9 players in the spotlight, literally. They made their entrance escorted by showgirls, with their favorite song played through the speakers of the entire casino.
When the cards got pitched, it didn't take long for the first player to hit the rail. Accomplished player Goran Mandic started out short and never got anything going. He got it in with jack-eight against 2 opponents and one of them, Moritz Dietrich, flopped a set to send the Croatian player home.
A little more surprising was Lars Bonding's exit. He started out relatively deep but wasn't intending on folding pocket sixes to a 3-bet of Claas Segebrecht. He 4-bet shoved 60 big blinds and Segebrecht called with jacks. No 6 on the flop, turn, or river and Bonding could get up and collect €29,005 for his 8th place finish.
Marijn van Puffelen, the lone Dutchman at the final table, first made a big laydown with jacks, later learning he was well ahead as his opponent had just an open-ended with jack-ten. The remainder of his chips went in with ace-five against Segebrecht's sevens and again no help would come.
Moritz Dietrich, playing under the Austrian flag which made for 9 different nationalities represented at the final table, got short and made a move with fives. He, too, ran into jacks, this time belonging to Igor Yaroshevskyy.
John Juanda was one of the shorter stacks for most of the final table and while he got some shoves through, it wouldn't be enough in the end. He shoved with queen-seven suited only to get called by queen-eight. That should give you some indication of how short he was when he made his final move. After 5 blanks as community cards, Juanda could pack his bag and exit.
Short too, Igor Yaroshevskyy must have been happy to find a real hand with ace-queen suited in the small blind. His options were limited, the all in push the obvious choice. Unfortunately for the Ukrainian player, Segebrecht found ace-king in the big blind and had an easy call. No luck for Yaroshevskyy and the tournament was 3-handed.
Bart Lybaert and Kai Lehto were both severely shortstacked while Segebrecht had the majority of the chips. As Lybaert doubled, Kai Lehto was by far the shortest. Segebrecht continued to dominate and push his opponents around. He shoved all in and Lehto called with ace-four. Segebrecht had just ten-six but hit a ten on the turn to eliminate Lehto and get heads up.
The heads up was a quick affair. After only a few hands, Bart Lybaert opened ace-ten and Segebrecht 3-bet nines. Lybaert pushed all in and Segebrecht called. The flop brought a 9 to give Segebrecht a set and on the turn it was all over as Lybaert was drawing dead.
With that, the Main Event of the biggest poker tournament on Dutch soil concluded. Some of the biggest names in poker competed, both locals and internationally renowned players. Next year, the MCOP returns for its 27th consecutive running, again towards the end of November. So mark it in your calendars, this is an event you don't want to miss! Claas Segebrecht can attest to that.
