Tony G Triumphs in the $10,400 MPP High Roller ($257,500)
Tony G is the Mediterranean Poker Party (MPP) $10,400 High Roller champion after the Lithuanian star came out on top of a lightning-fast six-handed final table. The tournament was due to play down to a winner on September 4, but the decision was made to pause the event in the early hours of September 5 once Matthias Lipp had busted in seventh place.
Tony G banked $257,500 after a heads-up deal with Alex Peffly, with this score being the 24th six-figure or better prize Tony G has reeled in during his long and illustrious career.
$10,400 MPP High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony G | Lithuania | $257,500* |
| 2 | Alex Peffly | United States | $247,500* |
| 3 | Andrea Ricci | Italy | $140,800 |
| 4 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | $100,000 |
| 5 | Danny Tang | Hong Kong | $80,000 |
| 6 | Kahle Burns | Australia | $65,000 |
*denotes a heads-up deal
The $10,400 buy-in tournament drew in a field of 149 players, made up of 96 unique players and 53 re-entries. That crowd created a $1,490,000 prize pool which the top 22 finishers shared.
Each of the six returning, well-rested players, locked in at least $65,000 for their efforts. Australian grinder Kahle Burns was the first casualty on Day 3. Burns sat down as the shortest stack, with a meagre seven big blinds at his disposal, and he never managed to turn matters around.
Danny Tang was the odds-on favorite going into the final day's action courtesy of being armed with 41 big blinds, almost twice as many chips as his nearest rival. However, poker can be a funny old game, and Tang crashed out in fifth place despite his envious starting position; fifth place came with the High Roller's final five-figure prize, $80,000.
Fourth place and $100,000 went to Stephen Chidwick before Italy's Andrea Ricci reeled in the $140,800 third-place prize, the fourth-largest score of his live poker tournament career. Ricci's untimely demise left Tony G heads-up with Peffly of the United States.
With shallow stacks, rising blinds, and a $105,000 difference between first and second place, Tony G and Peffly struck a deal to lessen the blow of busting in second. The deal worked perfectly for Peffly because he could not get past Tony G, and he captured a $247,500 prize, leaving Tony G to claim yet another victory and $257,500 in prize money.
Tony G took to Facebook shortly after his victory to inform his legion of fans about his accomplishment.
"Nice victory this time. Champagne for the casino. Cyprus is a lucky place. Managed to knock out five Russians along the path to victory. In the final table knocked out the great Australian K Burns. Chidwick and Danny Tang were tough opponents. Ultimately it's a confidence builder that I can still compete after so many years away from the circuit."
This is definitely not the last time we will see Tony G strutting his stuff on a live poker tour.