The First-Ever PAPC Crowns A Main Event Champ Today
After three days, a field of 160 entries in the €1,500 Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge Main Event has been whittled down from 160 to the final eight. Each of them has already locked up a slice of €5,950 out of the €217,280 prize pool, but it's the first place prize of €57,200 and accompanying bragging rights that are at stake today. At 1 p.m. local time, the final table will kick off in the Olympic Park Casino in Hilton Tallinn, Estonia.
It's been all Joris Ruijs the past few days, who also finished third in yesterday's €10,200 PAPC Championship event, won by none other than Patrik Antonius himself. In the Main Event, Ruijs bagged a monster lead on the second day and rode it even further on the third. Ruijs begins the final day with 2,254,000 in chips, 47% of all the chips in play. He holds a gargantuan lead over the rest of the field let by Marvin Hannemann, who's a distant second with 645,000.
Ruijs may be the odds-on favorite to win, there are still a few dangerous contenders lurking in the wings. Estonia's Markku Koplimaa for instance, who starts as the short stack with 139,000 but is seated to Ruijs' direct left. A double-up or two could put the hometown hero with over $500,000 in winnings right back in contention, and a deep run here will move him up to second on the country's all-time money list.
Kasper Mellanen (493,000), Andrejs Punka (475,000), Ville Jantunen (461,000), Kings of Tallinn €550 Championship winner Matias Arosuo (187,000), and inaugural Coolbet Open champ Sebastian Wahl (127,000) round out the eight that will take a seat on the casino floor today, where a special final table has been set up for the stream. With hole cards face-up, the stream will commence at 1:30 due to a half hour security delay.* PokerNews will be on the floor until a winner has been crowned, so check back regularly to see who will become the first-ever PAPC Main Event champion.
*edit: a €100/€100 PLO cash game will be live streamed instead.
€1,500 Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Markku Koplimaa | Estonia | 139,000 | 14 |
| 2 | Marvin Hannemann | Germany | 645,000 | 65 |
| 3 | Matias Arosuo | Finland | 187,000 | 19 |
| 4 | Kasper Mellanen | Finland | 493,000 | 49 |
| 5 | Andrejs Punka | Latvia | 475,000 | 48 |
| 6 | Ville Jantunen | Finland | 461,000 | 46 |
| 7 | Sebastian Wahl | Finland | 127,000 | 13 |
| 8 | Joris Ruijs | Netherlands | 2,254,000 | 225 |