Dimitrios Michailidis Wins the 2019 PokerNews Cup High Roller (€23,025)
The 2019 PokerNews Cup €1,100 High Roller has crowned its champion here in Finix Casino, and it was Dimitrios Michailidis that was victorious in an 89-player field. Michailidis defeated Marios Tzakos in the heads-up, after a long battle that lasted more than three hours.
This wasn't the biggest cash in Michailidis' career, since the Greek player had success in many live tournaments around Europe. His biggest cash came in August 2018 where he won a side event during 2018 European Poker Tour Barcelona for €55,400. His win in the High Roller ranks as 4th in the list with his lifetime cashes, based on the Hendon Mob database.
Marios Tzakos on the other side is mostly a cash games player, and this is his biggest live tournament cash.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dimitrios Michailidis | Greece | €23,025 | $25,724* |
| 2 | Marios Tzakos | Greece | €21,525 | $24,048* |
| 3 | Marcel Galustov | Bulgaria | €9,990 | $11,175 |
| 4 | Polykarpos Stryvakis | Greece | €7,970 | $8,915 |
| 5 | Loukas Kioutsoukis | Greece | €6,120 | $6,846 |
| 6 | Dimitrios Dimitros | Greece | €4,410 | $4,933 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
Action of the Final Day
The last day started with six players, and Dimitrios Dimitros had to work his way with just 6 big blinds. It wasn't as quick as many thought, since Dimitros managed to double up and was up to 15 blinds after a couple of hands during the final day. He finally got his chips in the middle with ace-six in a two-three-four flop and Marcel Galustov called him with king-four, holding until the river. Dimitros earned €4,410 for his efforts.
Next to depart was Loukas Kioutsoukis who made the low straight in a four-card straight board, against Tzakos who held the higher straight, and he paid an all in bet in the river. Kioutsoukis run was good enough to earn him €6,120.
Polykarpos Stryvakis is the player who busted in fourth place, losing a big chunk of his stack when he made a call on the river and mucked versus Galustov's trips. He was left with three blinds and put them in the middle in the next hand, with Michailidis and Tzakos calling him and checking down up to the river. Michailidis made a pair which was enough to send Stryvakis to the rail, but with a payout of €7,970.
The three-handed play started with the three players almost even in chips, but Galustov is the one who busted first. Galustov played some pots and lost a part of his stack, left with 14 big blinds before his final hand. Tzakos shoved from the small blind with ace-seven, Galustov called with jack-eight and the board kept the advantage of the ace-high.
Michailidis and Tzakos tried at first to play the heads-up, with Tzakos having a big advantage over his opponent. Michailidis managed to get back and even the two stacks, and this is when the two players decided to see the numbers. They had similar stacks and they split in half the prize pool, leaving €1,500 and the trophy for the winner.
The two players wanted to include all the money, plus the trophy into the deal, but the tournament director informed them that this is not possible, and they must play until a real winner emerges. They agreed to this, and at first they started playing normally the heads-up, but after some time they got really tired so they were shoving most of their hands. For the game to end it needed eleven all ins, with Dimitrios Michailidis winning the 11th, as the chip leader at the moment.
This is the end of the €1,100 High Roller, the first big event for the 2019 PokerNews Cup in Finix Casino, located in Kulata, Bulgaria. The action continues with the Main Event, which currently is running its Day 1b. Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates!