Anil Ozdemir Eliminated in 2nd Place (€96,993)

After Sam Grafton took the commanding lead, three more hands were played before the tournament was over. In the first hand, Grafton limped in on the button, Anil Ozdemir shoved, and Grafton folded. Ozdemir open-shoved the second hand and Grafton folded again.

In the next hand, Grafton shoved and Ozdemir paused. He rubbed his head, looked at his stack, then, decisively, put a stack of green T-25,000 chips in the middle.

Sam Grafton:
Anil Ozdemir:

"Queen-jack!" an excited Ozdemir yelled. He stood up, clapped his hands and awaited his fate being dealt.

The flop helped neither player, keeping Grafton in the lead with his king-high. The on the turn, however, gave Ozdemir a substantial lead in the hand. Now Grafton was the one needing to improve, and he needed to catch a king or queen to win the tournament.

The crowd flocked around the rail at the table to watch the dealer flip the on the river. Grafton rivered a king-high straight to oust Ozdemir's rivered two pair. Ozdemir and Grafton gave each other a big hug, striking for the good atmosphere at this final table.

The joyful Turk, who started the day as the chipleader, saw his incredible run come to an end in 2nd place. After the earlier deal, he received €96,993, by far the biggest score of his career.

With that, Sam Grafton is the PokerStars Festival Bucharest Main Event champion! An extensive recap and an interview with the winner follow shortly.