Belarus professional player Natan Chauskin (27) has emerged the winner in the Euro 1,100 buy-in Italian Poker Tour main event in Malta, claiming the first prize of Euro 149,560 after a two way chop in the closing stage of the competition.
The Belarus player held the chip lead at the start of final table action and dominated much of the play through to the heads up, where he and second-placed Govert Metaal (56) called for a halt whilst they agreed a chop that left Euro 20,000 on the table for the winner.
It was a remarkable fightback for Metaal, a Dutch pro and 2013 player of the year who started the final table as the low-stack but managed to not only stay in the game but progress to face Chauskin in the heads up.
However, he was unable to stop the Belarus player’s continued advance and had to be satisfied with the runner-up prize of Euro 124,000.
Here’s how the other players at the final table finished:
Christopher Brammer Euro 72,660
David Gomez Euro 54,570
Joep Raemaekers Euro 42,440
Tobias Garp Euro 31,420
James Grogan Euro 22,500
Denis Timofeev Euro 16,030