EPT Prague officials cooperated with player demands for an additional high roller competition in the popular Single Day format this week, organising a Euro 25,000 buy-in tournament that pulled in 19 players and 6 re-entries, with players commencing the action behind starting stacks of 100,000 chips each and levels of 30 minutes.
The entries, which included names like Ike Haxton, Paul Newey, Ben Heath, Ole Schemion, Vladimir Troyanovskiy, Timothy Adams and Justin Bonomo, generated a prize pool of Euro 612,500, ensuring cashes for the last five players standing and a Euro 226,600 main prize for the winner.
The mainly professional field quickly got down to business, and the action moved along at a fair clip until UK pro Charlie Carrel bubbled in sixth place at a final table that included some notoriously tough players, with Steve O’Dwyer (who had been the driver for this additional High Roller) the low-stack among an international mix of players.
When Belarus pro Mikita Badziakouski was eliminated at third for Euro 99,530 by Canadian Sam Greenwood, the final 90 minute confrontation between Greenwood and Jean-Noel Thorel from France began, with a “take no prisoners” and certainly no chops approach on both sides.
Thorel quickly tried to leverage his relatively small chip lead into a victory, but was thwarted by a series of at least three Greenwood double-ups at propitious stages of the finale.
Ultimately it was Greenwood who prevailed to claim the Euro 226,600 first prize, sending Thorel to the cashier and a consolation prize worth Euro 156,200.
Other final table cashes included:
Iranian pro Ali Reza Fatehi – Euro 71,970
Ireland’s Steve O’Dwyer – Euro 58,200