A record breaking entry field of 1,804 entered the Euro 550 buy-in Battle of Malta poker tournament, which concluded on Monday in a victory for French poker pro and former tennis coach Nicolas Proust (29).
Proust picked up Euro 110,000 and a handsome knight statuette trophy for the win after a hard-fought heads up against Norway’s Henrik Jacobsen which at times was finely balanced.
When play reached the three-handed stage Proust, Jacobsen and Dutch pro Hendrick Koops paused to negotiate a three-way chop which gave chip leader at that point Koops Euro 125,000, Jacobsen Euro Euro 102,000 and Proust Euro 100,000, leaving Euro 10,000 on the table for the winner.
Koops’ fortunes turned after the deal and he found himself headed home in third, albeit with the biggest slice of the prize pool.
That left Proust and Jacobsen as survivors and a tense fight for the extra Euro 10,000 ensued, with Jacobsen always a threat. However Proust managed to edge ahead and maintain his lead to clinch the victory.
The other final table cashes included:
Uri Gilboa – Euro 54,500
Carlo van Ravenswoud – Euro 41,300
Anders Gran Kvam – Euro 29,500
Paolo Palmieri – Euro 21,800
Dimitar Aleksandrov – Euro 17,200
Giuseppe Grimaldi – Euro 13,350