After almost 18 hours of fierce, competitive action, the final table of the Euro 10,600 buy-in 2014 European Poker Tour Grand Final main event in Monte Carlo produced a winner Friday, with Italian pro Antonio Buonanno claiming the main prize of Euro 1,240,000.
650 players entered for the event, generating a massive prize pool worth Euro 6.5 million, but by Thursday the field had been whittled down to Buonanno and Jack Salter, Malte Moennig, Mayu Roca, Magnus Karlsson, Sebastian von Toperczer, Kenny Hicks, Sebastian Bredthauer and Martins Seilis.
Remarkably, all but one of these players – Buonanno – had qualified online for the tournament.
It was the start of a marathon 18 hour final table contest which ultimately left Buonanno facing 27-year-old British player Jack Salter in an exciting heads up that went on for several hours before the Italian was able to get the better of his opponent with a 3 to 1 chip advantage and dismiss him.
The final moments of the game saw a brief clash over the time the Brit was taking to consider his options, but there was no doubt on who had won, and the Brit still earned an impressive runner up prize of Euro 765,000.
Other final table pay-outs included:
3 Malte Moennig Euro 547,000
4 Mayu Roca Euro 419,000
5 Magnus Karlsson Euro 332,000
6 Sebastian von Toperczer Euro 258,300
7 Kenny Hicks Euro 188,500
8 Sebastian Bredthauer Euro 128,800
9 Martins Seilis Euro 102,000