New Zealand online and live tournament player David Yan bested a field of 65 (including re-buys) over the weekend to claim the honours and the top prize of Euro 465,800 in the Euro 25,750 buy-in Poker Stars European Poker Tour Malta High Roller event after a tough three-day tussle with a stellar range of players.
The, six-player, 100-hand final table included international aces headed by the likes of Ole Schemion, Oleksii Khoroshenin and Max Silver, all determined to take the biggest check home, and the starting field had featured other big names such as Davidi Kitai, Patrick Leonard and Adrian Mateos.
When EPT Vienna champ Khoroshenin busted at third for Euro 217,400, the stage was set for a heads up between Yan and Ramin Hajiyev of Azerbaijan, each with a large chip stack that appeared to herald a long and tough struggle.
In the event, however, it turned out to be a four-hand affair, thanks to some remarkable cards and a massive failed bluff which took Hajiyev out of the game at second place for Euro 334,400.
For Yan it must have engendered almost a feeling of deja vu – he won the same event at EPT Barcelona just 8 weeks ago.
The other final table cashes looked like this:
Max Silver United Kingdom Euro 164,030
Mikita Badziakouski Belarus Euro 127,400
Ole Schemion Germany Euro 98,740