The EPT Cyprus Main Event that took place in Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa reached its finale yesterday. The ME recorded 1,320 entries and a prize pool of $6,402,000 from which $1,042,000 awaited the winner.
Final recap
Bjorn Kozenkai was the first of the final 7 to leave the table for $162,925. He was followed by Russian player Nikita Kuztnetsov who cashed $211,850 and Yannick Schumacher in 5th place for $275,425. Halil Tasyurek finished 4th for $275,425 and after the current chipleader Andrea Dato sent home Jose Gonzales Sanchez for $465,425, everything was ready for the final heads-up against the Dutch player Gilles Simon.
Final Heads-up
Dato began the final duel with more than a 2:1 chip lead, but Simon narrowed the gap immediately after the first hand. Simon then took the chip lead after Dato called his pot-sized bet with an inferior pair of kings. After that, it took Simon only few hands to claim the title and $1,042,000. Runner-up Andrea Dato cashed $652,200 for the second place.
From Twitch streamer to EPT Champion
It is rise to the top for the youngest player at the final table, who was playing online tournaments with an average buy-in of $10 just a few years ago. This is what he had to say after the victory: "What did it take? I don't know. Good cards. And I like to think also mostly good decisions as a couple of spots where I was like, I don't know if I played that optimally, but yeah, I like to think that I made some good decisions in the end to maneuver my way to heads up and eventually to win." He also reflected his decision to retire from Twitch streaming and focus fully on poker. "So I was doing multiple things and I felt like even though I may be a unique personality a little bit, there wasn't that much that would distinguish me from any other player or any other streamer at that point. I can do this. I can play poker for a living."
Source: pokernews.com, EPT
