Peerless Pauli Takes EPT London
Sunday, 19 October 2014
After five days of hard fought action and one of the most entertaining final tables in recent memory, Sebastian Pauli has been crowned the winner of EPT London.
The German started the final day with the chip lead and remained largely troubled throughout, despite the best efforts of a star-studded final table that included former EPT winners Kevin MacPhee and Jake Cody.
Final tables can often be cagey affairs but the EPT London finale was anything but, with plenty of action right from the off. In the opening level, ever pot seemed to reach at least a flop and chips changed hands with surprising regularity.
Despite the frantic start it took until 66 hands in for the first elimination. Pablo Gordillo was the man to go, losing a flip with A10 against Kevin Killeen's threes. Frenchman Jonathan Bensadoun followed one hand later, running AQ into Art Koren's kings.
Poland's Jakub Mroczek started the day as one of the short stacks and laddered his way to sixth but busted when his A8 couldn't outrun Killeen's pocket tens.
Hopes were high for another home victory in London but Jake Cody's challenge stalled in fifth. The EPT Deauville winner lost a huge pot to Kevin MacPhee when his rivered top pair also delivered the American a flush. The Lancastrian departed soon after, again at the hands of MacPhee who turned a full house to crush Cody's flopped trips.
Germany's Artur Koren was then on the wrong end of a race against Kevin Killeen and busted in fourth, £168,900.
The final trio briefly discussed a chop but unable to reach agreement, played on for the very substantial spoils.
Former UKIPT winner Killeen was the first of the three to go. The Irishman was in bad shape with A7 against MacPhee's AQ. A seven on the flop gave him renewed hope which was cruelly crushed with the appearance of a queen on the river.
Pauli started heads up play with a significant chip lead and after winning a big pot with pocket aces, never looked like relinquishing it. The 25-year-old sealed victory when his AQ prevailed against the American's A10. There was to be no second EPT title for MacPhee following his win in Berlin in season six but £308,500 should cushion the blow.
The final table positions and payouts were as follows:
1 - Sebastian Pauli, Germany, £499,700
2 - Kevin MacPhee, United States, £308,500
3 - Kevin Killeen, Ireland, £220,500
4 - Artur Koren, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, £168,900
5 - Jake Cody, UK, Team PokerStars Pro, £133,800
6 - Jakub Mroczek, Poland, £104,200
7 - Jonathan Bensadoun, France, £75,900
8 - Pablo Gordillo, Spain, £51,900
Next on the calendar for the EPT is a trip to Prague. Qualify online at PokerStars.
Image courtesy of Neil Stoddart at PokerStars Blog.