Stephen Chidwick Wins PokerStars EPT Prague Super High Roller For €725,710

Stephen Chidwick wins the EPT Prague SHR
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  • Namita Ghosh December 12, 2019
  • 2 Minutes Read

Part of PokerStars’ 2019 European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague that is presently playing out at the Hilton in Prague, the €50,000 buy-in Super High Roller attracted a total of 30 entries on its opening day. With 14 late registrations on Day 2, the field size expanded to 44 entries.

Only six players made it to Day 3, all eyeing a mouth-watering first-place prize of €725,710 from the €2,134,440 prize pool. When the dust settled, it was UK’s Stephen Chidwick holding the trophy in his hands.

Chidwick has collected more than a dozen cashes this year. His last title win had come in September when he had captured the £25,000 PLO title at the British Poker Open (BPO). At the EPT Prague Super High Roller, Chidwick defeated Bertrand Grospellier heads-up to clinch the title.

Explaining his strategy after winning the tournament, Chidwick said, “You have to change every single hand depending on the stacks. It depends on how people are playing and it’s all about trying to get away with as much as you can. It’s about getting in a good chip lead position and that’s where you want to be at the final table without risking too many chips.”

He also admitted that to having the Global Poker Index Player of the Year (POY) title in his sight. “It’s close at the top, so I hope this will help. I’ve not had a good record in the big buy-in events at PokerStars festivals. I think this is my first win over 25k at a PokerStars event.”

The event allowed for unlimited entries and re-entries till the end of Level 8 on Day 2. Some players who took advantage of this to enter or fire multiple bullets were Jean-Noel Thorel, George Wolff, Pascal Hartmann, Adrian Mateos, Sergio Aido, and Bryn Kenney.

Only six places were assured a payday, and Day 2 played down to the money, halting with the formation of the six-handed final table. Mateos, who had shipped the series-opener €10,300 NLH event, bagged the overnight chip lead with 2,705,000.

The EPT Prague Super High Roller final table
The EPT Prague Super High Roller final table

Final Table Chip Counts

  1. Adrian Mateos – 2,795,000
  2. Jean-Noel Thorel – 2,705,000
  3. Stephen Chidwick – 1,920,000
  4. Steve O’Dwyer – 1,770,000
  5. Bertrand Grospellier – 1,200,000
  6. Ben Heath – 615,000

 

Final Table Recap

It took nearly an hour of play at the six-handed final table before the first elimination was witnessed. Ben Heath had brought in the shortest stack to the final table and ended up hitting the rail in sixth place. Heath’s ace-queen were cracked by Jean-Noel Thorel’s pocket sevens that further improved to a set on the river.

Several hands later, Chidwick scored a massive double-up via Thorel with his pocket tens flopping a full house of tens and sevens against Thorel’s turned straight. A couple more losses saw Jean-Noel Thorel on the brink of elimination. Running out of options, Thorel moved all-in from the big blind with queen-jack and was called by O’Dwyer, who held king-ten. Thorel got some hope after flopping a pair of jacks, but the river brought O’Dwyer a king for a superior pair, ending Thorel’s run in fifth place.

About an hour later, it was Steve O’Dwyer hitting the rail in fourth place. The hand began with Chidwick opening the action on which O’Dwyer three-bet jammed for 1.5 Million. Chidwick called, and the cards were turned over.

Stephen Chidwick

Steve O’ Dwyer

O’Dwyer needed an eight to double up, but the runout bricked sending the pot in Chidwick’s direction.

Adrian Mateos was gunning for back-to-back titles but his deep run ended in third place. He opened on the button for 130,000 with and Chidwick shoved all-in from the big blind with . The action folded back on Mateos who used his last time extension before making the call. The flop was good for Mateos, but the turn propelled Chidwick in the lead. The on the river brought no succor for Mateos who departed in third place.

Heads-up, Chidwick began with 9.4 Million as against Bertrand Grospellier’s 1.6 Million. Grospellier tried to catch up in the first few hands, but Chidwick took down a big pot to reclaim his dominance.

The heads-up between Bertrand Grospellier & Stephen Chidwick
The heads-up between Bertrand Grospellier & Stephen Chidwick

After almost two hours of to and fro, the final hand saw Chidwick open to 200,000 on which Grospellier 3-bet all-in for 2.375 Million.

Stephen Chidwick

Bertrand Grospellier

The flop of was favorable for Grospellier but Chidwick hit one-pair on the turn and with the river not coming to Grospellier’s rescue, Chidwick scooped the pot and also the tournament title!

Stephen Chidwick wins the EPT Prague SHR
Stephen Chidwick wins the EPT Prague SHR

Final Table Results (EURO)

  1. Stephen Chidwick – €725,710
  2. Bertrand Grospellier – €501,590
  3. Adrian Mateos – €320,170
  4. Steve O’Dwyer- €245,460
  5. Jean-Noel Thorel – €192,100
  6. Ben Heath – €149,410

 

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerNews

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