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The Season XVII World Poker Tour (WPT) Barcelona €3,300 Main Event was a week-long extravaganza! Hosted at the Casino Barcelona, the event pulled in a massive field of 1,227 entries making it the second-largest Main Event of Season XVII and helped generate a prize pool worth €3,570,570.
Latvia’s Vitalijs Zavorotnijs (cover image) outlasted the huge entry field to clinch his career-first WPT title, along with a best-live score of €600,000. Entering the final table as the chip leader, Zavorotnijs went on to eliminate Niko Koop and Eric Sfez. Zavorotnijs defeated Boris Kolev heads-up in a match that lasted just three hands, to become the latest inductee into the WPT Champions Club.
Talking about his win, the Latvian pro said, “How I feel right now is hard to describe. A mix of emotion and exhaustion. I’m really tired and really happy! When you work hard for something, and it happens, to be in this spot right now, it feels like a dream come true.”
Discussing his style of play, Zavorotnijs stated, “I haven’t changed how I have played this year, but I do feel more mentally prepared. I know I can play well, but I also know you cannot win without luck, and I’ve had luck.”
“I’ve come into poker from a sports background, and I’ve matured and got less titled,” added the former professional volleyball player. “I am now going to spend some more time with my wife, who won a satellite into the Main Event this week, and my four-year-old daughter. Then I will go to Vegas for the WPT Tournament of Champions,” the Main Event champion concluded.
Other notables who also finished in the money included Jason Tompkins (8th for $83,620), Marcin Wydrowski (17th for $28,250), Denys Shafikov (32nd for $19,775) and Tobias Peters (39th for $16,667).
Final Table Chip Counts
1. Vitalijs Zavorotnijs – 10,635,000
2. Eric Sfez – 10,265,000
3. Niko Koop – 6,305,000
4. Boris Kolev – 5,025,000
5. Jerry Odeen – 2,605,000
6. Alain Zeidan – 1,975,000
Final Table Recap
The first player to bite the dust on the six-handed final table was Alain Zeidan. Zeidan’s were outmanoeuvred by Boris Kolev’s . The rundown was bitter-sweet for Zeidan who picked up a set of nines but was eliminated by Kolev’s sets of queens. He went on to collect the sixth-place prize money.
Short-stacked Jerry Odeen`s dream run in the event came to an end when his ran into Kolev’s . With the board offering no help to Odeen, he was knocked out in fifth place.
Finishing in fourth place was Niko Koop. Koop pitted his against Vitalijs Zavorotnijs’ . The board bricked and Zavorotnijs’ pocket tens sent Koop packing to the rail.
On the 64th hand of the final table, Kolev raised from the button to 400,000 with , and Eric Sfez jammed from the small blind with . Zavorotnijs called from the big blind holding , and Kolev promptly folded his hand. The board revealed . While Sfez hit a pair of nines on the turn, it was no match of Zavorotnijs’ flopped pair of kings, leading to the former’s third-place exit.
Vitalijs Zavorotnijs (28,525,000) and Boris Kolev (8,275,000) started off the heads-up battle with Zavorotnijs enjoying a commanding lead over Kolev. It took just three more hands for the event to come to a close.
On the final hand of the Main Event, Zavorotnijs raised to 425,000 with and Kolev 3-bet to 1,700,000 with . Zavorotnijs quickly called to see the flop open . Kolev led out for 1,200,000 and Zavorotnijs called to see the turn . Kolev moved all-in for 5,700,000, and Zavorotnijs asked for a count, used two of his remaining time banks before making the call. The on the river completed the board. Though Kolev had paired his queen on the flop, Zavorotnijs turned a spades flush to take down the title and his career-best score of €600,000!
Final Table Results (EURO)
1. Vitalijs Zavorotnijs – €600,000
2. Boris Kolev – €375,000
3. Eric Sfez – €281,570
4. Niko Koop – €215,000
5. Jerry Odeen – €160,000
6. Alain Zeidan – €120,000
You can also catch the final table action right here.
Content & Images Courtesy: World Poker Tour