In what proved to be one of the best final tables of its Season Eight schedule, Denmark’s Jannick Wrang was able to vanquish the United States’ Olivier Busquet to capture the championship of the European Poker Tour Campione in Italy early Sunday morning.
The eight men in contention for the championship came to the tables on Saturday afternoon (Italian Time), with each looking to take home the latest EPT championship and its €640,000 payday. French poker pro Fabrice Soulier headed the field, but the lead was a scant one over Busquet, who used the final elimination on Friday to leap up the leaderboard. From the start, Busquet looked to be the player to beat.
Within the first hour, Busquet had passed Soulier to assume the lead, but another of the contenders at the table would have the lead when the players came to the first break. Day Two chip leader Balazs Botond would use the elimination of the start of day short stack, Robin Ylitalo, to pop to the top of the heap. After Botond’s pocket Queens held up against Ylitalo’s off suit K-J to eliminate Ylitalo in eighth place, Botond would be in the lead as the players paused for the first break.
Busquet was undaunted, however, as he continued to apply the pressure to his opponents as the final table continued. He would knock out Stefano Puccilli (already crippled at the hands of Mario Nagel) in seventh place and then, using a well-timed bluff, broke the five million chip mark by winning a big pot against Botond. It was Wrang who made the biggest leaps prior to dinner, though, riding a knockout of Nagel and a big pre-flop win against Koen De Visscher to take the lead at the dinner break.
It was following that break that the tournament truly became memorable. Soulier, who had been silent for much of the play prior to dinner, came back with a vengeance in knocking out De Visscher in fifth place. Meanwhile, Botond and Wrang took turns chopping chips away from Busquet’s big stack, pushing the American to the bottom of the four man race. The rapid action prior to the departure of De Visscher slowed to a halt as the remaining four players would joust for almost three and a half hours before the next elimination.
Many thought that, considering his short stack, Busquet would be the next out, but he used consecutive double ups through Botond and Wrang to claw his way back into the fight. The fourth place finisher would be Botond who, after seeing a K-Q-3 (two hearts) flop against Wrang and an eight on the turn, put his remaining chips in the center and was called by Wrang. Botond had caught bottom pair with his A-3, but Wrang’s K-4 of hearts held top pair and a huge advantage with a flush redraw. A needless four on the river gave Wrang two pair and eliminated Botond in fourth place.
After Botond’s elimination, Busquet once again went on the attack, passing Soulier and moving back to challenge Wrang for the lead. Wrang held a slim lead over Busquet when, after Soulier had moved all in pre-flop, he made a critical decision to call, turning up an A-6. Soulier’s K-Q was slightly behind but switched the tables on the K-6-2 flop. That edge changed again when an Ace came on the turn, putting the lead back in the hands of Wrang. Looking for another King on the river to redraw out on Wrang, Soulier saw the seven of diamonds come instead, eliminating him in third place.
Wrang held a four million chip lead over Busquet at the start of heads up play and it would be a lead that he would never relinquish. Although the duo battled over an hour and a half, Busquet never was able to cut into the Dane’s lead. He would eventually push his remaining chips in with an A-9 and was called by Wrang, who saw his A-6 dominated. By the end of the five card board, however, four hearts had come to team with Wrang’s Ace of hearts, giving him the flush and the championship over a game Busquet.
1. Jannick Wrang (Denmark), €640,000
2. Olivier Busquet (United States), €430,000
3. Fabrice Soulier (France), €240,000
4. Balazs Botond (Hungary), €157,000
5. Koen De Visscher (Belgium), €124,000
6. Mario Nagel (Germany), €92,000
7. Stefano Puccilli (Italy), €71,500
8. Robin Ylitalo (Sweden), €54,000
Over the next month, the European Poker Tour will wrap up its Season Eight schedule with two of its biggest drawing events. The EPT Berlin begins on April 16 at the Grand Hyatt Berlin (with a final table scheduled for April 21) and, just days later, the EPT Grand Final will return to its original city at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort in Monaco. The eighth Grand Final will take place from April 23 through May 1, wrapping up Season Eight on the EPT.
