Although he had a fight when it went to heads up play, Russia’s Andrey Pateychuk dominated the final table at the European Poker Tour stop in San Remo, Italy, taking home the championship.
At the start of play on Thursday afternoon (San Remo time), Australia’s Daniel Neilson was at the head of the leaderboard, but there was a chance at history. The United States’ Kevin MacPhee, a former EPT champion, was also in the hunt – albeit as the short stack – to become the first player to ever earn two championships on the EPT. Also in the mix was the United Kingdom’s Barny Boatman, the most experienced player of the eight man final table.
Action in the early going was quite slow as the players parried with each other to feel out how the game would play. Neilson played his big stack well, putting pressure on his opponents, while MacPhee’s chip stack slipped below the one million mark. It would take a little over an hour before the first significant clash would eliminate a player.
Handcuffed with his short stack, Kevin MacPhee moved all in from the small blind, looking for the big blind of Boatman to release. After getting a count, Boatman instead decided to look MacPhee up and was rewarded for his effort. With a suited Q-7 against MacPhee’s off suit 6-5, Boatman would get the knockout – although a gut shot straight on the turn provided a sweat – and Kevin MacPhee was out in eighth place.
Neilson continued to push his tablemates around, becoming the first player to crack the ten million mark, as the early action wore on. Jan Bendik would knock out Italy’s last hope at taking the San Remo crown, Rocco Palumbo, in seventh place, while Dimitar Danchev would take care of Yorane Kerignard in sixth before the chip lead would switch hands.
In a key hand that would prove to push him to the title, Pateychuk opened for a raise only to be three bet by Neilson. Pateychuk wouldn’t back down, however, pushing his own four bet to the center before Neilson committed his big stack by moving all in. Pateychuk immediately made the call, tabling his Big Slick, which proved to dominate Neilson’s A-9. After the board didn’t bring a nine for the Australian, the chip lead moved into the hands of Pateychuk, a lead that he would virtually never relinquish.
Pateychuk would cut a big chunk out of Boatman’s stack before knocking out Bendik in fifth place. The Russian then would move back to Boatman, eliminating the Hendon Mobster in fourth place when his pocket Queens hit an unnecessary set on the flop against Boatman’s pocket threes. After knocking out the Englishman (for his largest career cash, it has to be noted), Pateychuk held two-thirds of the chips in play, putting his opponents Danchev and Neilson in dire straits.
Although Pateychuk would do the major damage, Danchev was responsible for knocking out Neilson. After an all-in from Neilson, Danchev made the call from the small blind and was ahead with his A-9 over Neilson’s A-5. Once the board blanked, Neilson was out in third place and Danchev would move on to the heads up fight against Pateychuk.
For one of the few times in recent major tournament history, a deal was set by the final two players. With Pateychuk (13 million) holding a slim lead over Danchev (11 million), the duo decided to split €1.2 million of the remaining prize money equally, leaving €80,000 back for whoever took down the championship. With the financial deals worked out, Pateychuk and Danchev went to work to determine the champion.
The heads up fight would prove to be quite exciting. With both players comfortably flush with their cash deal, the battle would be for the bragging rights of the championship. Although Pateychuk would extend his lead on several occasions, Danchev wouldn’t go away and, at a couple points, even took slim leads. After a two hour battle, however, the champion was determined.
After seeing his stack devastated by a Pateychuk straight, Danchev would push his final $1.3 million in chips to the center from the big blind and Pateychuk made the call. It was a race situation, with Pateychuk’s pocket sevens holding the lead over Danchev’s suited K-Q, and (as it always seems) the board provided some great drama. The flop came J-J-4 but, once an Ace came on the turn, Danchev held ten outs on the river to attempt to get back in the game. An innocent three came on that river, however, and Andrey Pateychuk had seized the EPT San Remo championship.
1. Andrey Pateychuk (Russia), €680,000*
2. Dimitar Danchev (Bulgaria), €600,000*
3. Daniel Neilson (Australia), €285,000
4. Barny Boatman (United Kingdom), €225,000
5. Jan Bendik (Slovakia), €170,000
6. Yorane Kerignard (France), €130,000
7. Rocco Palumbo (Italy), €95,000
8. Kevin MacPhee (United States), €63,694
* – reflects final table deal
For Americans who have been watching the taped ESPN broadcasts of the 2011 World Series of Poker Championship Event, Pateychuk is a familiar name. He finished fifteenth at this year’s Main Event; along with this EPT championship, Andrey has earned $1.4 million in just the last five months.
With the completion of the EPT San Remo, Europe’s tournament poker elite will only have eighteen days before a new site enters the tournament. On November 15, the EPT will head to the Club Hotel Casino Loutraki in Greece for the first ever EPT event on Greek soil. For now, though, congratulations have to be given to the latest EPT champion, Andrey Pateychuk, for an excellent performance at the final table in Italy.
