Twenty year-old Toby Lewis triumphed over the field in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) stop in Vilamoura, Portugal. Lewis banked a hearty €467,000 for his efforts in the €5,350 buy-in tournament, the largest ever held in the European nation.
The final pot of the night was a dramatic one. Facing off against fellow young gun Martin Jacobson, who is just 23 years old, Lewis raised pre-flop and received a call to see the first three cards come A-9-10. The action slowed down and both players checked to a five on the turn. Jacobson bet out for 180,000 and Lewis made it 525,000. Not to be outdone, Jacobson 3bet to 1.025 million and Lewis added another million on top of that. Jacobson tanked before 5betting all-in and Lewis made the call.
When the cards were revealed, Jacobson held 9-5 for bottom two pair, while Lewis held pocket fives for a turned set. Jacobson was drawing thin to a nine and whiffed on the river when another 10 came, as Lewis held a boat and took down the EPT Vilamoura title. Don’t feel sorry for Jacobson, however, who pulled down €298,000 for his runner-up performance in the record-breaking Portuguese poker tournament.
American Jason Lee was EPT Vilamoura’s third place finisher. Lee shoved all-in pre-flop with A-5 of hearts, but ran into Jacobson’s A-10. No hearts came on the board and Jacobson turned a 10 to boot, bringing a 3:2 chip lead into heads-up play against Lewis. U.K. poker pro Sam Trickett, a past winner of the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour Luton Main Event, nabbed fourth place for €139,000.
Following his title, Lewis told EPT officials, “I’m pretty happy at the moment. This title means a lot to me. I was disappointed not to win IPT Venice, but this means even more. It wasn’t easy – Martin was a very hard player to beat.” Lewis finished seventh in the PokerStars-backed Italian Poker Tour (IPT) stop in Venice in July. Italian Tamas Lendavi took down the €2,000 buy-in tournament to the tune of €235,000.
World-renowned footballer Teddy Sheringham took fifth in EPT Vilamoura. The Friend of PokerStars 3bet all-in on a board of K-9-10-9 with K-Q for kings-up, but Jacobson tabled Q-J for the nut straight. No miracle card came on the river and Sheringham was sent into the streets of Vilamoura €93,000 richer for his wear. According to the HendonMob database, it was Sheringham’s largest live tournament cash ever. He finished 14th in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event last year for £40,000.
Others who made the money included Luca Pagano, J.P. Kelly, and Rob Hollink. Here’s how the final table shook out. Six nations were represented among its eight participants:
1. Toby Lewis (U.K.) – € 467,836
2. Martin Jacobson (Sweden) – €297,985
3. Jason Lee (USA) – €186,241
4. Sam Trickett (U.K.) – €139,681
5. Teddy Sheringham (U.K.) – €93,121
6. Frederik Jensen (Denmark) – €74,496
7. Rob Hollink (Netherlands) – €55,872
8. Sergio Coutinho (Portugal) – €37,248
The EPT is now on hiatus until September 28th, when EPT London kicks off. The London festival of poker plays out until October 4th at the Hilton London Metropole. The Main Event begins on September 29th with the first of two starting days and a massive crowd is expected for the £5,250 buy-in event. Last year, 730 players entered EPT London, forming the largest tournament ever held in the U.K. 2008 WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate, now on a self-proclaimed break from poker, finished second in the EPT London feature tournament.
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