Glorious Graner Grabs EPT Gold
Thursday, 18 December 2014
As excuses for missing a vacation go, they don't come much better than the one offered by Stephen Graner to his girlfriend.
The pair have had to delay a planned trip to Paris because the 26-year-old was busy taking down the €5,300 EPT Prague Main Event for €969,000.
The man from Hawaii started Wednesday's finale with a big lead and he was rarely troubled throughout what turned out to be a rapid-fire last day.
Former EPT Deauville winner Remi Castaignon's hopes of adding a second EPT title to collection stalled in seventh when his short-stacked shove with 7d6d was looked up by Anton Bertilsson. The Swede's As10h prevailed meaning a new champion would be crowned in the Czech capital.
Bjorn Wiesler's hopes of claiming it stalled in sixth after he was on the wrong end of a flip against Graner. The American dished out a repeat performance soon after to send Simon Mattson to the rail when his pocket sevens held against the Swede's AdJh.
Kent-based German Fabio Sperling followed Mattson to the cashiers' cage soon after, unluckily running into Bertilsson's pocket aces.
Hopes of yet another UK EPT champion ended when Jonathan Wong departed in third. The Londoner is more at home at the cash tables but showed his tournament chops with an extremely deep run. The 30-year-old's quest for glory was crushed by Graner whose pocket jacks were too good for Wong's pair of three.
Graner enjoyed a big chip lead over Bertilsson at the start of heads-up play and it didn't take him long claim victory. The American was once again on the right end of a flip and when his pocket fours held against the Swede's Ks5c he could celebrate by far his biggest live score to date.
The American was gracious in victory, telling the PokerStars blog, “I woke up with a lot of premium hands and won a lot of critical flips. It was as much the dealers' work as my own...It was tough competition but a dream in how it played out. I ran very pure."
Graner and his girlfriend will still be heading to Paris but for a shorter than anticipated break. €969,000 in spending money should be more than enough compensation!
EPT11 Prague Final Table Payouts
1st - Stephen Graner, USA, PokerStars player, €969 000
2nd - Anton Bertilsson, Sweden, PokerStars qualifier, €582 720
3rd - Jonathan Wong, UK, €410,190
4th - Fabio Sperling, Germany, PokerStars qualifier, €308,180
5th - Simon Mattsson, Sweden, €235,700
6th - Bjorn Wiesler, Germany, €172,340
7th - Remi Castaignon, France, PokerStars player, €129,390
8th - Miltiadis Kyriakides Greece, PokerStars qualifier, €92,610
Image courtesy of Neil Stoddart @ PokerStars Blog.