Michael Tureniec wins EPT Copenhagen
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Swedish professional Michael Tureniec is the prince of Denmark after winning the PokerStars EPT Copenhagen Main Event.
The Full Tilt pro has come close to EPT glory before, finishing runner up behind Michael Martin in 2008, but sealed the deal in the Danish capital after beating fellow Swede Per Linde heads up. Tureniec went into two-handed play with a two to one chip lead and looked set to claim the win when he got all the chips in the middle holding a dominating A8 to Linde's A5. Linde spiked a flush on the river though to put him back in contention. The end, when it came was a classic flip with Tureniec calling Linde's pocket 7s push with AJ. A jack on the turn gave the 25-year-old the title and with it a first prize of almost €500,000.
The winner said, “I’m feeling very happy. It’s been a good day. I’m glad I managed to win against such tough opponents. I’m very proud. It’s such a tough field here with a lot of Scandinavian players. My plan now is to first get a driver’s license, then get a nice car.”
John Eames, Britain's sole representative at the final table had an amazing day, being dealt pocket kings on no fewer than four occasions in the first 60 hands. They held up every time too giving him a great shot at the title. A king was to prove crucial in Eames's downfall though after his pocket queens lost a race to Tureniec's AK after the Swede hit a king. The Southport man departed soon after in third place after his KJ couldn't overturn Tureniec's AQ.
The final table positions and payouts were as follows:
1st - Michael Tureniec, Sweden, DKK 3,700,000 (€496,271)
2nd - Per Linde, Sweden, DKK 2,450,000 (€328,612)
3rd - John Eames, United Kingdom, DKK 1,400,000 (€187,778)
4th - Kevin Iacofano, United States, DKK 1,000,000 (€134,127)
5th - Nikolas Liakos, Sweden, DKK 750,000 (€100,595)
6th - Mudassar Khan, Denmark, DKK 600,000 (€80,476)
7th - Andrea Dalla Molle, Italy, DKK 450,000 (€60,357)
8th - Juha Helppi, Finland, DKK 296,400 (€39,755)
Satellites for EPT Snowfest, EPT Berlin and EPT Grand Final are up and running at PokerStars.
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