After a two month break for Christmas spirit and a New Year hangover to wear off, the European Poker Tour picked up again; starting 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It's normally the coldest stop on the tour and last year a blizzard and sub zero temperatures welcomed the predominantly Scandinavian field to the Casino Copenhagen.
Alongside the locals were the qualifiers, one of which went by the name of TJ Cloutier, playing in PokerStars paraphernalia. He began on perhaps one of the tougher tables, with Flying Dutchman Marcel Luske, EPT Barcelona winner Alexander Stavic, and Juha Helppi alongside him. Also on the table was one Magnus Petersson, playing his first ever EPT event. There would be more of him later.
After playing into day four, the tournament had found its last eight.
Thomas Holm (Denmark) . . . . 409,000
Samir Shakhtoor (Sweden) . . . 367,000
Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier (France) . . . 1,086,000
Magnus Petersson (Sweden). . 622,000
Richard Toth (Hungary). . . . . . 814,000
Alexandre Poulain (France). . . 128,000
Anders Wijk (Sweden) . . . . . . . 255,000
Theo Jorgensen (Denmark) . . 305,000
Whilst many final tables begin cagily, Copenhagen proved to break with convention.
In contrast to the season two final a year earlier, which ran until 3.30am as eventual winner Mads Andersen traded all-ins with Norwegian Edgar Skjervold, this year the final was into its heads up duel within four hours; one of the quickest finals in EPT history. It was ElkY looking the more comfortable under the TV lights. His chip stack no doubt helping to put the former pro-gamer at ease. But first out was Anders Wijk.
His Ace-Jack was battered by Richard Toth's pocket Kings. A King on the turn and the final was down to seven.
Whilst Theo Jorgensen doubled up to 200,000, Thomas Holm followed Wijk when he moved in with Richard Toth again the dutiful caller with pocket sevens. Thomas's Ace-Queen held potential but nothing more. As Jorgensen doubled up again, the hour mark approached with another exit. Alexandre Poulain moved all-in for 50,000, the only move left open to him. ElkY was among the callers, who found his single Ace good enough to defeat his countryman, who could only manage King high.
Moments later the tournament was down to four when Samir Shakhtoor moved in, again seeing chip leader ElkY doing the humane thing with pocket Queens. Ace-Three for Samir which quickly looked less promising than it had. Cruelly, the flop gave Samir another Ace but brought another Queen to see him out.
Then the big pots arrived. In one measuring 2.8 million on the chip scale, it was Richard Toth and ElkY looking for the spoils. As ElkY made a 45,000 bet preflop, it was raised by Toth but re-raised by Elky again to 285,000. Big swathes of chips were riding to the middle and neither player looked capable of holding onto the reigns. The pot measured 600,000 going into the Three- Four-Jack flop that was checked by both. With a Queen on the turn Toth checked again, but ElkY, looking like Serpico in open neck shirt and cop shades, fired in 250,000. A huge bet that Toth called.
A six on the river. Again Toth checked, prompting ElkY's to move all-in.
"Call" said Toth. Somehow, ElkY dug out a Five-Seven for a straight on the river, to the shock of Toth and everyone watching.
The background plot to this final seemed to be Theo Jorgensen doubling up. The local hero was never close enough to the lead but always far enough away from defeat to keep the home crowd spirits high.
His next all-in move brought Richard Toth to face the Dane's questions; answered in the unluckiest of ways.
Thinking over the all-in call Toth looked like he needed to recover from the ElkY miracle, and believed Jorgensen to be trying something similar. "I have to trust my instinct" said Toth, "and it says you have nothing."
He called. "Wrong instincts" replied Jorgensen.
It was a terrible misread, with Jorgensen turning over Aces. Toth managed a sheepish Queen-Nine. But ominously, they were both hearts. The flop brought a third. Jorgensen was still likely to double up. But another heart on the turn, and then again on the river, gave Toth the last laugh.
The tournament was suddenly three-handed. At least one man, Theo Jorgensen, thought they were the wrong three.
Richard Toth's roller coaster ride was to end next. All-in he found ElkY calling in a flash. Ace-Queen for ElkY, Ace-Five for Toth, who knew now to squirm. No help, and in what seemed like a blink, the tournament was heads up.
But as a handful of key hands had defined the final table, a couple more would dictate the heads up match. Magnus Petersson's Threes over Twos full house would change everything.
1.5 million in the pot, Magnus induced a call from ElkY who held nothing more than a pair. ElkY looked beaten.
On what would be the last hand, and with a board of Queen-Seven-Six and two hearts, ElkY moved in with what he would reveal to be a flush draw. Magnus though had made two pairs, Queens and Sixes, and just needed to dodge another heart. He did. From underdog to Champion in a little over 30 minutes.
An ugly head-in-hands scream for ElkY. A winners cheque of €550,000 and a place in the Monte Carlo Grand Final for Petersson.
"He was sure he was going to win" said Magnus, "I offered him a deal but he turned it down and didn't care... It's a pity for him now."
Article by: by Stephen Bartley of Gutshot.com
