The inaugural European Poker Tour (EPT) Paris main event attracted a total of 1,606 entries to the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile, the sixth-largest turnout in the tour’s history. As a result, the prize pool for the €5,300 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament surged to more than $8.1 million when rendered in US dollars. After two starting flights and five more days of action, 34-year-old Razvan Belea emerged victorious with the title and the top prize of $1,251,900.

“This is unreal. It’s all I’ve ever dreamed of since I started playing poker,” Belea said after coming out on top. “I was watching EPTs all the time, played a couple, and now I’m here. It’s an unbelievable feeling. Everything is possible,” the champion said during the winner’s ceremony.

This victory saw Belea write his name in the history books as the first player from Romania to capture an EPT main event title.

“I’m glad I can do this for you guys,” Belea said when asked about his trailblazing win.

While a multi-table tournament champion will usually walk away with an impressive return on investment for the event, Belea ended up with an eyewatering 220,655 percent ROI thanks to the fact that he satellited into this tournament for just €530 online. This was the largest live tournament cash of Belea’s career, by a margin of nearly $1.2 million.

The top 239 finishers cashed in this event, with big names that ran deep including bracelet winner Andrew Lichtenberger (100th), four-time bracelet winner Adrian Mateos (91st), Johan ‘YoH Viral’ Guilbert (78th), four-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser (69th), bracelet winner Stefan Schillhabel (46th), high-stakes regular TReun Mulder (43rd), Gaelle Baumann (33rd), bracelet winner Ben Heath (26th), Kenny Hallaert (19th), two-time bracelet winner Manig Loeser (18th), bracelet winner Arthur Conan (14th), bracelet winner harry Lodge (13th), and high-stakes online tournament superstar Niklas ‘Lena900’ Astedt (12th).

Belea came into the final day of this week-long tournament as the chip leader with just five players remaining. Henri Kasper was the first to fall, with his A-6 suited running into the A-K of Peter Jorgne. Kasper was drawing dead after the turn and was eliminated in fifth place ($339,244).

The UK’s Brian Delaney lost a big pot with top pair versus a flush draw to fall to the bottom of the leaderboard. He soon got all-in with his A-K leading the K-Q of Belea, but a queen-high runout sent the pot to the Romanian. Delaney earned $441,054 as the fourth-place finisher.

Recent World Poker Tour Prime Paris main event champion Fabrice Bigot was the next to find himself all-in and at risk. He lost a big chunk of his stack in a clash with Jorgne to find himself with fewer than 10 big blinds. Bigot got all-in with AClub SuitQClub Suit leading the 7Spade Suit5Spade Suit of Belea. The board came down KHeart SuitKDiamond Suit6Heart Suit8Diamond Suit9Club Suit and Belea rivered a nine-high straight to drag the pot.

Bigot earned $573,360 and 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year points for his podium finish. With 2,400 total points and $767,750 in year-to-date POY earnings, Bigot is now the fourth-ranked player in the 2023 POY race sponsored by Global Poker.

Final Table Results EPT Paris €5,300 Main Event

Heads-up play began with Belea holding more than a 2:1 chip lead over Jorgne. The Swedish player started off by closing the gap slightly, but Belea was still well ahead when the final hand of the tournament was dealt. Belea min-raised on the button with 7Club Suit6Spade Suit and Jorgne called with 10Heart Suit6Heart Suit from the big blind. The flop came down 10Spade Suit5Spade Suit3Club Suit. Jorgne checked his top pair and then raised Belea’s continuation bet. Belea called with his gutshot and then made a straight on the turn when the 4Heart Suit rolled off the deck.

Jorgne bet 2,600,000 and Belea thought it over before raising to 5,600,000. Jorgne called, leaving himself around 9.3 million behind. The river paired the board with the 4Club Suit. Jorgne moved all-in and Belea made the call, locking up the pot and the title. Jorgne took home $834,707 as the runner-up.

In addition to the seven-figure top prize, Belea also secured 2,160 POY points as the champion, enough to move him inside the top ten in the POY standings.

Gambling movies are always great fun, and you definitely can’t go wrong with the titles above. From the gruesome violence in Casino Royale to the light-hearted tricks of Maverick, there are gambling movies for every taste. It’s even possible to learn a thing or two about poker if you pay enough attention.

American poker pro, Chris Brewer, taken down the €50,000 Super High Roller at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Paris for his second EPT title. Chris Brewer beat a tough field of 50 players to take home the first-place prize of €959,520.

Brewer’s journey to the title was a rollercoaster ride, filled with ups and downs. He entered the final day as the chip leader, but lost some ground early on. However, he managed to stay focused and patient, waiting for the right moments to strike.

Final table results for the €50,000 Super High Roller:

• 1st – Chris Brewer (USA) – €959,520
• 2nd – Jules Dickerson (United Kingdom) – €623,800
• 3rd – Nick Petrangelo (United States) – €443,000
• 4th – Pedro Marques (Portugal) – €340,700
• 5th – Gregoire Auzoux (France) – €262,300
• 6th – Dimitar Danchev (Bulgaria) – €201,500
• 7th – Steve O’Dwyer (Ireland) – €155,100
• 8th – Thomas Muehloecker (Austria) – €120,000

Brewer was posing for another winner’s photo in the €50,000 Super High Roller event. A total of 50 entries pushed the prize pool north of $3.4 million with notables Thomas Muhlocker, Steve O’ Dwyer, and Pedro Marques among those who made the money. Brewer defeated Jules Dickerson in heads-up play to take home the win and hoist the trophy.

Brewer’s haul for the two-day event was €959,520 (which exchanges to $1,026,159) – technically his first million-dollar score.

And that’s a score that he had a legit shot at just 18 months ago. At the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas Brewer was one of the final four players battling it out in Super High Roller Bowl VI. Joining Brewer at the table were high-roller titans Sean Winter, Justin Bonomo, and Michael Addamo. Brewer was sitting third in chips when a big-stacked Bonomo made a move on the button to put pressure on the short-stacked Winter and Brewer. When Brewer woke up with Diamond ASpade Q he made the call. Bonomo turned over Heart 10Heart 4 and ended up making a flush and sending Brewer to the rail in painful fashion. Winter went on pick up the $1,008,000 third-place prize 10 minutes later.

While there were plenty of needles about Brewer’s penchant for bubbling to be had over the past 12 months, a quick look at his 2022 would prove that he took a pro’s approach to variance and continued to grind. Last year alone, Brewer racked up nearly $3 million of his career $7.8 million including an impressive 10 six-figure scores.

It’s likely that the memory of finishing fourth in the Super High Roller Bowl VI (and missing out on that million-dollar-plus score) may never fade, but results like what Brewer had this week in Paris can turn those once-open wounds into story-telling scars that were simply a necessary experiences to help him get to where he is today.

ACR Online Super Series returning February 6th to February 28th. This promises to be one of the biggest online poker tournament series of the year 2023.

Major Events of ACR Online Super Series:

• $630 buy-in $750,000 GTD on Sunday, February 12th
• $630 buy-in $1 Million GTD: Day 1’s on Feb. 18th/19th, Day 2 on Monday, Feb. 20th
• $2,650 buy-in $1 Million GTD: Day 1’s on Feb. 23rd/26th, Day 2 on Monday, Feb. 27th

Multiflight Events:

• $630 buy-in $2 Million GTD: Day 1 Flights from Feb. 6th-27th, Day 2 on Monday, Feb. 27th
• $215 buy-in $1 Million GTD: Day 1 Flights from Feb. 6th-27th, Day 2 on Monday, Feb. 27th
• $22 buy-in $150,000 GTD: Day 1 Flights from Feb. 6th-26th, Day 2 on Sunday, Feb. 26th

Of course, just because there’s big money up for grabs doesn’t mean the series is only for high rollers. Yes, there are tournaments with buy-ins up to $2,650, but there are also buy-ins that start at just $3.30. ACR has packed this OSS with more micro-stakes tournaments than ever before, along with their multitude of ways to win seats at a discount with qualifiers, mega-satellites, and steps.

The inaugural PGT Mixed Games series is officially in the books, and by all accounts, the festival was a marked success. Dan Zack, a professional poker player from Michigan, recently earned the Player of the Series honors in the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, with the kickoff event setting the record for a PokerGO owned-and-operated tournament with 70 unique players. In the end, it was New Jersey poker pro Dan Zack who was crowned the PGT Mixed Games champion. The 30-year-old cashed in five of the eight tournaments held, the most in-the-money finishes of any player. His total earnings of $524,700 were also the highest tally of any competitor. With 352 PGT points secured along the way, Zack was awarded the series champion’s trophy and $25,000 in added prize money as the player of the series.

“It’s incredible. It is so nice to have this,” Zack told PokerGO reporters when asked about this mixed-game-focused festival. “There are no mixed game tournaments outside of the WSOP before this at reasonable stakes. It’s incredible to have another chance a year to play these events, given how fun mixed game tournaments are, and how much demand there is for them in the high-stakes mixed community.”

“I think it’s already becoming more popular each year at the series,” Zack said about the current popularity of mixed-game events. “The numbers have been going up, and the turnout here beat everyone’s expectations. I was trying to get over bets down on all these events before the series started. I think the momentum that is already existing is just going to continue toward mixed games.”

In addition to securing this player of the series award, Zack is also the reigning WSOP Player of the Year, having won two bracelets and cashed for more than $1.4 million across 16 in-the-money finishes last summer. With the more than half a million dollars he secured at this series included, Zack now has lifetime earnings in excess of $3.5 million.

“Unlike the WSOP, there is so little control you have over it because it’s only eight events,” Zack said on if winning Player of the Series was his goal. “At the WSOP, you can play so much volume that you give yourself a really good chance to win. But here everyone can play the same volume, so you really have to run hot. I was very happy to do that. Happy to win it.”

Below is a look at Zack’s five cashes made during the PGT Mixed Games series:

Zack ended up cashing in five consecutive events, missing out on only the first two and the final tournament on the schedule. He recorded his first cash of the series in event no. 3, the $10,300 triple stud tournament. He placed third from a field of 60 entries for $84,000 and 84 points. In the very next event, he added another $27,600 and 28 points with an eighth-place showing in the $10,300 buy-in big bet mix, which drew 69 entries.

The back half of the schedule began with Zack recording another deep run, this time placing seventh in the triple draw mix event from another 69-entry turnout. Zack earned $34,500 when his seven draw was unable to improve enough to beat the jack-six low of eventual runner-up Alex Livingston. Zack also hit the rail in the next event, the dealer’s choice tournament, while playing a lowball draw game. He ran into a 9-8-6-5-4 ion a round of no-limit deuce-to-seven single draw and was knocked out in sixth place ($33,600).

Zack saved his largest payday for last. He finished second from a field of 57 entries in the $25,000 buy-in 10-game championship event, earning $345,000 after striking a heads-up deal with eventual winner Jason Mercier that redistributed the remaining prize money. Zack made it down to the final two with a slight lead, and the final two agreed to flip until a winner was decided. Mercier won the key first pot-limit Omaha flip to gain a commanding chip advantage. Zack doubled up his short stack twice, but ran into a wheel for Mercier on the next all-in and was knocked out in second place.

By making the top two, Zack had officially locked up the win in the points race. Here is a look at the final top ten in the PGT Mixed Games standings:

Photos provided by PokerGO. Credit to Antonio Abrego.

Jason Mercier is a five-time WSOP bracelet winner with more than $20 million in recorded tournament earnings. The 36-year-old father of three was a fixture on the live scene for a decade before stepping away from the life of a full-time traveling grinder to focus on starting his family. He has only recorded six tournament cashes in the last 3.5 years, with his most recent title run coming in August of 2019. Mercier finally got back in the winner’s circle on Saturday, Feb. 11 by emerging victorious in the 2023 PGT Mixed Games $25,000 buy-in 10-game championship event.

Mercier defeated a field of 57 entries that turned out to the PokerGO Studio inside ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to earn his 27th career tournament title and the top prize of $367,5000. This was the only event of the series that Mercier participated in.

“This tournament was so much fun to play,” Mercier told PokerGO Tour reporters. “It was my first time in the PokerGO Studio. I felt good playing. I played cash for two days before coming here, so I felt like my mixed games were oiled up and ready to go. I played well. I was never all in except for one time in no-limit deuce, where I had the guy dead. That was the only time I was all in and at risk during the whole tournament, so I feel like I played really well, ran well, and am super happy to get the W and a nice payday.”

Mercier was also awarded 257 PGT Points for the win, enough to catapult him inside the top 5 in the points race for the series.

This event featured mix of the H.O.R.S.E. games, no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha, no-limit deuce-to-seven single draw, badugi, and deuce-to-seven triple draw. It played out over the course of two days. The field of 57 entries was narrowed to 18 contenders by the end of day 1, with three-time bracelet winner Dan Zack leading the remaining players when cards got in the air for day 2. Mercier was third in chips at that point, but moved up to second position by the time the final seven players combined onto a single table.

Six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu busted short stack Andrew Kelsall in seventh place ($71,250), only to soon find himself facing an all-in bet for his tournament life in a hand of no-limit hold’em. Negreanu called the shove by Jeremy Ausmus, only to muck when Ausmus revealed queens full of fours. Negreanu earned $85,500 as the sixth-place finisher.

Ausmus, a five-time bracelet winner, had a tough run during five-handed play. He lost a couple of big hands in pot-limit Omaha before finding himself involved in a crucial stud eight-or-better pot. He wound up all-in on sixth street with sixes up facing the eight low and pair of eights of two-time bracelet winner David ‘ODB’ Baker. Baker drew an ace on seventh street to improve to aces up for the high side, scooping the pot and eliminating Ausmus in fifth place $114,000.

Maxx Coleman’s run in this event came to an end in a hand of Badugi. He got all-in after the second draw with 4Club Suit2Diamond SuitASpade Suit facing the 3Heart Suit2Spade SuitADiamond Suit of Baker. Neither player improved on the end and Baker’s superior three-card badugi earned him the pot. Coleman, who has yet to play out a paused heads-up match for the event no. 4 title against Ben Lamb, earned $142,500 as the fourth-place finisher. The two-time bracelet has locked up $138,000 for making the final two in that event and could win up to $186,300 if he were able to capture the title.

Baker lost a big chunk of his chips in a no-limit hold’em pot to Mercier. He then got all-in in a hand of razz, committing his last chips on sixth street with a (5-3)A-2-5-9 board. He was up against the (A-8)9-3-2-4 of Zack. Baker caught a 10 on the end to finish with a 9-5-3-2-A low, while Zack caught a 7 to improve to 7-4-3-2-A. Baker earned $199,500 for his second big score of the series. He finished as the runner-up of the kickoff event, bringing his total earnings for the series to nearly $350,000.

Heads-up play began with Zack holding a slight lead over Mercier. The two came to a deal that redistribute the remaining prize money, with second to earn $345,000 while the winner would take home $367,500. The two soon got it all-in blind in a hand of pot-limit Omaha and Mercier made a pair of aces to win the pot for essentially all of the chips in play. Zack doubled up his short stack twice, but ran into a wheel for Mercier on the next all-in and was knocked out in second place.

Zack cashed five times across the eight-event series, with this being his highest finish and largest payday. He totaled $524,700 in earnings during the festival, accruing 352 PGT points along the way, the most of any player. While the standings in that points race are not yet final, with Coleman and Lamb’s heads-up showdown yet to be completed, Zack’s point lead is insurmountable. As a result, he has locked up the title of PGT Mixed Games series champion and the $25,000 championship bonus.

PGT Mixed Games $25,500 10-Game Championship Full Results

The The bestbet Winter Open series kicks off on Jan. 26. Justin Macella, a talented poker player, has emerged victorious at the Bestbet Winter Open Main Event, held in Florida. This was a major tournament that attracted some of the best players from around the world, and Justin’s win has solidified his place among the elite in the poker world. The Georgia native made his third tournament cash his largest by far, and he now holds $151,889 in career earnings.

The tournament was a grueling test of skill, endurance, and nerves, with players competing for several days to claim the top prize. Justin faced off against a talented field of players, but he proved to be the best, displaying a level of skill and strategy that was unmatched. He outwitted and outplayed his opponents, ultimately earning the title of Bestbet Winter Open Main Event champion.

The victory marks a major milestone in Justin’s career and will go down as one of the highlights of his career. He took home a substantial cash prize and has earned the respect of the poker community. Justin’s win at the Bestbet Winter Open Main Event is a testament to his hard work, dedication, and talent as a poker player.

Justin has been making a name for himself in the world of poker for several years now, and this win is a major step forward in his career. He has a bright future ahead of him, and many believe that he will continue to dominate the poker scene for years to come. With his win at the Bestbet Winter Open Main Event, Justin has solidified his place among the top players in the world and has shown that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level.

In conclusion, the Bestbet Winter Open Main Event was a major success, and Justin Macella’s victory is a testament to his skill as a poker player. He has earned the respect of the poker community and has a bright future ahead of him. Congratulations to Justin on his impressive win and good luck in his future endeavors.

bestbet Winter Open Main Event Final Table Results

Four-time WSOP bracelet winner John Monnette win his maiden PGT title and a $211,000 cash prize along with a beautiful PGT memento.

The $10,300 entry buy-in tournament had 88 hopefuls vying for the beautiful PGT Mixed Games trophy and a share of the $880,000 prize pool. Only 13 players reached the money.

Phil Hui money-bubbled the tournament in 14th place.

Notables who crossed the money line but fell short of the final table include Michael Noori (8th for $35,200), Anthony Zinno (9th for $35,200), Mike Wattel (10th for $26,400), Jeff Madsen (11th for $26,400), Benny Glaser (12th for $17,600) and Billy O’Neil (13th for $17,600).

Final Table Chip Count

1. Brian Rast – 4,310,000
2. Albert Daher – 3,345,000
3. John Monnette – 1,980,000
4. Damjan Radanov – 1,585,000
5. Chris Vitch – 895,000
6. Craig Chait -805,000
7. Mike Thorpe – 275,000

Final Table Recap Eight-Game Event

Chris Vitch busted seventh after losing most of his stack to Craig Chait and the remaining chips to Albert Daher.

Mike Thorpe entered the FT with the shortest stack but worked up a pay jump, falling in sixth place, courtesy of Brian Rast.

Damjan Radanov was sent packing in fifth place by Albert Daher in an Omaha Hi-Low hand.

Brian Rast got to work again by eliminating Craig Chait in fourth place but couldn`t take those chips far as he finished third.

After Rast’s departure, John Monnette (2,300,000) and Albert Daher (10,900,000) went at each other in an intense and long-fought heads-up battle, which mostly went in Monnette’s favor until the duo decided to pause the match as the late registrations for Event #3: $10,300 Triple Stud Mix were closing. Both players wanted to enter the event and decided to postpone the match, with Monnette (9,950,000) bagging an over 3:1 chip lead over Daher (3,250,000).

While initially scheduled for Tuesday, the heads-up match got postponed by another day since Monnette made a fourth-place finish in Event #3.

PGT Mixed Games: Final Table Results 

1. John Monnette – $211,200
2. Albert Daher – $149,600
3. Brian Rast – $105,600
4. Craig Chait – $88,000
5. Damjan Radanov – $70,400
6. Mike Thorpe – $52,800
7. Chris Vitch – $44,000

Isaac Haxton won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 buy-in 7-handed high roller tournament. The event drew a solid field of 46 entries to create a total prize pool of $4,508,460.

It was the fourth cash and second tournament victory for American poker pro Haxton at the Baha Mar Resort on The Bahamas after he won another $100,000 high roller event to pocket $1,082,230.

Isaac Haxton came out on top of a three-way deal with Seth Davies and Adrian Mateos in the opening PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller before banking almost half a million in the $25,000 8-Handed High Roller, falling short of a victory to Justin Bonomo and Rui Neves Ferreira. Fedor Holz was the runner-up, but he did take home a nice seven-figure score worth $1,014,400.

Final Result Event #66: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000

Sam Greenwood won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $250,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em Super High Roller event. The event drew a solid field of 39 entries to create a total prize pool of $9,498,060.

According to The Hendon Mob, The big wins adds to his lifetime earnings of more than $26,000,000,  trailing only Daniel Negreanu ($49,403,695) and Timothy Adams ($31,261,338). Jean-Noel Thorel won his second place for $2,317,100.

Super High Roller Final Table Results of 2023 PCA

Final Table Action

The final day began with eight players remaining and Chris Brewer was the first to fall on day 3, with his A-4 suited unable to overcome the pocket jacks of Artur Martirosian. Brewer cashed a 28th-place finish in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Event for $38,900.

In the final hand of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller event, Thorel got all-in with QHeart Suit8Spade Suit racing against the 2Spade Suit2Club Suit of Greenwood. The board came down KClub Suit10Spade Suit9Diamond Suit4Diamond Suit6Spade Suit and Greenwood’s small pocket pair held to lock up the pot and the title. Thorel took home $2,137,100 as the runner-up. The Frenchman now has more than $9.9 million in recorded tournament scores.