In the small blind, David Yan raised, then called when Biao Ding moved all in from the big blind for 311,000 chips.
Biao Ding: 6♠6♥
David Yan: Q♠Q♥
A queen came directly on the flop on Q♦3♣4♦2♠K♦ to give a set to Yan who claimed the pot. Eliminated in 6th place, Biao Ding is the first player in the money and wins €57,100.
Jean-Noel Thorel decided to go all in from the button with his last 246,000 chips. He was called by Pablo Brito in the big blind.
Jean-Noel Thorel: J♠9♥
Pablo Brito: Q♠Q♣
Thanks to the flop 7♣5♥2♥ and the turn 10♥, Thorel had a gutshot. But the eight he needed didn’t come on the river 2♦. Slightly covered, Thorel was eliminated in 5th place for €73,500.
From the button, Hyun Kim moved all in for 470,000 chips. In the small blind, David Yan asked for the count and just called. Felipe Ketzer in the big blind quickly folded.
Hyun Kim: A♠3♥
David Yan: 7♦7♥
The board J♦6♣8♠6♦5♠ brought no help to Kim, who was already standing up before the river was revealed. He finished fourth in this tournament and won €93,900.
On an A♥J♦J♠Q♠9♠ board, it took more than two minutes for Pablo Brito to fold from the button after David Yan bet 140,000 on the river.
Now that he has more than 2 million chips, Yan opened from the button, then Felipe Ketzer in the small blind raised all in for 640,000 chips. Brito folded, and Yan called.
Felipe Ketzer: 9♣9♥
David Yan: J♠10♣
Ketzer remained in the lead on the flop 3♣K♥3♦, but the 10♦ on the turn gave a better pair to Yan, and the situation didn’t change after the river 3♥.
Ketzer will not win a second €25,000 tournament in the festival, as he finished third for €126,500.
After the restart, Pablo Brito decided to check from the button and to call when David Yan bet 120,000.
The dealer fanned a flop of Q♥6♣9♦ where Yan bet 135,000. Then he bet the same amount on the turn Q♦. He was called twice.
Finally, on the river A♦, Yan checked. Brito took this opportunity to go all in for 335,000 chips, and Yan quickly called.
Pablo Brito: 8♦7♣
David Yan: K♠K♣
Brito tried to bluff with a missed straight draw, but he ran into Yan’s kings. Finishing second, Brito took €204,441* (after the deal), while David Yan won this €25,000 NL Hold'em II for €260,899*.
Felipe Ketzer was on his way to win a second €25,000 tournament of this 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) at Casino Barcelona. It’s been a close call, as he finished third (€126,500). On his way, he found David Yan who claimed the victory in the €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em II.
Yan beat a field of 34 players and, thanks to his first place, won a top prize of €260,899* out of a total prize pool of €816,340, after a deal was made heads-up with Pablo Brito (€204,441*). The Brazilian player fought until the end to try to take the trophy, but he couldn’t close the gap to win.
Earlier on during the final table, Hyun Kim (4th, €93,900), Jean-Noel Thorel (5th, €73,500), and Biao Ding (6th, €57,100) also reached one of the six places in the money.
$25,000 No-Limit Hold'em II Final Results
RANK
PLAYER
COUNTRY
PRIZE
1
David Yan
New Zealand
€260,899
2
Pablo Brito
Brazil
€204,441
3
Felipe Ketzer
Brazil
€126,500
4
Hyun Kim
South Korea
€93,900
5
Jean-Noel Thorel
France
€73,500
6
Biao Ding
China
€57,100
"I just feel grateful and fortunate I was so lucky to run good in the right situations", recognized Yan a few minutes after his victory. "I won the all-ins that I needed to. It was fun."
Even though he "played a little bit later", he said he had "a smooth run pretty quickly". "I won some hands from the beginning, but at one point, I lost a pretty big pot, actually to Pablo, when there were two tables left", he added. "Then I just ran good, so it’s mostly because of luck."
Now that he has the trophy, maybe he’ll try to take another EPT event, a third one, as he already won a €25,000 tournament during EPT Malta 2016. "I’m not too sure yet", he answered. "I’ll definitely play the Main Event. But tomorrow I’ll think about it and see. I want to play a bit and try to enjoy the city."
The Highlights
The €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em II started a little bit late, waiting for players to buy in. And it was only after the dinner break and the first 10 levels that the tournament reached its peak with 18 players seated on three tables out of 34 entrants. But the number of remaining players quickly decreased after the eliminations of Hassan Nashar, Nacho Barbero, Steve O'Dwyer, and Thomas Eychenne. Kayhan Mokriwas the next player on the list. He finished in 10th place and left the nine remaining players for the final table.
Following Lin’s elimination, there were seven players left for six places in the money. And for the second time in three days, it was Timothy Adams who became the bubble-boy of the €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em event. He ran into the trips of Hyun Kim, who took the chiplead at this point.
But Yan doubled through him, came back, and was the first player with over one million chips after he eliminated Biao Ding (6th, €57,100). Moments later, Jean-Noel Thorelalso went to the cashier to claim his fifth-place prize of €73,500.
During heads-up play, Yan had almost four times Pablo Brito’s stack. They agreed on a deal but kept fighting for the trophy. "I don’t have one", said Brito. Unfortunately for him, the last duel was quick. He ended the tournament in second place (€204,441*) and let Yan claim the victory for €260,899*.
Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for coverage of your favorite events at EPT Barcelona.