Seat 2 - Bobby James, 34, Watford, United Kingdom (5,215,000)
Bobby James had an unlikely start to his poker career. He first learned to count cards in blackjack, but was quickly caught and banned from the tables. He saw people playing poker in the casino and decided to try his hand at a new game.
James has been grinding online tournaments for years and estimates he’s played more than 30,000 on PokerStars alone. He’s twice made the final table of the Sunday Million, finishing in fifth and ninth.
James was already having a successful EPT Cyprus stop before the Main Event. He won the $1,000 8-Game earlier this series and finished in 12th place in the Eureka High Roller for $24,880, his best live score. He’s already guaranteed to surpass all his previous career winnings combined.
Cyprus is only James’ second-ever EPT Main Event, having first played in Barcelona earlier this year.
Career Results
EPT cashes: None
Best EPT results: None
Career earnings: $121,415
Tournament Progression
Day 1: 120,000 (55/260, 1B)
Day 2: 360,000 (36/144)
Day 3: 2,605,000 (1/45)
Day 4: 1,215,000 (13/16)
Day 5: 5,215,000 (3/6)
Event Highlights
James' ride to the top of the chip counts after Day 3 began when he, Akin Tuna, and Santhosh Suvarna went three-handed to a flop of A♦Q♦J♣. Suvarna bet 45,000 from the big blind and both opponents called to the 3♣ turn. Tuna then led out for 265,000 and Suvarna and James both called. Tuna bet 310,000 on the 2♣ river and Suvarna folded, but James snap-called for his last 246,000 and showed A♣Q♣ for the rivered nut flush. Tuna was left stunned holding K♣10♣, having not only flopped the nut straight but rivered a king-high flush as James doubled up in what was the biggest pot of the tournament to that point.
James picked up aces against Maksim Rogov's kings in another big pot on Day 3, but a pivotal moment came in a hand that he did not win. He was the one with kings against the aces of Marta Miquel Munoz but managed to avoid losing all of his chips by checking back on the river. "I knew it. When she raised preflop, I knew she had aces," James said.
James got his revenge on Munoz on Day 5 when Munoz moved all in for 1,810,000 with ace-queen. James woke up with kings to send Munoz to the rail in 15th place and continue his journey that led to the final table.