Patrik Antonius has turned back the clock and taken down the EPT Super High Roller at the EPT Monte Carlo.
The Finnish poker legend isn’t seen that much around the scene these days, but as a resident of Monaco he obviously couldn’t resist the urge to get stuck in when the EPT circus made its latest stop.
This popular victory comes almost 20 years after Antonius won his only other EPT main event back in 2005 at Baden.
The final day was a tense affair with plenty of top talent still in the mix. British crusher Stephen Chidwick and Germany’s Christoph Vogelsang were both pushing hard for the win at the final table.
Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel is one of the most visible recreational players at the Triton Series these days so it was no surprise to see him at the sharp end of a €100,000 buy-in super high roller.
Chidwick was many observers’ favourite for the title until a horrific three-way all-in ended his chances.
The Brit’s pocket eights ran into the queens held by Juan Pardo while Byron Kaverman’s ace-king waited in reserve.
Eventually, the action came down to Antonius, Pardo and Vogelsang, but the experienced Finn was sitting with a huge chip lead.
Pardo had good reason to be optimistic for a strong challenge but three-way play started off in terrible fashion for him after his queens were out-flopped by queen-six hitting trips in a standard big blind defence.
Heads-up play was a close affair to start with. Antonius started with a 1.5 to 1 advantage.
But only a few hands in we saw him solidify his lead by flopping a set of queens against the German’s pair of aces.
A brief fightback came to an end when the pair got their aces all- in pre-flop and Antonius’s better kicker won the day.
Speaking to the media after his win, Patrik Antonius said:
“Well, it felt good. It was not so comfortable, and, you always have to win some crucial hands but, yeah, it’s nice to win a tournament. What can I say? And, happy with the way I played.
“Yeah, it always feels good to win a tournament in general, but especially to win a Super High Roller here in Monaco, also my home turf. So this feels good. Extra, extra special.”
He added that he is trying very hard to keep his game at the highest level possible and hopes to still be around the scene at the highest level in 20 years.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
| 1 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | €1,967,440 |
| 2 | Christoph Vogelsang | Germany | €1,269,300 |
| 3 | Juan Pardo | Spain | €906,700 |
| 4 | Byron Kaverman | United States | €697,500 |
| 5 | Ben Heath | United Kingdom | €536,500 |
| 6 | Jean-Noel Thorel | France | €426,500 |
| 7 | David Yan | New Zealand | €341,200 |
| 8 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | €272,800 |
| 9 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | €218,300 |
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