On the planet of poker, the place superstition is rife and the saying “dangerous issues are available in threes” typically holds true, Oliver Weis stands out as an exception.
The German participant, referred to as “sk2ll_m0dR” and an enormous winner in on-line poker circles, started a powerful 2024 with a victory within the €10,300 Excessive Curler at EPT Paris, adopted by a web based bracelet win within the $5,000 Brief Deck Championship. Now, Weis has added a 3rd main title to his rising listing of accomplishments, capturing the winner’s spoils within the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus Major Occasion after delivering a stellar efficiency all through the week.
A giant stack by way of a lot of EPT Cyprus’ flagship event, Weis entered the ultimate day because the overwhelming chip chief. Nevertheless it wasn’t plain crusing for the eventual champion, who needed to battle again from a 5:1 chip deficit in heads-up play to beat Limmosal native Georgios Tsouloftas. Ultimately, Weis secured the Golden Shard trophy and a winner’s prize of $1,030,000, boosting his yearly reside event earnings to a powerful $2.6 million.
Tsouloftas, who completed because the runner-up, banked $642,300 however missed out on his second win on the Advantage Royal Diamond Resort On line casino and Spa. Regardless of the setback, Tsouloftas jumped to 3rd place on the Cyprus All-Time Cash Record. Mikhail Shalamov (third – $459,000) rounded out the rostrum finishes forward of the departures of Andriy Lyubovetskiy (4th – $353,100), Bobby James (fifth – $271,400) and Anton Wigg (sixth – $208,720) on the ultimate day of EPT Cyprus.
“I used to be sort of certain it wouldn’t be that simple as we speak,” Weis informed PokerStars after the eruption of the confetti cannons. “If one individual doubles up, every little thing can go the improper means. So it’s good to keep affected person and simply play your palms and your spots.”
“Major Occasions, the massive ones, are at all times exhausting,” Weis stated. “It’s similar to 5 days, six days straight. Ten to 12 hours on daily basis. It is a powerful grind. I’m very completely happy however exhausted.”
EPT Cyprus Major Occasion Closing Desk Chip Counts
Closing Day Motion
Weis began the ultimate desk simply as anticipated—selecting up pots and staying comfortably within the lead. However then Tsouloftas got here alive, ascending from the underside of the leaderboard. He scored a vital double-up in a blind-on-blind conflict with Wigg, who was left with simply two massive blinds. Proper after that, Tsouloftas appeared down at pocket aces and determined to throw ICM warning to the wind, calling Weis’ queen-high river bluff on a particularly moist board to nearly catch him on the high of the counts. In the meantime, Wigg managed to hold on, chopping an all-in and doubling by way of James and Tsouloftas simply earlier than the primary break, the place all six gamers had been nonetheless within the hunt.
Wigg’s spin-up hopes had been dashed in a basic flip when play resumed. His pocket tens fell to the Huge Slick held by Shalamov, ending the Swede’s quest of changing into the fourth two-time EPT Major Occasion champion. Tsouloftas continued to frustrate Weis, taking the chip lead from the German participant, first with aces, then with a rivered two pair. A giant bluff from Tsouloftas on a four-to-flush board added to Weis’ descent down the counts, who additionally had kings cracked by Shamalov. Lyubovetskiy doubled his brief stack when his aces narrowly held out towards Shalamov’s Cowboys to spherical out the second degree of play.
The event confronted a prolonged delay on account of technical points, lasting over an hour. Upon the restart, Tsouloftas rapidly prolonged his lead, eliminating James on the primary hand again. Tsouloftas’ ace-jack held towards James’ king-queen, sending James to the rail with a career-best money of $271,400. This deep run capped off a powerful EPT Cyprus for Englishman, who notched high twenty finishes in each the Eureka Major Occasion and Excessive Curler, together with a win within the 8-game facet occasion. In complete, his sequence’ earnings reached $320,740, a big enhance from his pre-festival Hendon Mob report of lower than $100,000.
Lyubovetskiy scored two double-ups by way of Tsouloftas, utilizing ace-seven and queen-nine to beat jack-eight and jack-six, respectively. Nonetheless, a couple of orbits later, he picked the improper second to make a hero name for his event life with a rivered pair of deuces, solely to be proven two pair by Weis, establishing three-handed play.
Shalamov, the brief stack, made two disciplined folds on the river with aces and king-queen towards Tsouloftas, who had rivered journeys and a full home. His persistence was rewarded with a double-up by way of Weis, however Tsouloftas finally sealed Shalamov’s destiny with a dominating ace, eliminating the Russian in third place.
Tsouloftas began heads-up play with a 3:1 chip lead, which grew even bigger till he doubled up Weis with an ace-high river name. Regardless of the setback, Tsouloftas maintained management and saved making use of stress, sticking to the aggressive technique that had served him effectively all through the week. He tried to seal the win with ace-three on an 8-4-3 flop, however Weis’ jack-four held after a clear flip and river, permitting him to remain afloat.
Weis briefly took the lead, however Tsouloftas surged as soon as extra. Nonetheless, on the subsequent all-in and name, Tsouloftas may solely present air as Weis’ flush flipped the script. Weis failed to achieve any momentum, although, as Tsouloftas fought again. Weis hopped again in entrance as soon as extra and headed into the ultimate break of the night time with a slight benefit.
Weis lastly started stringing pots collectively, leaving Tsouloftas with a sub-ten massive blind stack. On the ultimate hand of the night time, Weis limp-called Tsouloftas’ jam with a suited queen-seven however wanted to hit towards the at-risk participant’s king-deuce. A seven on the flop was sufficient for Weis to assert victory and etch his identify within the EPT’s historical past books.
As one other EPT cease dealt its remaining hand, it’s clear that poker transcends boundaries. For the final 50 years, Cyprus has confronted intervals of deep division, however during the last two weeks, the island has served as a hub of unity and sportsmanship, bringing gamers worldwide collectively by way of their shared love of poker.
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