2009 PokerStars.com EPT Deauville Final Table Recap
by Chad Holloway of Predictem.com
The 2009 PokerStars.com EPT Deauville main event concluded on January 24, 2009. At the start of the final table, the final eight players and their chip counts were:
Andrea Benelli: 1,475,000
Arnaud Esquevin: 980,000
Bruno Launais: 300,000
Johnathan Azoulay:426,000
Jorn Walthaus: 539,00
Moritz Kranich: 950,000
Thomas Delattre: 233,000
Tristan Clemencon: 1,731,000
Action started off quick when Launais raised to 52,000 with Ac Ks and was reraised to 120,000 by Delattre’s Ah 10d. Launais decided to shove all-in and Delattre made the call for his tournament life; however, he did not find help on the As Qs 9h 2c 6d board and was eliminated in eighth place (77,400). Launais continued to be aggressive and pushed all-in under the gun with A-7. Esquevin, who had Launais covered, called in the big blind with Ad Kc and took control on the Ks 6h 2h flop. The 3d on the turn and 10s on the river sent Launais home in seventh place (108,300).
The next elimination came when Walthaus moved all-in with As 2h and was called by Clemencon, who held A-K. The Jd 8c 7h 9c 5c board gave Clemencon 2.6 million in chips and sent Walthaus packing in sixth place (142,400). Minutes later, Azoulay shoved all-in with Jh 8s and was called by Benelli’s A-2. The 7h Jd Ah 3d Kd board eliminated Azoulay in fifth place (182,700).
After some large pots where a lot of chips exchanged hands, Benelli was crippled and didn’t even have enough left to cover the big blind. He committed his remaining chips with 10d 9c, was called by the pocket sixes of Esquevin, but doubled up when he hit a straight. On the next hand Benelli pushed all-in with 8-6 and was called by both Esquevin and Clemencon. The Kd Qh 10c flopped and both players checked. The Kh on the turn caused Esquevin to bet 100,000 and Clemencon to fold. The Jd came on the river and Esquevin showed K-6 to eliminate Benelli in fourth place (219,800). This left the chip counts of the final three at:
Arnaud Esquevin: 1,700,000
Moritz Kranich: 1,100,000
Tristan Clemencon: 3,600,000
A big hand developed when Kranich limped from the small blind, only to have Clemencon raise to 200,000 in the big blind. Kranich made the call and checked the 10-10-8 flop. When Clemencon bet 200,000, Moritz raised to 550,000, and Clemencon called. When a 2 hit on the turn, Kranich moved all-in with his Js 10d and was eventually called by Clemencon, who instantly mucked when he saw what he was up against. The 5s on the river left Clemencon with a mere 120,000. Both Esquevin and Kranich called when Clemencon committed his remaining chips to the pot and all three saw the 10h 8c 7c flop. Esquevin checked, but Kranich opted to push all-in. Esquevin folded as the 5d came on the turn and the 4h on the river. Kranich showed 10c 8s for top two pair and eliminated the 19 year-old Frenchman, who held Jc 2s, in third place (284,000).
The massive 40,000-80,000 blinds with a 10,000 ante were forcing the action heads-up. Esquevin was putting up a strong fight and there were numerous all-ins by both players that forced the other to fold. Finally, Esquevin moved all-in with Ac 3s and was called by Kranich who held Ad 7h. The board ran out 10d 9c 6d 5s Ah and Esquevin was finished, becoming the second place runner-up (495,400). With that, Moritz Kranich outlasted 644 players to become the 2009 PokerStars.com EPT Deauville main event champion and claimed the 851,400 first-place prize.
