The 2014 European Poker Tour (EPT) PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) $100,000 High Roller Event concluded Tuesday as the seven remaining players played their way down to the first big money winner of the new year. Fabian Quoss collected all the chips in the end, cashing for $1,629,940.
Going into final table play, the chip stacks looked like this:
1. Dan Shak – 3,700,000
2. Vanessa Selbst – 3,645,000
3. Antonio Esfandiari – 2,830,000
4. Fabian Quoss – 2,650,000
5. Matt Glantz – 480,000
6. Tony Gregg – 410,000
7. Ole Schemion – 280,000
It should come as no shock that Gregg and Schemion were the first two players to be eliminated on Tuesday, though it was interesting that they were eliminated at the same time and on just the second hand. Both players moved all-in pre-flop and were called by Quoss. Quoss was ahead right off the bat, holding T♠-T♣, while Gregg had A♦-9♣ and Schemion had K♦-4♦. The Tens held and the two shortest stacks were knocked out, Gregg taking sixth place and Schemion taking seventh.
Shortly thereafter, the tournament continued to play out to form, as Glantz, the other very short stack, was ousted in fifth place. Esfandiari began the betting pre-flop with a raise to 160,000. Glantz shoved for 320,000 with J♠-T♥ and then Selbst raised again to 605,000 with A♦-J♥, prompting Esfandiari to get out of the way. The community cards improved neither player’s hand, thus giving the pot to Selbst.
That took care of all the short stacks, leaving the four expected contenders competing for the title. About a half hour after Glantz’s elimination, Selbst raised a hand pre-flop to 160,000 with A♣-K♦, after which Esfandiari re-raised to 430,000 with 9♥-9♣. After a count of Esfandiari’s chips and some thought, Selbst four-bet to 780,000. Esfandiari then shoved his remaining 1.9 million into the middle and Selbst called. The flop of 2♥-4♦-5♦ gave Selbst a bunch more outs with a wheel draw and backdoor flush draw, but it was the A♦ that put her over the top, giving her a pair of Aces. The river was the 5♣, sealing Esfandiari’s fate.
After that, it was a looooooong time before the next elimination. In fact, three-handed play lasted four hours. But finally the heads-up match was determined. Down to 2 million chips with the big blind at 160,000, Selbst moved all-in pre-flop with K♥-9♣. Quoss made the call with A♥-4♥. The 6♦-2♣-3♣ flop didn’t help Selbst at all and gave Quoss outs to a straight . The 4♠ on the turn actually helped Selbst even though it paired Quoss, as Selbst now had a chance to chop, but the 3♠ put an end to that hope and Selbst was eliminated in third place.
After the dinner break, the heads-up match started with Quoss having a healthy 9.2 million to 4.795 million chip lead on Shak. It was never really much of a battle. Quoss quickly extended his lead and barely fell back at all. After less than an hour, it was over. Quoss limped pre-flop with 8♠-6♥ and Shak checked with J♥-T♣. On the flop of T♦-7♣-Q♠, Shak check-called a 200,000 bet from Quoss. The turn was the 9♦, which gave Quoss a straight. Shak once again checked and Quoss bet 425,000. Shak proceeded to move all-in for 2.275 million with his pair and straight draw and Quoss made the easy call. The A♣ came down on the river, not allowing Shak to hit his straight and clinching the title for Fabian Quoss.
2014 European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 High Roller Event – Final Table Results
1. Fabian Quoss – $1,629,940
2. Dan Shak – $1,178,980
3. Vanessa Selbst – $760,640
4. Antonio Esfandiari – $575,920
5. Matt Glantz – $445,520
6. Tony Gregg – $347,720
7. Ole Schemion – $277,080