The Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1 threw his hand into the GPI Player of the Year (PoY) ring with an excellent victory in the €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague.
The event attracted 44 wizards of varying wickedness, including two men seeking their second titles of the series after Adrian Mateos won the opening €10k, and Jean-Noel Thorel took down the first €25k.
Ben Heath also made his second final table of the series (second in the €25k), as did Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (fifth in the €10k).
Let’s see how Chidwick took it down to the old Prague town.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Bertrand Grospellier – 1,200,000
Seat 2: Stephen Chidwick – 1,920,000
Seat 3: Ben Heath – 615,000
Seat 4: Steve O’Dwyer – 1,770,000
Seat 5: Adrian Mateos – 2,795,000
Seat 6: Jean-Noel Thorel – 2,705,000
Ben Heath came in with the short-stack, and Jean-Noel Thorel didn’t give the young British star enough time to get goosebumps. With blinds at 20k/40k/40k, Thorel opened to 100,000 from the first position, and then called when Heath moved all-in for 575,000 on the button. It was a flip with Thorel’s 77 defeating the AQ of Heath.
Thorel turned into a poker plague after that hand, picking up pot after pot, until Stephen Chidwick found the antidote. With blinds at 25k/50k/50k, Thorel check-called a 75,000 Chidwick bet on a 7s7d6d flop. The Th appeared on the turn, Thorel checked, Chidwick bet 500,000, Thorel raised to 1,000,000, and Chidwick called. The final card was the Qh, Thorel checked, Chidwick moved all-in for 1,555,000, and Thorel called. Chidwick showed pocket tens for the full house, and Thorel showed 8d9d for the straight.
Bile continued to rise in Thorel’s throat when Bertrand Grospellier doubled with KsQs>AsQd after flopping a second king, and Steve O’Dwyer finished the job when KdTs beat QhJd when all-in pre-flop.
O’Dwyer then doubled through Chidwick when pocket sevens beat Kc9c, but Chidwick exacted the ultimate revenge when his pocket aces thrashed O’Dwyer’s pocket eights to send him to the rail in the fourth place.
ElkY would take on Chidwick, heads-up after Adrian Mateos fell in the third spot. The most in-form player in the world, crossed the border of the rail when he got it in good AsTc v QcJc only for Chidwick to eliminate the Spaniard with a second jack on the turn.
Heads-Up Tale of the Tape
Stephen Chidwick – 9,400,000
Bertrand Grospellier – 1,600,000
Heads-up was a case of the new school versus old school, with Chidwick holding all of the chips and most of the form. I use the word ‘most’ because ElkY did win a bracelet at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) in October, his first tournament win since 2012.
Chidwick also began the most experience, in heads-up play, with a record of 20 wins and 13 seconds. This year, he lost to Timothy Adams in the $50,000 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) in January, and Jason Koon in an HKD 1,000,000 at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Jeju in March.
ElkY has 12 wins, and seven losses, and started the heads-up action with most ring rust. ElkY’s most prominent heads-up defeats came against Magnus Petersson in the 2007 EPT Main Event in Copenhagen, and second to Doug Polk in the 2017 $111,111 One Drop High Roller at the WSOP collecting $2,278,657.
Grospellier began well, chipping away at the Chidwick’s stack before the Brit once again lengthened his lead. Then Grospellier doubled-up when his wheel rolled over the rivered two-pair hand of Chidwick, but the piles still tilted 8.3m>2.7m in Chidwick’s favour.
Then Grospellier brought parity to the situation.
With blinds at 40k/80k/80k, ElkY opened to 200,000 on the button, and then called when Chidwick three-bet to 575,000. The dealer placed the AhTs4c onto the flop, and ElkY called a 300,000 Chidwick bet. The 6h landed on the turn, and Chidwick bet 475,000. Once the call came, the dealer planted the Kh onto the river. Chidwick put ElkY all-in, and the Frenchman called. Chidwick showed 7c4h for a pair of fours turned into a bluff, and ElkY showed Ac9c for top pair.
Chidwick’s stack didn’t hover too close to ElkY’s for long. The former US Poker Open winner edged ahead, only for ElkY to double again after rivering a straight flush to beat Chidwick’s nut flush.
Yet, each time, ElkY got close, Chidwick pulled away until he was so far in the distance, not even ElkY’s eagle eyes could spot him. The pair eventually got it in with ElkY’s AdKh ahead of the QsTs of Chidwick, only for the Tc to give Chidwick the winning pair on the turn.
Final Table Results
- Stephen Chidwick – €725,710
- Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier – €501,590
- Adrian Mateos – €320,170
- Steve O’Dwyer – €245,460
- Jean-Noel Thorel – €192,100
- Ben Heath – €149,410
The win hands Chidwick 314.10 GPI PoY points and that puts him into contention in the tightest PoY race in history.