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PORTUGUESE BUSINESSMAN WINS EPT VILAMOURA

VILAMOURA, PORTUGAL, November 22, 2009: Portuguese businessman Antonio Matias has won EPT Vilamoura, the richest poker tournament ever held in Portugal, for a first prize of €404,793.

Matias, 54, who runs a travel agency, beat some of the best players in the world to win the €5,300 main event, the richest poker tournament ever held in Portugal. As well as the champion's title, Matias wins a seat into the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next April.

Matias was the first player to win on home soil since Team PokerStars Pro Sandra Naujoks in Dortmund last season. He said: "I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world but it is very satisfying win an EPT in my home country. I wasn't intimidated by the competition because I play a lot of very good players in cash games. I just decided to play the way I play, and hope that luck didn't turn its back on me. I play poker just for a hobby but when I got the chip lead yesterday, at that point, the only thing I had on my mind was winning."


The runner-up was Belgian PokerStars qualifier Pierre Neuville. The retired businessman has played numerous EPT events and had his heart set on victory after bubbling the final at EPT San Remo last season. At 67 years old, he was the oldest finalist in EPT history.

Third place finisher was the former chess whizz Jeff Sarwer from Canada. Sarwer has run deep in back-to-back EPTs after finishing tenth at EPT Warsaw last month. French veteran Michel Abecassis came sixth for €62,468 while PokerStars player Ryan Franklin, 18, from Lake Tahoe in the USA came seventh for €46,851.

A total of 322 players took part in the €5,300 main event, including 69 players who won their seats online. The total prize pool was €1,561,700.

More than 20 Team PokerStars Pros took part and among those who cashed were Ruben Visser from Holland, who came 13th, and Irish pro Jude Ainsworth who came 14th. Also in the money were German Team PokerStars Pros Jan Heitmann and Johannes Strassman.

PokerStars players also enjoyed success in the numerous side events that took place during EPT Vilamoura. New Team PokerStars Pro Rino Mathis from Switzerland won the €1k Pot Limit Omaha side event for a first prize of €15,932 while Polish Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki beat a 97-strong field to take down the €330 NLHE Turbo for a first prize of €10,303.

EPT spokesperson Kirsty Thompson said: "It's always exciting when the European Poker Tour visits a new destination and we have wanted to hold an EPT in Portugal for some time so we are delighted that so many players took part including 63 players from Portugal. It's been a superb week of poker."


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Name Country PokerStars status €
1 Antonio Matias Portugal €404,793
2 Pierre Neuville Belgium PokerStars qualifier €257,681
3 Jeff Sarwer Canada €156,170
4 Jan Skampa Czech Republic €117,128
5 João Silva Portugal €78,085
6 Michel Abecassis France €62,468
7 Ryan Franklin USA PokerStars player €46,851
8 Andrei Vlasenko Russia €31,234