| Game Type: | No Limit |
| Buy-in: | €10,000 |
| Entries: | 706 |
| Rebuys: | none |
Just hours ago, 25-year old American Gavin Griffin won the Monte Carlo EPT Grand Final for a cool 1.8 million Euros.
A pro of 4 years, the 2004 WSOP bracelet winner fended off 706 players to win Europe’s most prestigious title and the biggest prize outside of the US.
After four gruelling days of poker, the final 8 were as follows:
Gavin Griffin (USA) -- 2,597,000
Marc Karam (Canada) -- 1,742,000
Soren Kongsgaard (Denmark) -- 1,612,000
Josh Prager (USA) -- 1,593,000
Kristian Kjondal (Norway) -- 1,203,000
Steve Jelinek (UK) -- 758,000
Andy Black (Ireland) -- 683,000
Ram Vaswani (UK) -- 432,000
Although improving on last year’s achievement of 2 British finalists, many were chagrined to see Hendon Mobster, Ram Vaswani, fall first, his J-T of diamonds failing to improve against Marc Karam’s K-T on a 4d-5d-4-T board.
Next to hit the deck was the enigmatic Andy Black. A charismatic presence as ever, it was a shame to see the whacky Irishman depart, but all-in against Kristian Kjondal with Sevens vs. Jacks, it really looked bleak and the board quickly sealed his fate.
Soon after, UK circuit regular Steve Jelinek lost out when those Knaves popped up again, this time in the hands of Canadian Marc Karam who quickly sent Steve and his Pocket Sevens packing. Over €300,000 better off, this was a major triumph for Steve who should be immensely proud of his achievement.
After Steve’s exit had resulted in my handing over of €20 to PokerNews’ Pauly due to an America vs. England last longer bet, it was inevitably an American who would follow, if only to rub salt in my already painful wounds. Another pair over pair encounter, Prager’s Sevens were no match for Griffin’s Tens and he joined the others on the rail.
All-in with 8-9, Kristian Kjondal was dismayed to see he was up against a flopped set of Fours courtesy of Gavin Griffin, and although he was offered straight possibilities on the Turn, his top pair failed to improve and he was next to exit the arena.
Three left and an early night on the cards, the quiet but highly amicable Dane, Soren Kongsgaard, was forced to settle for €610,550 when Griffin despatched of his third consecutive opponent, thus leaving himself and last year’s finalist, Marc Karam (left), heads up and playing for a mouth-watering €1,825,010 and Europe's biggest accolade.
An all North American bout, the two battled back and forth for well over two hours, playing predominantly low-ball poker and gradually trying to grind each other down. In this sense, it was a big surprise to all when, out of the blue, all the chips flew in on a 2-3-4 board, Karam holding 7-4 for top pair and Griffin K-5 for the open ended straight draw. With the Turn bringing a blank, Griffin was down to 14 outs, one of which arrived in the form of a cowboy.
Hands on his head, Karam was visibly disappointed, but understandably proud of his achievement. Meanwhile, Griffin celebrated with girlfriend and basked in the glory of becoming the EPT Season 3 Grand Final Champion.
When asked about how this compared to his bracelet win of four years ago, Griffin commented: “It’s a bit of parallel really. On both occasions I was in new surroundings and up against a tough field, playing a well-structured comp on a big stage. Also, I was joined on the final again by Ram.”
On the topic of the last hand, 2nd place finisher, Marc Karam, said: “I didn’t think he had much, but thought that I could make him fold a pair like sevens or eights if I was beat, but he made a good call.”
Karam then went on to say: “I don’t really need the money, but I’ll probably invest it. I’ve always wanted a Lamborghini though.”
With his dyed pink hair and coloured wristbands, Gavin Griffin’s performance was partly dedicated to the Avon Walk For Breast Cancer, a charity that he generously donated $15,000 to. As of writing, PokerStars have collated $8,000 for the cause, and the figure is still rising.
A pro of 4 years, the 2004 WSOP bracelet winner fended off 706 players to win Europe’s most prestigious title and the biggest prize outside of the US.
After four gruelling days of poker, the final 8 were as follows:
Gavin Griffin (USA) -- 2,597,000
Marc Karam (Canada) -- 1,742,000
Soren Kongsgaard (Denmark) -- 1,612,000
Josh Prager (USA) -- 1,593,000
Kristian Kjondal (Norway) -- 1,203,000
Steve Jelinek (UK) -- 758,000
Andy Black (Ireland) -- 683,000
Ram Vaswani (UK) -- 432,000
Although improving on last year’s achievement of 2 British finalists, many were chagrined to see Hendon Mobster, Ram Vaswani, fall first, his J-T of diamonds failing to improve against Marc Karam’s K-T on a 4d-5d-4-T board.Next to hit the deck was the enigmatic Andy Black. A charismatic presence as ever, it was a shame to see the whacky Irishman depart, but all-in against Kristian Kjondal with Sevens vs. Jacks, it really looked bleak and the board quickly sealed his fate.
Soon after, UK circuit regular Steve Jelinek lost out when those Knaves popped up again, this time in the hands of Canadian Marc Karam who quickly sent Steve and his Pocket Sevens packing. Over €300,000 better off, this was a major triumph for Steve who should be immensely proud of his achievement.
After Steve’s exit had resulted in my handing over of €20 to PokerNews’ Pauly due to an America vs. England last longer bet, it was inevitably an American who would follow, if only to rub salt in my already painful wounds. Another pair over pair encounter, Prager’s Sevens were no match for Griffin’s Tens and he joined the others on the rail.
All-in with 8-9, Kristian Kjondal was dismayed to see he was up against a flopped set of Fours courtesy of Gavin Griffin, and although he was offered straight possibilities on the Turn, his top pair failed to improve and he was next to exit the arena.
Three left and an early night on the cards, the quiet but highly amicable Dane, Soren Kongsgaard, was forced to settle for €610,550 when Griffin despatched of his third consecutive opponent, thus leaving himself and last year’s finalist, Marc Karam (left), heads up and playing for a mouth-watering €1,825,010 and Europe's biggest accolade.An all North American bout, the two battled back and forth for well over two hours, playing predominantly low-ball poker and gradually trying to grind each other down. In this sense, it was a big surprise to all when, out of the blue, all the chips flew in on a 2-3-4 board, Karam holding 7-4 for top pair and Griffin K-5 for the open ended straight draw. With the Turn bringing a blank, Griffin was down to 14 outs, one of which arrived in the form of a cowboy.
Hands on his head, Karam was visibly disappointed, but understandably proud of his achievement. Meanwhile, Griffin celebrated with girlfriend and basked in the glory of becoming the EPT Season 3 Grand Final Champion.
When asked about how this compared to his bracelet win of four years ago, Griffin commented: “It’s a bit of parallel really. On both occasions I was in new surroundings and up against a tough field, playing a well-structured comp on a big stage. Also, I was joined on the final again by Ram.”On the topic of the last hand, 2nd place finisher, Marc Karam, said: “I didn’t think he had much, but thought that I could make him fold a pair like sevens or eights if I was beat, but he made a good call.”
Karam then went on to say: “I don’t really need the money, but I’ll probably invest it. I’ve always wanted a Lamborghini though.”
With his dyed pink hair and coloured wristbands, Gavin Griffin’s performance was partly dedicated to the Avon Walk For Breast Cancer, a charity that he generously donated $15,000 to. As of writing, PokerStars have collated $8,000 for the cause, and the figure is still rising.