EPT Polish Open winner Michael Schulze(credit: Poker Stars Blog)
On Day 3 of the EPT Polish Open two men were atop the chip heap – German Michael Schulze and Portuguese poker player Ricardo Sousa. They entered the final table in one, two position. Schulze had the advantage with more than one million chips while Sousa was sitting in second with more than ¾ of a million of the big ones. Joining these two players at the table was Norwegian phenom Trond Eidsvig. Eidsvig, 22, made EPT history with his final table appearance. Not only did the Scandinavian earn the most cashes in an EPT season with four he also made the most final tables in one season (3).
Eidsvig, winner of the 2007 Master Classics of Poker Main Event, suffered a bad beat at the hands of Spaniard Juan Maceiras. Maceiras made a higher two-pair on the river, sending the Norwegian to the rail in eighth place. Maceiras would leave the competition shortly thereafter in sixth position. His pocket ducks proved no match for PokerStars’ qualifier, Mathias Viberg, and the pair of aces he netted on the turn. Maceiras, who finished 9th at the EPT Barcelona tournament earlier this season, took home more than $152,000 for his efforts.
At this point, Schulze, 40, kicked his game into high gear. The share trader knocked out the next three players, leaving him heads up with Portuguese pro Ricardo Sousa. Sousa, 30, is a father of one hailing from Porto. He put up a valiant effort, lasting nearly two hours before Schulze sealed the deal and won the title, the seat to the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next month and more than $900,000.
Here are the final results:
1) Michael Schulze - $952,760
2) Ricardo Sousa - $539,897
3) Mathias Viberg - $317,586
4) Mehdi Ouakhir - $238,190
5) Christian Oman - $193,727
6) Juan Maceiras - $152,441
7) Niclas Svenssen - $120,682
8) Trond Eidsvig - $88,924
9) Daniel Woolson - $53,989
Want to play against Michael Schulze and the other EPT Season 4 champs at the Grand Final in Monte Carlo? You can get your chance at PokerStars. Qualifiers are going on now. Click HERE for more information!