The seventh stop of this season’s European Poker Tour (EPT) has taken place with the EPT Deauville.  The EPT hasn’t been contested in France for two seasons and it was a 28 year-old German qualifier named Moritz Kranich who was victorious in the main event.

Kranich won the title together with the trophy and 851,400 euros to add to his bank balance.  Kranich earned the right to compete at the EPT Deauville by qualifying in an online satellite an online satellite event at PokerStars.com.

Despite many of the world’s top poker players competing in the Aussie Millions, the main event still attracted 644 players from 50 countries, an indication of just how large, big time tournament poker has become.

Kranich was joined in the final table by five Frenchmen, Jonathan Azoulay, Tristan Clemencon, Thomas Delattre, Arnaud Esquevin and Bruno Launais.  Andrea Benelli of Italy and Dutchman Jorn Walthaus made up the final table line-up.

Kranich was in second place at the beginning of the final table, behind Tristan Clemencon.  Thomas Delattre was the short stack and was the first player to be eliminated.  His eighth place earned him 77,400 euros.

Bruno Launais was the next player to go after losing out in an exchange with Arnaud Esquevin.  Launais was rewarded with 108,300 euros for his seventh position.

Another Frenchman, this time Clemencon played his part in knocking out Jorge Walthaus in sixth place.  Jonathan Azoulay was the next player to leave the final table albeit 182,700 euros richer.

So, down to four-handed action and the French still had high hopes that one of their players would win as Clemencon and Esquevin were still in the competition.  Both, these players were responsible for Andrea Benelli going out in fourth place.  The Italian’s prize was 219,800 euros.

Hopes of an all-French heads-up final were dashed when Clemencon was eliminated by Kranich meaning it would be a France versus Germany heads-up final.  Clemencon had played well throughout the event and left the event with 284,800 more euros in the bank.

In the end Kranich defeated Esquevin in the heads-up to ensure there wouldn’t be a French winner, in the EPT’s return to France.  Esquevin’s runners-up prize money was 495,400 euros.

This is Hamburg resident Moritz Kranich’s biggest payout of his career so far as the 851,400 euros easily dwarfs the $77,000 he won in a World Championship of Online Poker event.

The EPT’s next event is in Copenhagen, with the Scandinavian Open taking place next month.

Print version