We have a winner - Monte Carlo EPT - Rob Hollink


Winner Rob Hollink with runner-up Brandon Schaefer and world champion Greg Raymer

We have a champion!- Rob Hollink

EPT Update No. 68

1. Rob Hollink €650,000
Rob has done it! Just a few hands after the pot with the three tens, he was able to finish things off. Rob had made the standard 50K raise from the SBB, with Brandon calling. Flop: K95, Brandon checked, Rob bet 70K, and Brandon called. After an eight on the turn, the exact same pattern: Brandon check, Rob 70K, Brandon call. When a jack came on the river, Rob bet all-in, and after long deliberation, Brandon called. But Rob had the goodies this time, and showed J8 for runner / runner two pair. Brandon had played it smart with K7 for top pair. By just calling, he had tried to let Rob bluff off his money, but by doing this he had let Rob make his hand! All in all, it was an excellent display of poker, and Rob Hollink is the EPT Grand Final Champ. The man from Groningen, The Netherlands had been playing superb poker all along, and is the first ever champion of the European Poker Tour. Congratulations to the man who is always so good at keepin his cool whether he wins or loses - now let's see if he can also stay the same now that he has won the biggest event in European poker, with all the fortunate and fame that goes with it. Oh yes and before I forget: He will probably not mind the €650,000 first prize either. From Monte Carlo, I say: Thank you all for following the action - see you guys later.

2. Brandon Schaefer €350,000

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EPT Update No. 67

Rob is alive again! On a flop TT3 with two clubs, in again a raised pot, he checked to Brandon who bet 80K. Rob check-raised Brandon just 80K more, to simply put him to the test right now, and to lure his opponent into possibly making a mistake. And this he did! Brandon with a 43 for tens and threes decided his hand was best and moved in - but Rob immediately called him all-in with T8, meaning the young man was almost drawing dead! A 1,360,000 pot for the Dutchman who not just doubled up, but who suddenly had well over 60% of the chips in play!

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EPT Update No. 66

Brandon Schaefer, the young man from Seattle, is really tough! While in Deauville one could claim he was up against only (other) young online qualifiers, today he is showing he is truly able to beat the best. Against the excellent Rob, he has taken the lead, because he has the courage to play back at him. First, he won a good-sized pot when he called a 75K bet on the flop K75, where Rob check/folded after the turn 4. A few moments later, Rob made the standard 50K preflop raise (almost all hands are raised preflop, both players don't like to give anything away), and Brandon reraised to 150K, with Rob folding immediately. When he also checkraised Rob's 70K bet in yet another raised pot, flop QJ4, and again Rob could not call, the young man had taken a clear lead.

And this lead would even get bigger on the following hand. Brandon made the standard 50,000 raise on the small blind / button (SBB), with Rob calling. Flop QT3: check /check. Turn: 3. Now, Rob came out betting 100,000, and Brandon called - a very scary call, considering the betting. So, when the river came a 9 that also completed any possible draws, Rob decided not to bluff - and Brandon won with a mere ace high!

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EPT Update No. 65

Blinds: 10,000-20,000, Ante: 2,000

We are witnessing a truly exciting final, guys. First, it was Alexander Stevic who from almost nothing had suddenly built up a very healthy stack, to then lose them all in a pot where Rob flopped quads. And at the same time, chip leader Romain Feriolo lost his chips really in no time, because Brandon Schaefer had an excellent read on him. And Rob Hollink, who had been such a huge stack yesterday, had run into trouble very quickly at today's final table, and four-handed he was even clearly the smallest stack, but he also fought back. And with great play and a little fortune he has now reached the final two with about half of the chips in play - an excellent accomplishment.

Now. heads up against the excellent Brandon, with the chips about even, the experience of Rob may well be the deciding factor - but Brandon seems to think differently! He has just won a 440,000 pot, when he called Rob's check-raise on the flop with top pair, while the Dutchman had only middle pair. Actually, this is the second time that I am reporting with Rob in the final two. The first time was at one of the major events of the Master Classics 2002 I think, when Rob beat the Devilfish in an epic battle. Today, up against the friendly-but-aggressive Brandon, we may well be in for yet another cracking battle. I am having a great time, now I hope you guys are too.

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EPT Update No. 64

In characteristic fashion, Rob has just won a 200,000 pot by making a value bet on the river with just second pair (QJ on a board with a king and a queen on the board), taking advantage of his image that he is bluffing so often. But just two minutes later, Brandon came back by winning a pot of about the same size, also in a showdown, with a similar type of hand. Chips still about even!

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EPT Update No. 63

With the chips now at Alex 405,000, Brandon 1,190,000, and Rob 510,000, we didn't have to wait for action long. Rob won the immediate next pot as well (against Brandon), and then a crucial one not just to get even again with Brandon, but just as importantly to sent home Stevic. With two massive hands in a three-handed situation, Rob had pocket kings, and Alex had AQ. Of course, the money went in before the flop, and while the for a large part Swedish crowd called for an ace, Rob flopped no less than... quads! Two kings on the table; the crowd was schocked, but the strong Stevic was really out. A huge pot for the Chief, who is almost even with Brandon: 1,090,000 vs. 1,120,000.

3. Alexander Stevic €178,000


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EPT Update No. 62

We have lost Romain! He ran into serious trouble when he lost the biggest pot of the event so far. With blinds of 7,500 and 15,000 and a 1,500 running ante, Brandon raised to 40,000 and Romain called from the small bland. In a pattern we had seen before, Romain would again come out betting into the preflop raiser, for 60,000 this time, the board J82 with two clubs. A dangerous queen on the turn and a harmless three on the river. Both times, Brandon simply flatcalled his opponent's 100K and 129K bets with a mere A8, and he turned out to be right: his opponent was bluffing, and folded his cards face-down. Immediately after, his stack down to 110K or so, Romain called all-in against a raise by Rob. He was in front (A3 vs. Rob's K2), but a king on the flop sealed his fate. Down to three!

4. Romain Feriolo €139,000


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EPT Update No. 61

Alexander Stevic is back in business! When Romain raised to 25,000 from under the gun, Alex reraised him almost apologetically (this being the third time already that he had come over the top of the player to his immediate right). But the Swede also had a big hand - bullets! When Romain then made a few somewhat clumsy movements and as a result had to make a minimum reraise instead of the all-in reraise that it seemed he was trying to make, Alex was more than happy to throw the money in with the current nuts, of course. And when the flop came A85 all hearts, Stevic still had the current nuts, but Feriolo had QT with the ten of hearts for a live flush draw. It did not come, and the young Swede is now back in business, having won an almost 400K pot. At the dinner break, the chip counts are:

Romain 477,000
Alex 406,000
Brandon 880,000
Rob 344,000

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EPT Update No. 60

We could see it coming, and indeed it has happened: Kevin Seeger is out. He called Brandon's 25,000 raise from the big blind with two eights, and on a flop T64 with two clubs he decided to check-raise his opponent's 40,000 bet all-in to about 160,000 I guess. When the man from Seattle called him instantly, Kevin knew he was up against a big hand, asnd indeed he was: Brandon had aces. A seven on the turn gave Kevin eight additional outs because of his double belly-buster straight draw, but a harmless three came on the river to give Schaefer another big pot. Just as on his Deauville win, he is looking very concentrated, and he may well be the prime candidate for yet another EPT title.

5. Kevin Seeger €118,000


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EPT Update No. 59

The biggest pot of the day so far, 451,000 total, and it went to Brandon Schaefer, the soft-spoken young man from Seattle. He had raised from the button to 25,000, with the unpredictable Romain calling. Flop AK6 with two clubs. Romain checked, Brandon bet 30,000, and Romain called. Then when a ten came on the turn, Romain suddenly came out betting 40,000, Romain who in the past couple of days has shown that he often bets in an illogical manner by checking where others would bet or betting where others would check. Anyway, Brandon called him with A4, and when another ten came on the river called his opponent's 125,000 river bet as well, and he was right: Romain was bluffing with 8c 7c for a busted flush draw.

And two minutes later, we lost another player! Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, who is only 19 years old even though he looks older, decided to go for the steal, moving all-in from the big blind with a mere K6. But Romain on the button called this large raise within a heartbeat, and his eights won the pot by making top full. We are now down to five players, with a highly interesting match-up. With the aggresion that some of these players (Rob, Brandon, Alex) are known for, and the colorful chatter of Stevic and especially Hollink, we are almost guaranteed to have an exciting final today. All in all, down to five - four more to go.

6. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz €99,500


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EPT Update No. 58

Blinds: 5,000-10,000, ante 1,000

Alexander Stevic, who made this remarkable fold yesterday with nine players left (remember?) cannot possibly complain about his good fortune so far. After having busted out Mikhail in a lucky manner, up against a bigger pair, he now doubled up in a big pot - and once again, he had been going in with the worst hand. When Romain raised to 23,000 from under the gun, Alex decided to reraise all-in for 58,000 more with a mere king-queen. Romain called him with AT, and was slightly favored to win the pot, but not anymore when two kings appeared on the flop. Total pot for Stevic: 175,000.

In the meantime, Kevin seems to be running into more and more trouble. In a four-way pot, he bet 25,000 from the cutoff on a flop K42, with Brandon on the button calling. With a five on the turn, Kevin bet an additional 50K, but he had to fold against Brandon's raise. Kevin is now down to 200,000.

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EPT Update No. 57

A fairly large pot for Romain. From the big blind, he first called a 20,000 raise from Kevin, and then bet 15,000 into him on the flop. Kevin raised 35,000 more, but then Romain reraised 70,000 more - enough for the pot. Kevin has also lost yet another (albeit) small pot to Rob, and is now down to just over 300K - still about 15% of the total chips in play.

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EPT Update No. 56

After Kevin has just won a -for this type of event unusual- multiway pot (five players on the flop, after a minimum bet by Rob three on the turn, and after a 20,000 turn bet by Alexander two on the river - the person who had just called all the way being the eventual winner), we have our first limit increase. It is a moderate one: the antes remain at 500, blinds now 4,000 and 8,000. Chip counts at the first break:

Romain 594,000
Alex 111,000
Abdulaziz 145,500
Kevin 409,500
Brandon 429,500
Rob 335,000

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EPT Update No. 55

Good news now for the Chief! Having raised preflop to 18,000, small blind Ben Grumpy called him. Flop: 6KQ, check / check. The turn was a jack. Ben again checked, and Rob, in position, now bet 25,000 - a highly suspicious bet. After some deliberation, Ben decided that the Dutxchman was bluffing, and check-raised him all-in to 55,000 with AJ for third pair + gutshot, but Rob called him quickly with KK for a slowplayed top set. No surprises on the river. Ben Grumpy is out, and we are down to 6.

7. Ben Grundy €79,000


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EPT Update No. 54

A big blow for Rob. Forst, he won a pot uncontested, while holding aces. Then, perhaps even more importantly, he lost a big pot as the small blind against the only big stack that has position on him, Romain Feriolo. In a blinds only pot, Rob check-called 12,000 on the flop, 20,000 on the turn and 50,000 on the river. Final board: 3TQT7, and Romain won with JT for three of a kind / decent kicker. A 181,000 pot for the man who was born in Marseilles and who now lives in Marbella, giving him even more ammunition than he already had.

Romain 600,000
Alex 108,000
Abdulaziz 151,000
Ben 85,500
Kevin 374,000
Brandon 538,000
Rob 240,000

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EPT Update No. 53

We have lost our first player! Mikhail Ustinov had limped under the gun, and when in the cutoff Alexander moved all-in for 53,000, Mikhail (who had slightly less than that) called him quickly. The hands: QQ for Mikhail, JJ for Alexander, a very favorable situation for the Russian, who was about a 4-to-1 favorite. But according to good EPT tradition - and to the delight of the for a large part Swedish crowd - a jack flopped to give the underdog the pot. Ustinov is out, and the dangerous and highly aggressive Stevic is now back in contention, with a stack of about 110,000.

8. Mikhail Ustinov €59,500


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EPT Update No. 52

We have an intersting final table today, with four relatively large stacks sitting close to each other, and three relatively short stacks. All the four large stacks have a tendency of either raising a lot, or making some daring plays on occasion. While one could claim that it might be best for them to lay low until the short stacks bust out, especially Rob is someone who likes to go for first place, even more so with the top-heavy payout and the recognition and fame for people who win big events, rather than come close.

A second interesting thing is that with the exception of Rob (and to a lesser degree also the previous EPT winnners Alexander and Brandon) the players here don't have much experience at live play, certainly not for these kinds of money. In previous days, this had led to some strange and / or very daring plays from Romain, and a problem for Rob is that this unpredictable player is sitting immediately behind him.

All in all, the first couple of hands have given Rob two uncontested pots, and Brandon has had to fold against Alexander's all-in reraise, having raised to 18,000. So, Rob is slowly gaining ground - but he should be very careful, because he can be certain that the other players are waiting to chop him off or to trap him. Ten minutes of play, blinds reduced to 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante.

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EPT Update No. 51

With just one hour until the start of the final, here is the table line-up for today:

Seat 1: Romain Feriolo 475,000
Seat 2: Alexander Stevic 57,500
Seat 3: Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 181,000
Seat 4: Ben Grundy 90,500
Seat 5: Kevin Seeger 364,500
Seat 6: Mikhail Ustinov 68,500
Seat 7: Brandon Schaefer 488,500
Seat 8: Rob Hollink 384,000

All in all, a rather terrible draw especially for Brandon Schaefer and Kevin Seeger, and to a lesser agree also for Rob Hollink. Why? Well, Rob has got the unpredicatable Romain Feriolo in his back who has him covered, and Brandon even has two big stacks on his immediate left, including Rob who is known for his positional plays. And Kevin Seeger has three small stacks to his right, and the three guys who can break him to his left - now, this can almost never be good.

Anyway, I will try to keep you guys informed about the developments. We will talk again in about an hour or so.

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EPT Update No. 50

It has taken some time, but we are finally down to the final eight players. For a moment, it looked like Alexander Stevic might be the unfortunate bubble boy. He reraised Brandon's 20,000 raise to 60,000, with just 58,000 behind. So, when Brandon came over the top, it seemed like a no-brainer call - but the young Swede folded! And he got rewarded for this courageous fold, because five minutes later someone else would bust out. Jani Sointula reraised all-in from the big blind to 75,000 total, knowing that Kevin Seeger's 20,000 late-position raise may well be a steal, but it was not. Jari's AJ was in trouble against Kevin's pocket queens, and in the end the best hand held up. We've got our final eight players for tomorrow!

Brandon Schaefer 488,500 (chip leader)

Romain Feriolo 475,000
Rob Hollink 384,000
Kevin Seeger 364,500
Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 181,000
Ben Grundy 90,500
Mikhail Ustinov 68,500
Alexander Stevic 57,500