The European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Main Event turned out to be a successful event for the organizers but sadly it is being overshadowed due to controversy surrounding a Chinese poker pro. Before we get into the controversy, let us do a quick recap on the Main Event.
Simon Brandstorm outlasted a record-breaking field of 1,988 entrants to secure first place and cashed out with a whopping €1,290,166. The other players who finished in the money were Hungary’s Marton Czuczor who finished in second place for €884,400, Portugal’s Roi Sousa who took third place for €607,400. Diego Falcone from Brazil finished in fourth place for €436,760 and Portugal’s Giovani Torre had to settle for fifth place and received €364,660.
Chinese poker player Quan Zhou did not finish in the money but he made the headlines during Day 3 due to an angle-shooting move that upset the poker community.
Zhou Accused of Angle-Shooting
A video of Zhou apparently bluff-folding against Russian player Nikolay Ponomarev was posted on social media, gaining mostly negative reactions from the poker community.
The alleged angle-shooting happened during a hand on Day Three of the EPT Barcelona Main Event. Zhou had pocket sixes and opened to 6,000, with Ponomarev three-betting to 18,500 with ace-king. Action was then back to Zhou, the original raiser, who took a moment to think about his next move. He was obviously in a difficult position facing a re-raise with a modest pocket pair.
After awhile, Zhou appeared to move his cards a few inches towards the dealer, which left everyone thinking that he was folding. However, in a matter of seconds, the Chinese pro took back his cards, indicating he wasn’t actually giving up on the hand. While Zhou was committing the apparent “bluff-fold”, Ponomarev slightly lifted his cards, and Zhou appeared to take a peek at his competitor’s cards before placing in a call. Table commentators could be heard expressing their shock at what just transpired.
After the flop, Ponomarev had top-two-pair; he bet out and Zhou immediately folded, for real. The hand did not necessarily affect the outcome of the tournament as both players failed to cash, but the controversy caused quite a stir around the event.
Poker Community Reacts
Quan Zhou made headlines back in 2017 when he had a decent run at the 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. He would have liked to have made the headlines for having a good run at the EPT Barcelona Main Event but sadly his name is in the headlines due to his alleged angle-shooting and the poker community is not impressed. He is currently taking the heat from poker fans on social media, with some prominent poker names also joining in on the criticisms.
Poker vlogger Jeff Boski even posted a screenshot which showed Zhou taking a glance at Ponomarev’s cards. Randy Lew, poker commentator and one of today’s top online pros, considered Zhou’s act as definitely an angle-shoot. Eric Danis of the Hendon Mob was equally unimpressed, saying Zhou’s move was “gross”.
There were a number of Twitter users had questioned the Chinese players character, saying nobody would ever want to play cards with someone like him. Another user also said what Zhou did on that hand, including stacking the chips in a manner that looked like he was looking to pump so that he could get a reaction from his opponent, was completely angle-shooting.
Joe Stapleton who was the poker commentator during the hand in question was a little soft on Zhou though. Stapleton said that while he believes Zhou’s motive was definitely questionable, he does not discount the idea that the player could have just changed his mind quickly and did so in a very shady manner.
In light of the controversy, several poker fans suggested Zhou should receive a penalty for his act, but the dealer accepted Zhou’s action and he was allowed to continue playing. In the end though, that hand didn’t have much influence on the result of the tournament as none of the two players made the money in the huge event.
The Angle Shot
Angle shooting in poker is something a player does to intentionally trick and deceive his opponents to his own advantage.
We will never know whether or not Zhou’s act was really premeditated, but based on the video, it certainly was not something the poker community wanted to see. An overwhelming majority of responders to a Twitter poll on the controversy said Zhou’s action was a clear angle shot.