A long and arduous heads-up battle produced a new champion on the European Poker Tour in Malta as the Polish player Tomasz Brzezinski won the €631,632 top prize after a heads-up deal with Mykhailo Ostash saw fireworks in a country famous for their profligate use of them. For the winner Brzezinski, it was vindication for his perseverance after he came fourth in Barcelona just four weeks ago, as he finished three places higher to finally claim an EPT title and a six-figure score to go with it.

EPT Malta €5,300 Main Event Final Table Results:
PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1stTomasz BrzezinskiPoland$733,330*
2ndMykhailo OstashUkraine$700,150*
3rdAdria CalongeSpain$393,580
4thAliaksei BoikaBelarus$302,730
5thTom-Aksel BedellNorway$232,840
6thToni KaukuaFinland$179,085
7thBen HeathUnited Kingdom$137,750
8thJuan PardoSpain$105,940
9thJoao TomasPortugal$81,560

* denotes a heads-up deal.

Malta Proves Popular with Casual Poker Crowd

A packed house at the Casino Malta saw the European Poker Tour Main Event produce a brand-new winner on the tour. The 37-year-old Polish player Tomasz Brzezinski claimed the title and an amended top prize of $733,330 after a late deal helped decide a rollercoaster of a heads-up battle.

The €5,300-entry EPT Malta Main Event saw a record-breaking field of 898 entries pack out Casino Malta as one of the biggest events of the year on the EPT built a prize pool of the tournament tables. With a $5,053,850 prizepool, the legendary commentary team of Joe Stapleton and James Hartigan brought the action to life.

By the time the final table was reached, it was Ostash who led the way from Brzezinski, who had made it to back-to-back Main Event final tables in Barcelona and Malta. The first player to be eliminated was Joao Tomas, who lost a pivotal coinflip to cash for $81,560 in ninth place. All-in with pocket queens, the Portuguese lost to Aliaksei Boika’s ace-king of spades, a safe flop of 8-7-3 and a ten on the turn followed by a devastating ace on the river.

Pardo and Boika Bust

Juan Pardo was dominated to defeat in eighth place for a score of $105,940. The Spanish player’s ace-jack was no match for the ace-queen belonging to Ostash and soon, seven became six. The British high roller regular Ben Heath won a return of $137,750. Check-calling off his stack with jack-seven after a flop of A-J-T landed. Heath had almost no chance of glory, hwoever, as Boika turned over king-queen for the flopped Broadway straight and that held to send the Brit home and further strengthen the Belarussian’s cause.

Toni Kaukua busted in sixth place for $179,085. The Finnish player moved all-in with pocket eights in late position but was quickly called by Ostash with pocket kings, and they held to give the Ukrainian a big lead at the felt. With five players left, the players went for their last night of rest before a showdown the next day. When they returned, Tom-Aksel-Bedell was the next victim of Ostash, pocket deuces destroyed by pocket threes when another landed on the flop, sending the Norwegian poker character home with $232,840.

Play moved three-handed when the biggest name left took his leave. Belarussian Aliaksei Boika won his first EPT title in Malta many years ago but fell three places short of becoming the latest rarity – a player to win two EPT Main Events. Calling all-in with pocket kings on a board showing 9-8-5-4-2, Boika was wrong to click the ‘call’ button, as Ostash, a rack for great hands all day, held pocket fives for a flopped bottom set to send Boika home with $302,730.

Triple Threat

Spanish player Adria Calonge busted in third place for $393,580 when king-five couldn’t beat Brzezinski’s pocket kings. Only ever picking up a gutshot on the turn, the Spanish player missed out on heads-up as Brzezinski led Ostash by 16.9 million chips to 10m. An epic heads-up began, but both men led several times during the battle, as Ostash survived eight all-ins in a row as the small dog in the fight.

Eventually, Ostash was second in chips again, after a huge all-in saw the Polish player’s ace-jack beat Ostash’s ace-ten. That pot left Ostash on a fiftieth of his opponent’s stack and soon lost that last small pile of chips, his five-four defeated by Brzezinski’s ten-four. Brzezinski celebrated a famous win after a deal heads-up.

The Latest EPT Champion Reveals Doubts

“It almost felt like I was cursed.”

After a stunning final duel, a clearly exhausted Brzezinski was delighted with the win.

“It was wild. I thought it might slip away – I’m not the luckiest in heads-up,” he said. “I’ve been second six or seven times at festivals before, so it almost felt like I was cursed. Especially after losing so many flips in a row and watching the stacks even out again. But in the end, it went my way, and I’m very happy.”

The Polish player played poker many years ago, but like many players, stopped to focus on a more perceivably safe career.

“Then came the choice to continue with poker or start a regular job,” he said. “I decided to go the safe route, but I’ve always played on the side. I enjoy live poker much more than my actual work sometimes. I’ve got a lot of friends who are great players, and I try to be a sponge, learn from them, and analyze spots. Somehow, it’s paying off.”

After a brilliant win in Malta, Brzezinski may never have a greater moment in his poker career.

 

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Paul seaton

Author

Paul Seaton has written about poker for over a decade, reporting live from events such as the World Series of Poker, the European Poker Tour and the World Poker Tour in his career to date. Having also been the Editor of BLUFF Europe magazine and Head of Media for partypoker, Paul has also written for PokerNews, 888poker and PokerStake, interviewing many ofthe world’s greatest poker players. These include Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Phil Hellmuth and all four members of the Hendon Mob, for which he was nominated for a Global Poker Award for Best Written Content.

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