The PokerStars European Poker Tour, at the Le Palais des Congrès, hosted the last of six €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournaments in Paris. The last five-figure buy-in event saw some of the biggest and best high rollers in the world, attracting a total of 43 entries by the conclusion of late registration. The event collected a total prize pool of €1,011,360, which was finally shared by the top six finishers. In the end, it was India’s high-roller sensation Santhosh Suvarna who emerged victorious, claiming India its first trophy at the series and winning €348,860, his 15th recorded live cash of six figures and above.
This marked India’s first title in the series and was also the first live title of 2024 for Suvarna. With this historic win and a cash finish earlier in the series, his live tournament earnings soared to $7,050,372. He now stands just over a million away from surpassing Vivek Rajkumar on India’s All-Time Money List.
Suvarna has added many accolades to his name this year. He is poised for a historic debut at PokerGO’s High Stakes Poker Season 12, though he missed the season premiere on February 19 as he was actively participating in the ongoing EPT Paris. Additionally, he is slated to feature Hustler Casino Live’s $1 MILLION GAME, which returns in May this year and features popular players like Doug Polk, Tony G, Alan Keating and other top high stakes pro players among its star-studded lineup.
A Dubai-based Indian entrepreneur, Suvarna, who is the only Indian with a Triton title and a WSOP Europe bracelet, ended Day 1 of this €25K NL Hold’em VI as chip leader and flawlessly managed to convert his chip lead into a historic win for India, following a nail-biting heads-up against Germany’s Samuel Ju, who banked €227,600 as the runner-up finisher.
Final Day Action
Adrian Mateos became the first casualty on the final day when his ace-king succumbed to the ace-queen of Rui Ferreira. Eliminations continued, leading to the formation of the final table after Thomas Santerne, the champion of the €50K EPT Paris Super High Roller, was ousted in tenth place.
The first player to fall from the final table was Tamas Adamszki, who pushed his short stack against Viacheslav Buldygin’s pocket queens, exiting in ninth place. Subsequently, Quan Zhou fell in eighth place after his 8h 2h ran into the Kc Js of Sam Greenwood.
Sirzat Hissou became the unfortunate bubble boy as his King-Queen couldn’t overcome Suvarna’s King-Seven on a 5d 9s 5c 6s 8h board. Suvarna’s dominance continued as he eliminated Sam Greenwood in sixth place. Following a raise from Suvarna, Greenwood three-bet jammed with ace-king, only to be bested by Suvarna’s ace-queen with a queen falling on the turn and sealing Greenwood’s exit from the table.
Buldygin departed in fifth place after losing a major chunk of his stack in back-to-back hands. He eventually ran his Seven-Six into Ace-Six of Jamil Wakil and found no help from the Jc Kd 10s 10h 8h runout. Following him was Chris Brewer (fourth) who ran his nine-three into the Ace-King of Jamil Wakil.
Despite scoring two back-to-back knockouts, the first player to finish in podium position was Wakil. His king-seven was a small favorite against the queen-nine of Suvarna. The Indian high-stakes pro’s hand improved to two pair on the board, ending Wakil’s run in third place and setting up the heads-up for the title.
Heads-Up Play
Suvarna started the daul as the chip leader and did not allow his opponent to gain control. He started in thundering fashion by taking down the first hand of the heads-up and then finished off his opponent quickly, claiming the coveted silver PokerStars spadie and his first EPT title along with €348,860.
On the final hand of the tournament, Santhosh Suvarna shoved on the button and Samuel Ju, who was down to his last 340,000, made the call, putting his remaining chips into the middle.
Samuel Ju: Q♥9♣
Santhosh Suvarna: 10♥10♠
Ju needed some help from the board to double up and continue his run, but the 6♦2♣J♠5♥7♥ runout did not help Ju and Suvarna was crowned as the champion of the tournament, marking India’s first victory in the ongoing series.
€25K NL Hold’em VI Payouts (EUR)
- Santhosh Suvarna €348,860
- Samuel Ju €227,600
- Jamil Wakil €156,800
- Chris Brewer €116,300
- Viacheslav Buldygin €91,000
- Sam Greenwood €70,800
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