Pavlos Xanthopoulos has won the second Greek bracelet of the 2015 World Series of Poker Europe after beating Mario Lopez in heads-up action in Event #6: €3,250 No-Limit Hold’em.
Greek player, Pavlos Xanthopoulos, has taken the bracelet and €182,510 first prize by beating a field of 256 entrants in Event #6: €3,250 No-Limit Hold’em. He is the second Greek player to capture a bracelet in the past week after Makarios Avramidis won Event #1: €2,200 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em.
Prior, to the start of the 2015 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Greece had never won a WSOP bracelet – now they have two. It shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s been a great year for Greek poker. Sotirios Koutoupas came close to winning a bracelet in the summer, Konstantinos Nanos joined the World Poker Tour (WPT) Champions Club, and kelly-koulis banked over $750,000 in the 9th Anniversary Sunday Million special.
Back to the Spielbank Berlin Casino and the victory for Xanthopoulos was the outstanding moment of his career. His previous best cash was for $46,055 for winning a €550 buy-in event in Austria back in 2012. Modest is a good word used to describe his resume..
Ripening is a good word to choose for the resume of Xanthopoulos’s heads-up opponent. Mario Lopez is one of the in-form players on the planet. He won his second Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) Main Event title for $155,730 in September. In August, eh was winning the Estrellas Main Event in Barcelona for $451,107. In the summer, he came runner-up to Paul Hoefer in the WSOP Little One for One Drop earning $399,455.
So Lopez went into the heads-up phase with all the bluster and banter of a man bang in form, but he didn’t have the chip lead. Xanthopoulos had that, and he never let it go. After a short period of heads-up play Lopez shoved the button, holding pocket fives, Xanthopoulos called with [Ah] [9d] and flopped two pairs to put an end to proceedings.
It was a tough final table for Xanthopoulos. Lopez is an outstanding player, but he wasn’t alone in that respect.
With over $2m in live tournament earnings, everyone knows Sam Chartier is one of the best in the business. The French-Canadian was featuring in his 13th WSOP cash, and his 2nd WSOPE final table. Chartier finished in fourth place, just outside the bigger money prize spots.
Farid Jattin is another player, like Lopez, who is having a great year. He tore through the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona earning close to $200,000 in cash, including a €2k Turbo Side Event victory. He followed that up by beating Jack Salter, heads-up, in a High Roller event at the Merit Crystal Cove Casino in Kyrenia for $122,355. Jatton finished this one in fifth place.
Fabrice Soulier was the only WSOP bracelet winner to make the final table. The Frenchman won the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E bracelet in 2011. He also came runner-up to Adrian Mateos in the 2013 WSOPE Main Event. Soulier has over $5.8m in live tournament earnings; he had to settle for a seventh-place finish in this one.
Final Table Results
1st. Pavlos Xanthopoulos – €182,510
2nd. Mario Lopez – €112,785
3rd. Thierry Gogniat – €81,500
4th. Sam Chartier – €59,970
5th. Farid Jattin – €44,920
6th. Alex Rocha – €34,270
7th. Fabrice Soulier – €26,520
8th. Artan Dedusha – €20,860
9th. Sergi Reixach – €16,685
Other notables to who cashed in the event were Will Failla (16th), Allen Kessler (23rd) and Asher Conniff (24th).
