Mario Lopez and Lynn Gilmartin have both won record-breaking events as part of the European Poker Tour Festival in the Casino Barcelona.
It was the largest Estrellas Main Event field in the history of the tour. 3,292 entrants created a huge prize pool of €3,193,240, and the players finishing in the top five positions all cut six figure checks.
It was a final table that containing a concoction of countries showing how expansive poker has become thanks to the power of the PokerStars brand. Going into the final table, the chip leader was the not very Polish sounding Pole Jose Carlos Garcia.
What a great year it has been for Garcia: In January, he finished fourth in the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) Main Event at the Bahamas for $119,820, and then in May he finished fifth at the final table of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event in Monte Carlo for $333,557. If there was a book he was the man at the top of the page. But it wasn’t meant to be. The Pole bluff-shoving on [Jc] [9d] [5h] [5d] [3c], holding nothing but seven-high, and the eventual champion made the call, holding Q9. That hand crippled Garcia, and he would be eliminated a few hands later in fourth place.
Lopez’s record was every bit as impressive as Garcia. In 2012 and 2013 he won back-to-back Circuito Argentino de Poker Main Event titles for $118,651 and $106,357, he won an LAPT Main Event title in 2014 for $117,991, and earlier in the year was runner-up to Paul Hoefer in the World Series of Poker Little One for One Drop earning $399,455 in the process.
After Lopez crushed the hopes of Garcia, Jonn Forst eliminated Knut Nystedt to take a slight chip lead into the heads-up battle against Lopez: 41.1m v 40.9m. It was at this time that the pair decided to change the pay structure with each player securing €339,000 and leaving €70,000 to play for. The final hand saw the AQ of Lopez see off the A6 of Forst to hand the Argentinian another impressive title.
Final Table Results
1st. Mario Lopez – €408,000*
2nd. Jonn Forst – €338,000*
3rd. Knut Nystedt – €168,000
4th. Jose Carlos Garcia – €139,500
5th. Eduard Sanchez – €116,540
6th. Kondah Abdelhadi – €93,600
7th. Simon Sennhauser – €71,400
8th. Daniel Selles – €52,100
*Denotes a heads-up deal
Other notables to run deep included Christopher Frank (14th), Maximillian Senft, Jude Ainsworth (18th) and Dermot Blain (21st).
Lynn Gilmartin Wins EPT Barcelona Ladies Event
The ESPT6 Main Event was not the only event setting records at the Casino Barcelona this week. 148 ladies entered the European Poker Tour (EPT) €200 buy-in Ladies Event, a 45% increase on last year’s field, and the largest ladies event in EPT history.
World Poker Tour (WPT) TV Anchor, Lynn Gilmartin, walked away with the first prize of €5,890 after cutting a deal when heads-up against her fellow Aussie Heather Dorizio.
Gilmartin’s victory means she now has EPT and LAPT Ladies titles after beating the much smaller field of 13 entrants on her way to victory in Peru back in 2011.
Speaking to PokerNews about her victory, Gilmartin had this to say:
“This means so much. It’s very interesting to be on this side of the experience because for more than six years I have been on the other side witnessing the winning moment. I am very proud, elated and speechless.
“I have always loved playing. I don’t play professionally or as much as I should. I should take advantage of my environment. I have spent so many years watching professional’s playing poker. Angel {Guillen} teaches me so many things organically. I am learning so much every day.”
The EPT €50k Super High Roller is the third EPT Barcelona event to smash an attendance record after 99 entrants created a total prize pool of €4.7m.
Final Table Results
1st. Lynn Gilmartin – €5,890*
2nd. Heather D’Orazio – €5,690*
3rd. Angel Del Re – €3,100
4th. Carolin Spath – €2,550
5th. Hiromi Miyakawa – €2,052
6th. Yan Li – €1,610
7th. Tone Marthinsen – €1,205
8th. Laia Huet – €890
9th. Pei Yu Lai – €690
*Denotes final table deal
