Team partypoker’s Ludovic Geilich and Team Online’s Matthew Staples came close to becoming Big Game champions on October 4 but both fell short of the top prize.
Geilich reached the final table of the $5,200 High Roller Big Game while Staples navigated his way to the last table of the $530 Big Game. Here’s what they both won.
The High Roller Big Game: $500K Gtd Final Table
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mayank Saxena | Qatar | $119,875 |
| 2 | Joakim Andersson | Sweden | $85,925 |
| 3 | Rok Gostisa | Slovenia | $61,450 |
| 4 | Dominik Nitsche | United Kingdom | $43,750 |
| 5 | Ludovic Geilich | United Kingdom | $32,500 |
| 6 | Christopher Fitzgerald | Canada | $25,000 |
| 7 | Jon Van Fleet | Canada | $21,250 |
| 8 | Artur Martirosian | Russia | $17,750 |
Some 101 players took part in the High Roller Big Game and 16 of those walked away with a slice of the $500,000 prize pool. Finnish star Juha Helppi was the 17th place finisher, the act of popping the bubble secured at least $10,000 for the surviving players.
Dan Shak, Conor Beresford, Steve O’Dwyer, and Christian Rudolph were among those who saw a return on their $5,200 investment.
Ninth-place went to one of our own, Kristen Bicknell, who banked $15,000. Bicknell’s exit set the official final table.
Artur Martirosian, winner of the WPTWOC Player of the Championship, finished in eighth before former MILLIONS Online champion Jon Van Fleet fell by the wayside. Christopher Fitzgerald crashed out in sixth for $25,000.
Geilich bowed out in fifth for a $32,500 addition to his bankroll. An impressive run indeed.
Dominik Nitsche and Rok Gostisa were the next players to head to the exits, leaving Joakim Andersson and Mayank Saxena heads-up. Saxena got the job done and won the $119,875 top prize, which resigned Andersson to an $85,925 consolation prize.
The Big Game: $250K Gtd Final Table
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Krzysztof Dulowski | Poland | $46,966 |
| 2 | Brener Henrique Vicente | Brazil | $33,451 |
| 3 | Matthew Staples | Canada | $22,802 |
| 4 | Jiri Horak | Czech Republic | $15,946 |
| 5 | Diego Costa | Brazil | $11,226 |
| 6 | Istvan Habencius | Hungary | $8,113 |
| 7 | William Blais | Canada | $5,842 |
| 8 | Alfred Karlsson | Sweden | $4,733 |
Geilich came close to winning the High Roller Big Game but Staples came even closer in the slightly smaller $530 Big Game.
Five of the eight finalists turned their $530 into a five-figure sum. Alfred Karlsson (8th – $4,733), William Blais (7th – $5,842), and Istvan Habencius (6th – $8,113) missed out on a $10,000+ score but still walked away with significant prizes.
Diego Costa collected $11,226 when he crashed and burned in fifth, with Jiri Horak of Czech Republic netting $15,946 when he fell one place later.
Then came Staples’ exit. He jammed 14 big blinds with pocket sixes and lost to the eights in the hand of Krzystof Dulowski; third-place was worth $22,802.
Staples’ chips were put to good use by Dulowski as he used them to send Brener Henrique Vicente to the rail in second-place, worth $33,451, and banked the $46,966 top prize for himself.
Ready to join the party?
If you’re ready to jump into the action, then click here to download partypoker and get started!
If you already have an account with us, click here to open partypoker and hit the tables!
