FRENCH AMATEUR WINS EPT DEAUVILLE


Posted 2/1/11 : Parisian bug-hunter destroys the opposition
 
Frenchman Lucien Cohen, the owner of a pest control company and an amateur poker player of note, proved this week that he is equally adept at busting bugs and poker opponents when he took down the Pokerstars EPT Deauville.
 
The 47-year-old Parisian began the final stages of the competition around the middle of the final table chip counts with 3,085,000, facing tough opposition in the form of significant chip leader Martin Jacobson on 7,280,000; Alex Wice on 6,248,000; Kenny Hallaert on 3,599,000; Julien Claudepierre  (3,244,000); Anthony Hnatow (1,644,000); Ruslan Prydryk (1,154,000); and Kaspars Renga; (470,000).
 
Sweden’s Jacobson looked the man to beat with his EPT track record and intimidatingly large initial chip stack. But Cohen showed both discipline and daring in an impressive display of cool as he worked his way through the pack to finally face Jacobson with a two-to-one advantage in chips.
 
Perhaps Cohen’s card protector – a plastic rat representing his pest control company – brought him luck, but the combination of good cards and skill that he was able to muster took him through to victory in just twenty minutes and the Euro 880 000 main prize, leaving a disconsolate Jacobson trailing in second place but still taking home Euro 560 000.
 
The trophy was no mean achievement for Cohen; the entry field for the competition just topped 890 players, including many internet and live tourney experts.