Nicolas Chouity wins 2010 Pokerstars European Poker Tour Grand Final

5/1/10 – The 2010 Pokerstars European Poker Tour Grand Final is in the books after almost a week of tough action in Monte Carlo that featured major names in the game. The event attracted 848 entries, creating a Euros 8 480 000 prize pool in the tour's sixth season.
 
This year the respect and the massive Euro 1.7 million main prize went to Beirut pro Nicolas Chouity (23), who qualified through a $22 online satellite.
 
Chouity produced an impressive performance throughout, entering final table action with a massive chip lead of 6.61 million over his nearest rivals, Mesbah Guerfi and Andrew Chen, both on 3.67 million.
 
Other players who made the final table were Herve Costa (1.59 million); Roger Hairabedian (1.13 million); Aleh Plauski, (1.695 million); Dominykas Karmazinas (2.285 million); and Josef Klinger (1.17 million)
 
Chouity personally eliminated most of the opposition in maintaining his dominance of the game through to the heads up against Josef Klinger, where the young Lebanese player enjoyed a 4 to 1 chip lead which he quickly deployed to defeat his last opponent.
 
Klinger’s runner-up prize was a cool Euro 1 million, and third-placed Dominykas Karmazinas collected a check for Euro 700 000.
 
The excitement in Monte Carlo did not end with the Grand Final, as 113 top players – up from 78 at last year’s event – took their seats after ponying up Euros 25 000 apiece to compete in the EPT Grand Final High Roller event.
 
Among those competing as the action started was Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen, Tony G, Johannes Strassman, Lex Veldhuis, Barry Greenstein, Humberto Brenes, Dario Minieri, Sorel Mizzi, Jason Mercier and Vanessa Rousso, who won the event last year.
 
Rousso will not be repeating her triumph this year, having been eliminated on the first day.
 
Other Day 1 casualties included Erik Seidel, Carlos Mortensen, Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Michael “Timex” McDonald and Boris Becker.
 
Only 41 players remained at the end of the day, led by Tobias Reinkemeier with 457 300 chips, ahead of nearest rival Luke Schwartz with 300 500 and Markus Golser in third position with a chip stack of 291 000.
 
In this event, only the last eight players cash, with prizes ranging from Euros 85 000 to the winner’s Euros 1 million. The top three places include a Euros 350 000 difference between third and second place prizes and a significant Euros 350 000 difference between second and first placings.
 
Day 2 saw twelve hours of play in which Yvegeny Timoshenko, Gus Hansen, William Thorson, last year’s Grand Final runner-up Matt Woodward and Alex Kravchenko heading for the exit.
 
When play ended, the final – and very international – table of eight had been decided. Lebanese player Dori Yacoub holds the chip lead on 1 199 000, facing US players Tom Marchese (909 000) and Allen Bari (835 000); Germany’s Tobias Reinkemeier still in with a chance on 826 000); Sorel Mizzi of Canada on 770 000; America’s Olivier Busquet (666 000); Paul Berende from the Netherlands on 327 000 and Austrian player Michael Friedrich on 112 000. Qualify for the nect event now.