Steve O’Dwyer had waited two years to get his hands on another PokerStars European Poker Tour spade trophy, so he didn’t seem to mind taking until the early hours of the morning to seal his victory in the €12,300 PokerStars Cuatro Knockout.
With the clock approaching 5 a.m. inside the Casino Barcelona, O’Dwyer defeated Byron Kaverman in a short heads-up match to claim the bounty and €163,720 top prize, plus four bounties for an additional €48,000. The win was O’Dwyer’s first on the EPT since a €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em event here in Barcelona two years ago and 11th overall, including the 2013 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event.
€12,300 PokerStars Cuatro Knockout Final Table results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | Bounties | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve O’Dwyer | Ireland | €163,720 | €48,000 | €211,720 |
| 2 | Byron Kaverman | United States | €107,400 | €12,000 | €119,400 |
| 3 | Santhosh Suvarna | India | €77,900 | €48,000 | €125,900 |
| 4 | David Coleman | United States | €59,100 | €12,000 | €71,100 |
| 5 | Ottomar Ladva | Estonia | €45,700 | €24,000 | €69,700 |
| 6 | Joakim Andersson | Sweden | €34,900 | €12,000 | €46,900 |
| 7 | Fabiano Kovalski | Brazil | €26,900 | €12,000 | €38,900 |
| 8 | Martin Zamani | United States | €21,500 | €0 | €21,500 |
O’Dwyer Tops a Stacked Field
With PokerStars celebrating the 20th anniversary of the EPT, some of poker’s biggest names took to the felt to begin their festival today as 62 entered this event, building a prize pool of €537,120. Among those who busted early included two-time EPT champion Mike Watson, PSPC champion Aliaksandr Shylko, Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel, and PokerStars Team Pros Sam Grafton and Elias Gutierrez.
Santhosh Suvarna climbed to the top of the counts after busting Michael Wang with queens in a massive pot. Bounties came into play with 16 players remaining, and Jelle Moene was the last to fall without a bounty over his head as he busted in 17th after losing a race to Fabiano Kovalski.
Andrew Chen, Biao Ding, and Joris Ruijs busted short of the final table as play went hand-for-hand with 10 players remaining. Just eight would make the money, and it took nearly an hour before Ottomar Ladva flopped a full house to bust Nacho Barbero in 10th and set the nine-handed final table on the money bubble.
Kaverman doubled up with a pair of sevens against Suvarna to survive the bubble. Ian Bradley then found himself all in for his last 160,000 with two fours but Ladva hit a pair of kings on the river to score the knockout and bring an end to the lengthy bubble as the eight remaining players were all in the money.
Kaverman woke up with two aces against Ladva to double again, while O’Dwyer hit a pair of aces on the river to win a massive pot off Ladva. Martin Zamani was the first to bust in the money, losing a race with ace-queen to Suvarna’s sevens to finish in eighth place.
David Coleman doubled up off Kovalski to leave the Brazilian short. A few hands later, Kovalski got his last chips in the middle on the flop with a straight draw, but he couldn’t improve against Suvarna’s flopped pair of sevens to bust in seventh place.
Joakim Andersson fell in sixth place in a three-way all in as Kaverman scooped the pot with ace-high to earn the bounty while doubling up off Suvarna. Coleman then hit a set of eights to double off Ladva and leave the chip leader at the final table on fumes with just 100,000. Ladva was eliminated the next hand as Suvarna made a pair of jacks on the river.
O’Dwyer made a flush on the river to bust Coleman in fourth, then showed down aces against Suvarna to win a massive pot and open a sizeable chip lead. Suvarna got his last 1,050,000 in the middle with two nines against O’Dwyer’s ten-eight, but O’Dwyer spiked top pair on the flop to bust Suvarna in third place and take a 5,200,000 to 1,000,000 chip lead over Kaverman into heads-up.
Play was scheduled to end for the night once the Estrellas Main Event Day 1d concluded in the same room, but O’Dwyer ensured they wouldn’t have to come back as he made short work of Kaverman. He flopped two pair with ace-nine to beat Kaverman’s ace-deuce and seal the long-awaited trophy.
O’Dwyer’s EPT Barcelona run got off to a dream start, but this is just the beginning for what promises to be a record-breaking festival. Stay tuned to PokerNews for more coverage throughout EPT Barcelona.