The laid-back atmosphere of the €50,000 Super High Roller Second Chance at the PokerStars European Poker Tour in Barcelona disguised the fact that over a million euros were on the line.
Despite the high stakes, the fast-paced, two-day event (which could have easily wrapped up in just one day) felt more like an upscale Sit 'n' Go than the intense showdown you'd expect from a high-roller tournament.
At the end of it all, it was another day in the office for high-stakes pros Leonard Maue and Nick Petrangelo — who both emerged victorious over the 26-entry field after agreeing to an ICM deal heads-up. Petrangelo took the lion's share of the €1,261,260 prize pool after claiming €405,131, while Maue was awarded €383,129 and the Spadie after winning a flip on the last hand of play.
Maue and Petrangelo navigated a star-studded field that included many of poker's elite, strengthening their resumes as some of the best among their peers. The victory adds to Petrangelo's $37 million in live tournament earnings. Maue added a third Spadie to his collection, following his triumphs in a €25K high-roller and a €2,000 hyper turbo in EPT events in 2022.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonard Maue | Germany | € 383,129* |
| 2 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | € 405,131* |
| 3 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | €205,000 |
| 4 | Morten Klein | Norway | €148,200 |
| 5 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | €119,800 |
Despite coming in as the co-chip leader alongside Jesse Lonis, Petrangelo got off to a rough start after Jean-Noel Thorel nearly doubled through him shortly after play began.
The average stack was shallow enough that it didn't take long for many hands to become all-in affairs. Finnish poker legend Patrik Antonius claimed two casualties early, knocking out Nacho Barbero and Jules Dickerson to give him an early chip lead.
Meanwhile, Petrangelo had a reversal of fortunes after chipping up a bit and then scoring a double knockout against Thomas Santerne and Mikael Thuritz with ace-king.
Of the six Day 2 entrants, only Steve O'Dwyer managed to gain any real momentum, including a hand where he cracked aces against Maue after four-bet shoving with queen-jack suited preflop. It wasn't all smooth sailing for the Irish pro, however, as he suffered a similar beat after getting his aces cracked by Antonius after the Finn shoved preflop with jack-ten suited and ended up making Broadway. Despite the hit, O'Dwyer managed to chip back up and make the final table.
Lonis entered the final table as one of the chip leaders but ended up losing a big pot against Morten Klein after shoving into Klein's aces with ace-seven in a blind versus blind confrontation.
Not long after, Lonis ended up bursting the money bubble after getting into a preflop raising war with Petrangelo that ended with Lonis all in with ace-jack against Petrangelo's ace-queen. The dramatic runout pulled Lonis into the lead on the flop but ended up giving Petrangelo a straight on the turn.
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After nearly two levels without an elimination, it was O'Dwyer who was the first "in the money" casualty due mainly in part to paying off Maue in a hand where he made a full house against O'Dwyer's top pair, top kicker. Shortly after, O'Dwyer fell to Klein after shoving a suited ace into Klein's pocket queens.
Maue held the lead then but took a substantial hit to his stack after doubling up Antonius and Petrangelo. Klein then got into a flip for his tournament life against Antonius, who made a full house with pocket fours to set up three-handed play.
It looked like it might be Antonius' day after getting his chips in good against Petrangelo. Still, Petrangelo wouldn't be denied as he spiked a pair of kings with king-queen against Antonius' ace-jack to send the grizzled veteran out in third.
Immediately after Antonius' departure, the final two players agreed to an ICM chop. The two would deal one hand and run the board to make the winner official. Maue was dealt a pretty seven-six suited against Petrangelo's nine-trey and ended up pairing his seven to end the tournament.
