Jan Bendik: EPT Grand Final champion

In an interview given by Jan Bendik this morning, before he sat down a number of the last six of the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final main event, the veteran rounder from Slovakia described himself as "a gambler".

About eight hours later, that much was crystal clear. Bendik, 51, is the brand new champion of the eu Poker Tour's flagship event, sealing the title and the €961,800 first prize, within the most carefree fashion.

Despite what could have been a titanic heads-up duel, where only two men shared the chips of 1,098 entries to this event, Bendik seemed happy to permit the poker gods to pick out their horse. He won a sequence of 50-50 flips against Adrien Allain, his 29-year-old French opponent, before finishing at the right end of an almighty tournament-ending cooler.

"I've been looking to win a first-rate event for years," Bendik said. "Maybe I WILL BE ABLE TO play some €10k high rollers. I HAVE NOT played any before. Otherwise, nothing changes. I DO NOT play professionally, only for my very own pleasure."

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Bendik became the primary man to take a coveted title back to Slovakia and it signifies that from six events at the EPT's 12th season, winners have come from six different countries. This was one of the crucial keenly fought, and Bendik consolidates his position on the top of his country's all time money list.

It can be wrong to dismiss Bendik's victory as solely the results of those coin flips. Beneath his unflinching facade lurks a keen poker mind; he's a former EPT Player of the Year in spite of everything. But after six days, 33 levels of play, and faced with a tough opponent like Allain, Bendik simply took route one and kept the pots big.

He came down at the right side of most of them, and that's the reason often probably the most indelible mark of a champion.

"If you look me up, I FEEL I'VE only one runner-up result," Bendik said. "Otherwise, when I'd made it to heads-up, I'd always won. That's why I DID NOT have the desire to make any deal, I trusted myself to overcome my opponent heads-up. NUMEROUS luck needed to be involved to make that happen but that's a part of the game."

Take a glance at our blow-by-blow coverage to read the way it all played out.

For Allain, it is going to feel just like the more or less rough justice for which his €577,800 second prize won't quite compensate. He'll feel he had the title in his grasp, and has strong claims to having made the most productive plays at this final. One bluff specifically may need sent him home in fifth, but instead gave him the chips to challenge for the title.

Adrien Allain: So near, but...

Allain will know that he played an entire part in a horny thrilling end to a tournament that broke records--and also featured a person named Asam Umarov who could have ignited another small boom in EPT events.

Umarov qualified for this event on PokerStars, from a €10 Spin & Go satellite. When he was still involved with only four players left, the R.O.I. calculators came out. Nobody really believed it after they first saw it, but he increased his investment by 3 million percent. Gulp.

All of that may be getting a little bit prior to us. Let's start on the beginning.

When the six players came back to the Salles des Etoiles this afternoon, the sector was split into two clear camps: both Allain and Jimmy Guerrero had greater than 11 million in chips, while not one of the others had whilst much as 3 million.

EPT12 Grand Final last six: (standing l-r): Asan Usamov, Oren Rosen, Jimmy Guerrero, Pierre Calamusa. (Seated): Jan Bendik, Adrien Allain

Players on all sides of the divide could choose one in every of two strategies. The massive stacks could go all out attack, or relax and watch for the carnage to happen elsewhere. Meanwhile the shorties could either adopt the boom/bust hectic approach, or stay out of trouble and hope to ladder up.

Whichever way any of them went, we were pretty sure to lose a couple of players fairly quickly. And it was Oren Rosen, the lone Israeli player within the final six, who took the earliest fall.

There was little he could do. He found A♦J♦ within the cutoff and moved all-in. Bendik was sitting behind him at the button with A♣K♥ and picked him off. Rosen took €170,950 for sixth, while that coup gave Bendik the posh of having the ability to take a seat and look forward to the proper spots to transport. (It also helped him to outlive when Pierre Calamuso hit a two-outer at the river to double up through him.)

Oren Rosen: First out today

Allain and Guerrero were still exceptionally secure--until, that is, a move from Allain made it distinctly uncomfortable for either one of them. After playing snugly for the primary hour or so, Allain found 9♦6♦ and opened from early position. Guerrero found A♦Q♥ and 3 bet to 850,000.

Allain seemed content to joust with the one player who could knock him out and four-bet to 1.8 million. Guerrero seemed rather less happy about things, but called and took a flop of T♥4♥J♥.

Allain kept up his aggression through both flop and switch. Such a lot in order that he actually shipped for his entire stack. Guerrero didn't like that. He was clearly suspicious. But after five minutes within the tank he folded and gave up his chip lead. He would never see it again.

Best of foes: Jimmy Guerrero and Adrien Allain

All the fast stacks could have been delighted to look the large dogs go at it, but although the balance of power shifted, none of Calamusa, Umarov or Bendik could really relax. And it was Calamusa who was most vulnerable, especially after he moved all-in with A♥4♣ and slammed into Allain's A♦J♦.

There were no dramas in this flop and Calamusa hit the rail in fifth, winning €233,800.

Pierre Calamuso: Don't look back in anger

And so, inevitably, that brings us back to Umarov. Whatever happened this week, Umarov was an enormous winner. He played a €10 Spin & Return home in Kazakhstan and won a visit to Monaco. He then may have considered coming into the money to be a unprecedented result, even before he then went directly to make it to the general table of eight.

After the late-night drama that took us right down to six, Umarov was still involved. And it was only when he got to the last four that the dream ended. He got his short stack in with A♦9♦ and lost to Guerrero's K♣K♠, but having turned €10 into €305,660 there has been little surprise when he told EPT Live: "I REALLY LIKE this. I LIKE poker."

The dream ends for Asan Umarov

There were 121 Spin & Go qualifiers on this main event, of whom nine made the cash. It isn't confirmed that they're going to return as a qualification method for future EPTs but when they don't, then I'm the king of Kazakhstan.

Down to 3 after Umarov's elimination, this became the Jan Bendik show. He defended his big blind with K♦7♥ to Guerrero's button raise, and was delighted to flop two pair. It was especially great for Bendik because Guerrero had pocket aces and couldn't allow them to go. Bendik scored an entire double up and leap-frogged Guerrero within the counts.

Guerrero made some really shrewd lay-downs throughout the process this final table, but he looked as if it would lose a few of his composure after the large hand against Allain. The deck also appeared to conspire against him, and it soon became clear that there could be no way back.

Good times for Jimmy Guerrero

Guerro ended up getting all of it in with 2♥2♣ against his countryman's A♣J♥. Guerro was just a 51 percent favourite on this spot, and he lost the flip. There has been both the A♦ and the J♥ at the flop and that sealed the deal for Guerrero.

His fiancee Thi Xoa Nguyen took €47,980 for 14th place this week. He won €406,850 for third. Get an invitation to their wedding when you can.

A €300,000 wedding for Guerro and Nguyen

As heads-up play started, seasoned Grand Final spectators knew this was removed from sure to be over any time soon. People still remember leaving the titanic heads-up struggle between Antonio Buonanno and Jack Salter and going straight to breakfast.

Allain had greater than a 2:1 chip lead when matters began this time around, and he had Bendik at the ropes and all-in pre-flop inside the first hour of one-on-one play. But Bendik dodged the primary knockout blow when his Q♥J♣ beat Allain's 8♠8♣. He got bruised again, but bounced back yet again when his A♦K♠ beat Allain's 6♥6♦.

Heads up in Monaco

It took them to the dinner break almost even and, once they returned, they mostly kept things small.

That was before those pesky poker gods got involved again and pitched medium pocket pairs to both men. Bendik had tens and Allain had eights. But Allain will need to have been overjoyed when an eight appeared at the flop.

However, all of it went in at the river, and by then another ten had also appeared at the board. Set over set is a bummer at any time during any level in a tournament of this size and can more than likely lead to an elimination.

During the heads-up stage of a tournament like this, it's positively gross. However the result's the same.

Jan Bendik: Toast of Slovakia

That wraps up our coverage of Season 12 of the eu Poker Tour. Who's coming to Barcelona, huh?

EPT12 Grand Final Main EventPlayers: 1,098Buy-in: €5,000 + €300Places paid: 159Total prize pool: €5,325,300

POS NAME COUNTRY STATUS PRIZE

1	Jan Bendik	Slovakia	Live satellite winner	€961,800
2	Adrien Allain	France		€577,800
3	Jimmy Guerrero	France	Live satellite winner	€406,850
4	Asan Umarov	Kazakhstan	PokerStars qualifier	€305,660
5	Pierre Calamusa	France		€233,800
6	Oren Rosen	Israel	PokerStars player	€170,950
7	Antoine Saout	France		€128,340
8	Dario Sammartino	Italy	PokerStars qualifier	€91,860

Click for full payout table.

Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: European Poker Tour]