The €5,200 8-Game is a relatively new addition to PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) stops. It usually attracts small, but strong, fields, and this time at EPT Barcelona it was no different. A total of 18 entries showed up at Casino Barcelona to create a prize pool of €87,300. Eventually, David Dongwoo Ko took home the title, his first-ever PokerStars trophy, and €37,550 for his efforts.
He defeated Triple Crown winner Mike Watson heads up well into the Mediterranean night, with the tournament being closed out at 1:30 a.m. local time. Watson was awarded a consolation prize of €23,550, while mixed games wizard Benny Glaser (3rd - €15,700) and poker veteran Vladimir Troyanovskiy (4th - €10,500) also cashed in the event.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Dongwoo Ko | Canada | €37,550 |
| 2 | Mike Watson | Canada | €23,550 |
| 3 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | €15,700 |
| 4 | Vladimir Troyanovskiy | Russia | €10,500 |
"It feels amazing to win," Ko shared shortly after the tournament had ended, "but I'm still sick of busting the Main Event." Ko only entered the 8-Game because he fired two unsuccessful bullets in the Main Event, a decision he would not regret.
"I've only been playing mixed games for a couple of months, I'm getting sick of no-limit hold'em," Ko explained. "Since there is no mixed in Canada, I try to play as much as possible elsewhere."
When asked about his competition, Ko had nothing but great things to say about his fellow players. "It's fun to play with legends, I mean Benny Glaser and Mike Watson, they are legends. I had a lot of tough spots against Mike heads up, lots of pressure, but I tried to play my own game and I got it done."
The tournament knew a slow start, originally getting canceled but eventually starting up 90 minutes later than scheduled with three players. However, the room quickly filled up with three tables in action. That number was quickly brought down as Paul Tedeschi and Kelvin Kerber were among the early eliminations.
Imad Derwiche was the only player to fire two bullets, busting them in quick succession at the early stages of the tournament. After the dinner break, the likes of Dzmitry Urbanovich and Benjamin Pollak departed from the final two tables.
One of the most remarkable storylines of the day was undoubtedly that of Jiaming Zhao. The Chinese player entered the tournament knowing only no-limit hold ’em, with the other seven games being explained to him through translated websites. Seemingly having the time of his life, he gave it his all and even held the chip lead for a considerable amount of time.
Sadly, his valiant efforts ended when he ultimately finished in eighth place as the final table bubble. Once at the final table, short stacks Ivo Bartoletti and Andres Korn quickly fell, the latter of which in a multiway capped razz pot of which Watson was the big winner. Eventually, Finland’s Jyri Merivirta became the bubble boy after first having doubled up the short-stacked Glaser on two separate occasions.
Merivirta threw in his final few chips in a three-way 2-7 triple draw hand, but he drew worst and was the last to exit without money. At that point, Troyanovskiy had less than a big bet remaining, which he lost in the same game as Merivirta. Glaser could not hold on much longer either, failing to double up for the third time at the final table when Ko eliminated him in Omaha hi-lo.
Throughout the final table, Watson had amassed a huge chip lead, but thanks to Ko’s elimination of Glaser the Canadian duo started the heads up with even stacks. The duel lasted more than an hour, with the lead swinging back and forth between the two players. Eventually, Ko won back-to-back big pots to take a sizable lead. First, he flopped trips in limit hold’em before winning with the better of two eight-lows in 2-7 triple draw.
After that pot, Watson was down to three big bets, which were lost in the same game. Watson had stood pat with a nine-low on the final draw, while Ko drew one. Watson then tossed his final few chips in the middle after the draw and was quickly called by the eight-low of Ko.
A thankful Ko had some kind words for his much-respected opponent before he happily walked home with the trophy and €37,750 in cash. Not too bad of a consolation prize for busting the Main Event, after all.
That concludes PokerNews’coverage of the €5,200 8-Game, but, with the Main Event in full swing, be sure to check out the reports of the other tournaments happening at EPT Barcelona over at the live reporting hub.