Gilles Simon Wins First-Ever European Poker Tour Cyprus Main Event

A handful of years in the past, Gilles Simon was primarily taking part in low-stakes on-line poker tournaments. On Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, the Dutch participant defeated a subject of 1,320 entries within the first-ever PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus $5,300 buy-in no-limit maintain’em principal occasion to earn $1,042,000.

“It’s absolutely insane. It’s been a crazy ride the last five years,” stated Simon after the win.

Back in 2019 Simon had gained a contest placed on by PokerStars referred to as ‘Dare To Stream’, which noticed his broadcasts of low buy-in on-line play earn him a seat within the $25,000 buy-in the PokerStars Players NL Hold’em Championship (PSPC) that yr.

Streaming is not a spotlight for the 24-year-old based mostly in Valkenburg, Netherlands. In current years he has labored his approach up the web match stakes. He even gained a World Championship of Online Poker title earlier this yr. This was his first seven-figure match rating. It introduced his recorded match earnings to almost $1.5 million.

In addition to the title and the cash, Simon additionally secured 1,920 Card Player Player of the Year factors because the champion of this occasion. This was his first certified rating of 2023, nevertheless it alone was sufficient to catapult him up the rankings and into 186th place on the POY leaderboard offered by Global Poker.

“In the end, all you need is the right timing, a very dirty mustache, and a lot of luck,” Simon stated of his breakout win.

This occasion ran from Oct. 16-22 contained in the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa in Cyprus. It featured two beginning flights after which took 4 extra days to slender the sector of 1,320 all the way down to seven contenders. The prime 199 finishers earned a chunk of the $6,402,000 prize pool, with $162,925 locked up by the point the ultimate day started with Simon within the lead.

Bjorn Kozenkai (seventh – $162,925) was the primary to fall, working Ok-10 into the A-10 of Jose Gonzalez Sanchez. Nikita Kuznetsov (sixth – $211,850) quickly adopted, along with his pocket fours unable to return from behind in opposition to the pocket kings of Simon.

A traditional preflop race resulted within the subsequent knockout. Yannick Schumacher acquired all-in with AQ dealing with the JJ of Halil Tasyurek, which improved to jacks full by the flip. Schumacher earned $275,425 because the fifth-place finisher.

Despite scoring that elimination, Tasyurek was in the end the subsequent participant to his the rail. He acquired all-in in a battle of the blinds with A-Q main the Ok-J of Andrea Dato, however a king-high runout noticed him end fourth for $358,075.

Jose Gonzalez Sanchez was additionally busted by Dato, who as soon as once more was holding Ok-J. It was an open-shove from the small blind with Q-6 for Sanchez and a name from the massive blind for Dato. Both gamers flopped a pair, however Dato made kings and hacks by the top to lock up the pot. Sanchez earned $465,425 because the third-place finisher.

Heads-up play started with Dato holding greater than a 2:1 chip benefit over Simon. The roles have been quickly reversed, with Simon first closing the hole after which overtaking the lead when his kings and nines with a ten kicker bested the identical hand with a decrease kicker for Dato.

Simon remained nicely out in entrance by the point the ultimate hand was dealt. Dato min-raised raised to 1,600,000 from the massive blind with AJ after Simon had limped on the button with Ok8. Simon referred to as and the flop got here out 872. Dato wager 500,000. Simon raised to 1,500,000. Dato moved all-in for five,350,000 and Simon rapidly referred to as. The 3 flip and 6 river have been no assist to Dato and the Italian was eradicated in second place, incomes $652,200 for his efforts.

Here is a take a look at the payouts and POY factors awarded on the closing desk:

Photo credit: Danny Maxwell / Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd.