Byron Kaverman defended his big blind against a raise by Sam Greenwood and check-called a continuation bet on the flop, which led them to the turn. Kaverman checked once more and Greenwood then bet 70,000 with 150,000 behind.
The call by Kaverman followed, who then also checked the on the river. Greenwood bet 145,000 to leave himself with a single chip behind and Kaverman then moved all-in for Greenwood to call it off. The for a set of kings by Greenwood were briefly exposed but Kaverman had the best of it with for a flush.
As the level drew to a close, Greenwood was eliminated in 9th place for a payday of €50,640.
Reza Tabatabai limped in the cutoff and Daniel Dvoress checked his option in the big blind. The flop was checked by both players and Dvoress bet the turn for 55,000, which earned a call from Tabatabai.
After the river, Dvoress checked and Tabatabai bet 210,000 with some 450,000 behind. Dvoress used one of his time bank extensions and then moved all-in with the covering stack for Tabatabai to call instantly.
Dvoress rolled over the for a full house and Tabatabai flashed his for a straight to bow out in 8th place.
"Good game gentlemen. You need to win the tournament, Sir," Tabatabai said on his way out.
"I will try, Sir" Dvoress replied before Sam Grafton chimed in with a "are you talking to me?" with a big smile on the face.
The action commenced with an open raise to 80,000 by Daniel Dvoress and Sam Grafton then pushed all-in with the shortest stack of 335,000 from one seat over.
Sirzat Hissou in the big blind asked for a count and moments before it was determined, he moved all-in over the top.
"How much is that?" Dvoress immediately inquired and the all-in of Hissou was for 565,000 in total, which the Canadian called to put two opponents at risk.
Sam Grafton:
Sirzat Hissou:
Daniel Dvoress:
Grafton had the best of it heading into the showdown but it was Dvoress who hit best on the flop. The turn gave Hissou a gutshot and flush draw, which he completed thanks to the river. Grafton had to settle for 7th place while Hissou nearly tripled up.
Yuri Dzivielevski moved all-in once with the now biggest stack to collect the blinds and antes.
Up next, Daniel Dvoress pushed as second-biggest stack from under the gun. Sirzat Hissou had paid the big blind and big blind ante the previous hand to become very short and called all-in, Andras Nemeth folded from the big blind.
Sirzat Hissou:
Daniel Dvoress:
Following the board, the aces of Hissou were cracked and Dvoress claimed the pot with his two pair as the German had to settle for €108,380.
"King jack, eh? Why didn't you min-raise, I would have flopped the best hand," Nemeth remarked. Dvoress replied "forty percent to a royal flush" as he stacked the chips with a smile on the face.
Within two hands, the stack of Andras Nemeth was not only decimated but reduced to zero, as the Hungarian had to settle for fifth place.
Byron Kaverman jammed blind-on-blind for 535,000 to get called by Nemeth in the big blind and that set up the following showdown.
Byron Kaverman:
Andras Nemeth:
The board gave Kaverman trips fours and Nemeth was down to a mere 205,000.
One hand later, Nemeth got it in blind and Daniel Dvoress called without looking at his cards in the big blind.
Andras Nemeth:
Daniel Dvoress:
Dvoress took the lead on the flop and retained it on the turn. The river was another blank and Nemeth was sent to the payout desk to collect €138,590 for his fifth place finish.
Yuri Dzivielevski shoved from the small blind and Andriy Lyubovetskiy looked at his cards in the big blind. After a quick glance, he took a second or two before making the call.
Andriy Lyubovetskiy:
Yuri Dzivielevski:
Lyubovetskiy was ahead but the board ran out for Dzivielevski to hit the flop for a pair of eights which he improved to two pair on the turn to knock Lyubovetskiy out in fourth place for €175,010.
Following a small blind shove by Yuri Dzivielevski, the quick call by Byron Kaverman in the big blind followed and the cards were on their backs with Kaverman at risk for around 1.9 million.
Yuri Dzivielevski:
Byron Kaverman:
The flop improved Dzivielevski to a pair of queens. Nothing changed on the turn and the river ended Kaverman's run in third place as the short-handed survival eventually came down to the final two players.
After 16 hours of poker action, the second high stakes contest of the 2022 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) presented by Monte-Carlo Casino® has come to a conclusion. Brazilian superstar Yuri Dzivielevski cut a heads-up deal with Daniel Dvoress as both players divided the lion's share of the €1,776,740 prize pool. It was yet another very successful High Roller attendance as field of 74 entries emerged the first €25,000 Single-Day High Roller of the EPT stop at the Monte-Carlo Sporting complex.
The final stages of the tournament lasted until the early morning hours and once Byron Kaverman was eliminated in third place, Dzivielevski and Dvoress agreed to an ICM deal and flipped for the trophy. The fortune was on the side of Dzivielevski, like it had been many times prior to that, and he claimed the PokerStars spadie along with a top prize of €448,515. For Dvoress, the runner-up finish came with a consolation prize of €387,435 and both discussed immediately after their potential plans for Day 1 of the upcoming €100,000 Super High Roller.
En route to success, Dzivielevski staged a huge comeback as he was the shortest stack on just three big blinds during the final table. The top 11 spots were paid with notables such as Andriy Lyubovetskiy, Andras Nemeth, PokerStars ambassador Sam Grafton and Sam Greenwood all earning cash prizes. Sergi Reixach, who earned the most money in the €10,200 Mystery Bounty Event and finished second to Jean-Noel Thorel just one day ago, was eliminated on the bubble this time.
Football star and PokerStars Cultural Ambassador Neymar Jr was also among the participants as well but failed to make a deep run, bowing out soon after the late registration of the tournament closed.
Final Result €25,000 Single-Day High Roller
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (EUR)
1
Yuri Dzivielevski
Brazil
€448,515*
2
Daniel Dvoress
Canada
€387,435*
3
Byron Kaverman
United States
€227,420
4
Andriy Lyubovetskiy
Ukraine
€175,010
5
Andras Nemeth
Hungary
€138,590
6
Sirzat Hissou
Germany
€108,380
7
Sam Grafton
United Kingdom
€85,280
8
Reza Tabatabai
United Kingdom
€66,630
9
Sam Greenwood
Canada
€50,640
10
Rok Gostisa
Slovenia
€44,420
11
Jose Quintas
Portugal
€44,420
*reflects ICM deal of the final two players
It was yet another strong turnout for a High Roller contest after Event #4: €10,200 Mystery Bounty attracted a field of 83 entries, followed by a record field of 1,918 entries in the France Poker Series €1,100 Main Event to showcase the early success of the stop after a hiatus of three years.
Many stellar names of the poker circuit were involved in the action but perhaps the most well-known star in the field was Brazilian football striker Neymar Jr, who is known for his passion for the game of poker. He was among the returning players after the dinner break and eventually bowed out in a flip against Juan Pardo when his ace-king came up second-best to the pocket sixes of the Spanish High Roller regular.
Among the accomplished poker pros who fell entered and left without anything to show for money-wise were the likes of Mikita Badziakouski, Nick Petrangelo, Timothy Adams, 2021 WSOP Main Event champion Koray Aldemir, Stephen Chidwick, Jake Schindler, and Ali Imsirovic, who all ran out of chips prior to the final three tables.
Mystery Bounty Event winner Jean-Noel Thorel was also among the casualties before the money bubble. EPT 11 Deauville Main Event Champion Ognyan Dimov became another high-profile casualty when he made a move at the wrong time with ace-trey suited and ran into the pocket aces of Daniel Dvoress.
The Spanish-speaking poker community saw a trio of pros all come close but eventually bust before the money as Adrian Mateos, Juan Pardo and Sergi Reixach received no cash prizes. As a matter of fact, it was Reixach who became the bubble boy when he failed to get there with ace-ten against the pocket kings of Dvoress.
It didn't take long after that to set up the nine-handed final table. Byron Kaverman had doubled on the money bubble and then scored a double knockout by dispatching Rok Gostisa and Jose Quintas. Kaverman also claimed the chips of Sam Greenwood as well when he rivered a flush to beat the flopped set of the Canadian. Yet, it was all about Dvoress who held a commanding lead that grew even further after the elimination of Reza Tabatabai in eighth place.
PokerStars ambassador Sam Grafton was ousted in a memorable three-way all-in in which Sirzat Hissou pulled off a miracle escape. However, what followed was a nerve-wrecking affair in which the short stacks pulled several rabbits out of the hats to survive.
Yuri Dzivielevski was the far shortest stack for an extended period and dropped all the way down to just three big blinds. Several double-ups later, the Brazilian was suddenly second in chips and the double-up carnage continued without missing any beats. Hissou and Nemeth became the next casualties followed by Andriy Lyubovetskiy before the final three players traded numerous double-ups as the lead changed countless times.
In the early morning hours after nearly 16 hours of poker action, it was ultimately Kaverman who became the last casualty of the night when Dzivielevski's run-good continued. The Brazilian agreed to an ICM deal with Dvoress right after that and also won the blind flip for the PokerStars spadie trophy.
Many of those taking part in the Single-Day High Roller will be back in high-stakes action soon as the €100,000 Super High Roller awaits from May 1 to 3, 2022. The PokerNews team will be back then to provide all the action from the French Riviera.