Six Bigs and a Dream: Mateusz Moolhuizen Stays Hungry and Wins the €1,100 FPS Main Event (€470,830)
The €1,100 PokerStars France Poker Series Main Event was a four-day grind of focus and determination at Le Palais des Congrès, where players were looking to outlast the largest FPS field ever and earn a coveted trophy at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Paris.
Of course, a little luck doesn’t hurt either. After six opening flights, the massive field finally combined for Day 2, where title contenders would separate themselves from the pack. Of the 619 who returned from the starting field of 4,149 entries, Mateusz Moolhuizen began that day as one of the short stacks. Almost 60 hours later, the Dutchman was celebrating with fiancée and fellow poker pro Dehlia de Jong.
“It's like a dream, to be honest, because I started Day 2 with six big blinds,” Moolhuizen said after his trophy ceremony. “People came to me and they're like, how are you doing in the main? Well, I'm going to be there two or three minutes and then I'm going to have breakfast.” But those plans changed quickly, as Moolhuizen recalled. “After two hours I had 70, 80 big blinds and I was very, very hungry. So yeah, I had an insane run. Obviously, I was very lucky.”
Luck was only part of the equation, as the 34-year-old used a timely bluff and a fortunate run of cards to add this title to an impressive poker resume. Moolhuizen's list of career wins includes victories over other large fields, but it marks his first in a PokerStars Main Event.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mateusz Moolhuizen | Netherlands | €470,830 |
| 2 | Blaz Zerjav | Slovenia | €294,530 |
| 3 | Yassine Baqal | France | €210,220 |
| 4 | Enis Rouissi | France | €161,710 |
| 5 | Kacper Pyzara | Poland | €124,390 |
| 6 | Scott Margereson | United Kingdom | €95,680 |
| 7 | Pierre Merlin | France | €73,580 |
| 8 | Julien Duveau | France | €56,590 |
| 9 | Pietro Corsi | Italy | €43,540 |
Winner’s Reaction
The record-breaking field this week generated a whopping €3,983,040 prize pool, and the final six players entered Day 4 ready to battle for the title. Moolhuizen sat third in chips to start, but was able to navigate his way to the win. He was admitted tired after a long session to bag the previous night, and did not get much rest ahead of the final day.
“I couldn't sleep,” said Moolhuizen, “I slept like, four hours. But the adrenaline just keeps you going anyway, right?” Not only was he able to stay awake, but the newly crowned champion also used meditation to control the adrenaline. “I'll be very honest. I don't do it enough. But it's good to keep calm.”
With his fiancée cheering from the rail, Moolhuizen gave the couple one reason to feel more attached to the host city of Paris. Another will come in just a few months. “I mean, it's the city of love and getting married in France” he explained. “It's amazing. That's the story for sure, for sure.”
Final Table Action
The final table marked the start of the PokerStars livestream here in Paris, and action was quick right from the start. Less than 30 minutes into the day, Moolhuizen scored the first knockout. Scott Margereson entered as the short stack and was unable to catch a set before exiting in sixth place.
From there, things slowed down until Kacper Pyzara got unlucky against start-of-day chip leader Enis Rouissi to finish in fifth position. Despite entering the day with a commanding advantage, Rouissi was the next to go in fourth when his queens ran into the kings of Blaz Zerjav.
Throughout much of the day, Yassine Baqal was on a short stack but managed to survive four consecutive all-ins. The last two came at the expense of Zerjav, but the Slovenian pro finally got his revenge and sent Baqal home in third place.
Heads Up Play
That left Moolhuizen and Zerjav to fight for the title, and the two had tangled in a key pot hours earlier. Moolhuizen got a bluff through after risking almost his entire stack, propelling him back into contention at that point.
The heads-up battle began with virtually even stacks, and the two combatants traded the lead before Moolhuizen was able to pull away. A key turn card left the Dutchman with a massive chip advantage, and the stacks were all in soon after with Zerjav coming up short.
With a big victory under his belt here in Paris, Moolhuizen will try to get some rest before jumping into the EPT Main Event. “Tomorrow, I'll be definitely tired,” he said before leaving the feature table stage. “I'm not looking forward to playing tomorrow now, a day later. It's a position everybody wants to be in, but I'll probably be less talkative tomorrow on the table.” Perhaps his play can do the talking again, as he begins the quest for a rare double at an EPT stop.
This concludes the PokerNews coverage of the FPS Main Event, but our live reporting from Paris continues. Check out our event hub for all of the action at Le Palais des Congrès, and look out for coverage of major events elsewhere around the poker world.