Two days of action at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris were not enough to complete the €2,200 France Poker Series High Roller event, so the remaining four players will return to crown a champion today.
When the clock hit 4 a.m. local time last night at Le Palais des Congres, Henrik Juncker bagged up 29,400,000 chips. His 49 big blinds are more than the other three players combined entering the added Day 3.
Among that group is PokerStars AmbassadorParker Talbot, who will sit down with 10,200,000 as play begins at 3 p.m. local time.
Joining the Canadian at the final table are Omar Del Pino (11,400,000) and short stack Guillermo Gordo (2,800,000), returning with just five big blinds.
Day 3 Final Table
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Guillermo Gordo
Spain
2,800,000
5
2
Henrik Juncker
Denmark
29,400,000
49
3
Parker Talbot
Canada
10,200,000
17
4
Omar Del Pino
Spain
11,400,000
19
The tournament saw a total prize pool of €3,448,320, with 268 players returning for Day 2 in the money. Now the four remaining players have all locked up at least €183,590, and will be chasing the first-place prize of €544,790.
Action will resume at 3 p.m. local time with 8:34 remaining on Level 37, which features 300,000/600,000 blinds with a 600,000 big blind ante. Play will continue with 40-minute levels, progressing to blinds of 400,000/800,000/800,000.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Player
Country
Prize (EUR)
1
€544,790
2
€334,180
3
€238,700
4
€183,590
5
Michel Leibgorin
France
€141,220
6
Rony Halimi
France
€108,670
7
Yunsheng Sun
China
€83,600
8
Dann Assouline
France
€64,310
9
Sonny Franco
France
€49,460
The PokerNews live reporting team will have all of the action as the final four play down to a winner today, so stay tuned for full coverage from Le Palais des Congres.
Guillermo Gordo moved all in from the small blind and was quickly at risk after Henrik Juncker slid in the call. The hands were turned up and Gordo was in rough shape.
Guillermo Gordo: K♠9♦
Henrik Juncker: A♥9♠
After doubling up twice earlier, Gordo could not find enough help on the 7♦10♠A♠9♣8♦ board to end his run in third position.
Parker Talbot called on the button before Henrik Juncker slid out a raise to 3,500,000 in the big blind. Talbot then announced all in and was snap-called by Juncker.
Parker Talbot: A♣3♣
Henrik Juncker: A♥J♣
Juncker was well ahead and remained there after the 10♦5♠Q♣ flop. Talbot then picked up a wheel draw on the 4♥ turn, but it was not to be as the dealer revealed the J♦ river.
"Good game," said Talbot, shaking hands with Juncker after falling in second place.
After landing in Paris on Sunday, Henrik Juncker made his way over to Le Palais des Congres for the PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris. Shortly after, he decided to jump straight into Day 1b of the €2,200 France Poker Series High Roller.
Fast forward to Tuesday evening, where Juncker was putting the finishing touches on the largest score of his poker career. The Danish pro took a commanding chip lead when the final four players bagged ahead of an unscheduled Day 3, ultimately knocking out PokerStars AmbassadorParker Talbot to take down his first PokerStars trophy.
The High Roller event attracted a total of 1,794 entries and created a prize pool of €3,448,320. Play was forced to stop on Day 2, leaving four players left to come back and battle for the top prize of €544,790. Juncker sat down today with more than half of the chips in play, taking a little more than an hour to knock out all three opponents and prepare for his winner’s photos.
€2,200 FPS High Roller Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize (EUR)
1
Henrik Juncker
Denmark
€544,790
2
Parker Talbot
Canada
€334,180
3
Guillermo Gordo
Spain
€238,700
4
Omar Del Pino
Spain
€183,590
5
Michel Leibgorin
France
€141,220
6
Rony Halimi
France
€108,670
7
Yunsheng Sun
China
€83,600
8
Dann Assouline
France
€64,310
9
Sonny Franco
France
€49,460
Winner’s Reaction
While the trip to the French capital was planned, jumping straight into the FPS High Roller was not. “Extremely delighted,” Juncker told PokerNews moments after the victory. “I actually flew in [Sunday] morning, I didn’t intend to play but figured I might as well give it a shot, and here we are.”
Despite bagging a big lead overnight, Juncker had plenty of work to do on Day 2 as players were sent on a break before reaching the final two tables. “I was extremely short yesterday, I think I had four bigs with 17 left. Got a few lucky double-ups and everything went my way, played some really good poker players, better than me, so I’m really lucky to win.”
Those doubles put him back in contention, navigating his way through a difficult field to stack up almost 55 percent of the chips and head to sleep with a big advantage four-handed. “Had a good night’s sleep, had lunch with some friends talking about different scenarios playing out,” said Juncker. “I had a plan and ran good today as well, so it makes poker easy.”
That run included eliminating the final two players before play was suspended for the night and picking up right where he left off this afternoon on the added Day 3.
Final Four Action
Play began in the main room with the final four players ready for action. Short stack Guillermo Gordo started the day with just five big blinds, but gave his rail something to cheer about when he quickly doubled up twice against Juncker. The second one included spiking a straight on the river to put a dent in Juncker’s advantage.
That did not last long, as the chip leader found a set in the window to win a flip against Omar Del Pino, sending the Spaniard out in fourth place. After tournament officials moved the final three to the side room at Le Palais des Congres, Juncker’s next victim was indeed Gordo.
That left the Dane with more than a 6:1 chip lead over Talbot as heads up play began. Despite a quick double with Big Slick, the Canadian streamer known as "Tonkaaaap"ran his ace into a superior one and missed the river to end his run. Talbot earned €334,180 for the second-place finish, falling just shy of the title.
That glory was left for Juncker, who took down his one and only event here in Paris as he's due to fly home tomorrow. Quite a profitable trip, allowing him to easily afford the extra weight in his luggage due to a shiny new FPS trophy.
This event may have concluded, but the PokerNews live coverage continues from Paris. Be sure to check out our tournament hub for live action from the EPT Main Event.