The official final table of the 2018 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Grand Final Barcelona €10,300 Main Event has been set and the eight remaining finalists all have a payday of €225,000 locked up for their efforts. However, the the lion's share of the €11,397,500 prize pool of the 1,175-entry strong field is still up for grabs. First place comes with plenty of bragging rights, the trophy and a massive €1,700,000 prize, the biggest amount of money to ever be awarded at a poker tournament in Casino Barcelona thus far.
After storming to the top of the counts throughout Day 2, Pascal Lefrancois has maintained his top spot and bagged up 248.4 million, but several other big names are vying to give ensure that the Canadian won't have an easy ride to victory. Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche follows in second place with 232.9 with Jan-Eric Schwippert (216.3 million) and Diogo Veiga (213.8 million) notfar behind.
Triple Crown champion and €25,500 Super High Roller II winner Davidi Kitai (91.1 million), Thomas Boivin (66.5 million), €101,000 Super High Roller runner-up Stephen Chidwick (65.2 million) and Adam Owen (41.6 million), who can usually be found on the mixed game tables during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, round up the final table line up. Chidwick is aiming for his second seven-figure payday after recording a new career-best result here in Barcelona just a few days ago.
Final Table Seat Assignments
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Jan-Eric Schwippert
Germany
216,300,000
108
2
Davidi Kitai
Belgium
91,100,000
46
3
Pascal Lefrancois
Canada
248,400,000
124
4
Adam Owen
United Kingdom
41,600,000
21
5
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
65,200,000
33
6
Dominik Nitsche
Germany
232,900,000
116
7
Thomas Boivin
Belgium
66,500,000
33
8
Diogo Veiga
Portugal
213,800,000
107
The action will recommence at 12 p.m. local time with 46 minutes left in level 32 at blinds of 1,000,000/2,000,000 with a button ante of 2,000,000 and the live stream with hole cards displayed will be broadcasted on a security delay of 30 minutes. The PokerNews live reporting team will be publishing all key hands according to the live stream.
Thomas Boivin raised to 6 million with the in the cutoff and Diogo Veiga three-bet to 17 million on the button with , Boivin called. The flop fell and Boivin checked, Veiga bet 12 million and Boivin called.
After the flop, Boivin check-called another bet of 15 million and the river completed the board. Boivin checked and Veiga moved all in for effectively 45 million, Boivin snap-called and score a big double.Thomas Boivin, Diogo Veiga
Stephen Chidwick raised to 10 million in the cutoff and Diogo Veiga three-bet to 39 million out of the small blind with 84 million behind, Chidwick called. On a flop of , Veiga checked and Chidwick bet 20 million. Veiga check-raised all in and Chidwick called to create the following showdown.
Diogo Veiga:
Stephen Chidwick:
The turn and river couterfit the two pair of Veiga and he was eliminated in 6th place for €450,000.
Adam Owen opened to 16 million in the cutoff and Jan-Eric Schwippert moved all in for 136 million in the big blind. Owen gave it plenty of consideration, mentioning "it would be gamble against you guys" but called indeed after using two time bank extensions.
Jan-Eric Schwippert:
Adam Owen:
The board ran out and Schwippert was eliminated in 5th place for €602,500, while Owen moved up to second place with four players remaining.
Out of the small blind, Dominik Nitsche pushed all in for 71 million and Pascal Lefrancois called in the big blind.
Dominik Nitsche:
Pascal Lefrancois:
On a board of let the Canadian rail erupt in applause while Nitsche was sent to the rail in 4th place for €800,000. Lefrancois moved up to two third of the chips in play with three players remaining.
Pascal Lefrancois limped the button and Stephen Chidwick moved all in for 94 million out of the big blind, Lefrancois quickly called.
Stephen Chidwick:
Pascal Lefrancois:
The second all in showdown in quick succession once again went towards Lefrancois after a board of . He will take home a
Chidwick earned two seven-figure scores during the festival in Barcelona without winning either tournament, which is quite remarkable. The two remaining players are now on a short break before heads up starts.
Adam Owen raised it up to 38 million and Pascal Lefrancois three-bet to 105 million. Owen moved all in for 451 million and Lefrancois double-checked his cards before calling and standing up from his chair.
"Let's fuckin go," the French-Canadian rail said while Owen's rail gathered on the other side of the table.
Adam Owen:
Pascal Lefrancois:
The flop of opened up some chop opportunities, while the turn changed nothing whatsoever. The blank let the Canadian rail erupt and they all hugged Lefrancois, while the English rail soon after started chanting Owen's name again.
Owen was eliminated in 2nd place and takes home €1,300,000 for his efforts, more than doubling his previous best score from right here in Barcelona. Lefrancois is the champion and claims a payday of €1,700,000, the trophy and the bragging rights that come along with it.
The record-setting 2018 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Grand Final Barcelona €10,300 Main Event has crowned a champion and it was Pascal Lefrancois that eventually lifted the trophy for a career-best score of €1,700,000. It was the biggest prize thus far to be awarded in a poker tournament at the Casino Barcelona.
Lefrancois was cheered on by a loud French-Canadian rail, while the other side of the table featured plenty of loud chants from the mostly British supporters throughout the final table to end the festival with a bang.
“It has been exhausting, an exhausting four days especially with the two flights on Day 1. I tried to keep my focus even though I was pretty tired. It is really sick,” 31-year-old Lefrancois from Montreal said, almost lost for words. “You see these events and you just don't think you can win.”
Lefrancois held the chip lead at the end of Day 2 and also came into the final table as the chip leader, but it wasn't an easy ride by any means. “I had a rough start, not picking up any hands. But one level I just ran super good and I could hold onto that lead. I just ran so good for three days straight, it's amazing, it is a good feeling.
For Adam Owen, it was a return to the place of his biggest success at the poker tables thus far. While being deemed to be a mixed game specialist, his biggest cash of the career thus far came from a No Limit Hold'em event two years ago and he was sitting on yet another feature table only a few meters away right here at Casino Barcelona, eventually finishing third for €646,250. Owen more than doubled that payday with his runner-up finish, taking home €1,300,000.
“I am an underdog, the players on this table are the best in the world, but I have the best rail in the world,” Owen said before heads-up play got underway and he certainly put up a show with a lot of moves and aggression.
As outlined by partypoker chairman Mike Sexton during his stint in the commentary booth, “Seven figure paydays don't come by in the poker world that often,” and the top three were ensured of just that in the 1,175-entry strong field, which comfortably surpassed the initial guarantee and generated a prize pool of €11,397,500.
The third player to win a seven-figure score already knew what that feels like from just a few days ago. Stephen Chidwick finished runner-up in the €101,000 Super High Roller to record his best result in an already stellar poker career.
“I just try to think about the cards and the decisions, not about the outcome, “ Chidwick said with a smile on the face in the interview after his elimination and thanked his whole family and especially his granddad. “I want to dedicate it to my granddad, who is probably the biggest gamer in my family. If I hadn't grown up playing card games and board games, and even video games with him, then I maybe wouldn't be here now.”
The final table featured several well-known faces of the international poker circuit. Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche ended up in fourth place, his fellow countryman Jan-Eric Schwippert had joined the rail in 5th place. Portugal's Diogo Veiga, Triple Crown Champion Davidi Kitai and Thomas Boivin rounded up the other finalists.
Final Result €10,300 Main Event
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (EUR)
1
Pascal Lefrancois
Canada
€1,700,000
2
Adam Owen
United Kingdom
€1,300,000
3
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
€1,000,000
4
Dominik Nitsche
Germany
€800,000
5
Jan-Eric Schwippert
Germany
€602,500
6
Diogo Veiga
Portugal
€450,000
7
Davidi Kitai
Belgium
€325,000
8
Thomas Boivin
Belgium
€225,000
The 2018 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Grand Final Barcelona festival at a glance
The festival had nine major events that all came with a seven figure guaranteed prize pool for €23,000,000 in total, and the who is who of the international poker circuit headed to one of Europe's major poker destinations.
In the various live satellites at Casino Barcelona, another €2.25 million were generated to bring the entire prizes at the festival to more than €30 million. Below you can find a chart with a summary of the nine major tournaments of the final partypoker LIVE MILLIONS stop in Season 1.
Event #
Event Name
Buy-In
Entries
Prize Pool (EUR)
Winner
Top Prize (EUR)
1
Open
€1,100
1,716
€1,664,520
Ludovic Geilich
€250,000
2
Super High Roller
€25,500
88
€2,134,000
Andreas Eiler
€700,000
3
Super High Roller
€25,500
90
€2,182,500
Davidi Kitai
€700,000
4
Warm Up
€2,700
749
€1,816,325
Matan Bakrat
€385,000
5
Super High Roller
€51,000
57
€2,764,500
Sam Greenwood
€1,000,000
6
Super High Roller
€101,000
48
€4,656,000
Jake Schindler
€1,750,000
7
Main Event
€10,300
1,175
€11,397,500
Pascal Lefrancois
€1,700,000
8
Finale
€1,100
1,163
€1,128,110
Pedro Cairat
€195,000
9
High Roller
€10,300
196
€2,000,000
Fahredin Mustafov
€400,000
Total Prize Pool
€29,743,455
€10,300 Main Event Action of the final day
With big pay jumps right away, the tension was quite high and it came as no surprise to see no casualty in the first two hours of play. The first big double of the final table saw Thomas Boivin best Diogo Veiga after both flopped trips kings. However, the Belgian was twice dominated by the aggression of Stephen Chidwick before his top set on the flop left him short as Dominik Nitsche turned a straight.
Boivin was sporting the famous “disco jacket” that was first introduced by his countryman Michael Gathy and worn on big final tables by Gathy, Terry Schumacher (Aussie Millions Six-Max Event in 2017) and his brother Johan (final table Aussie Millions Main Event 2018), as well as Heidi May (winner Ladies Event). The Belgian became the first casualty of the final table after more than 4 hours of play. Short in chips he moved all in with ace-three suited and Stephen Chidwick called with pocket jacks to remain ahead.
Only a few minutes later the second player that as flying the Belgian flag in the final was sent to the rail in Davidi Kitai. The Triple Crown champion, who had already won the €25,500 Super High Roller II for €700,000, added another €325,000 to his poker bankroll. The expecting father was supported by a big rail that also included his wife Caroline, ended up second-best with ace-jack against the ace-four of Diogo Veiga. More than one million in cashes during the only two events he played in the record-setting festival in Barcelona cap a very successful start into the year, and the Kitai's are also expecting the birth of their daughter in the summer.
Diogo Veiga departed in 6th place after his flopped two pair with ace-try were counterfit by Stephen Chidwick's ace-nine suited thanks to running jacks, and the Brit further pulled ahead at the top of the counts.
“Adam's gonna win,” his rail started chanting even when their favorite was among the shorter stacks, and the Brit gained a lot of momentum when he won a flip with pocket sevens against the ace-nine suited of Jan-Eric Schwippert.
Down to the last four players, former dominating big stacks Stephen Chidwick and Dominik Nitsche were sent to the bottom of the counts. Nitsche was the first to fall when his jam with king-six was called by Pascal Lefrancois with king-trey. The Canadian improved to a runner-runner straight and also took care of Chidwick soon after. Chidwick was all in with ace-seven and Lefrancois called with king-ten suited to immediately spike a king on the flop.
Heads-up started with a commanding lead for Lefrancois, but Owen's immense aggression turned things around rather quickly. Eventually, the duo both picked up suited aces and Owen four-bet all in with ace-ten, Lefrancois called with ace-jack and the kicker played to crown the Main Event champion.
This marks the end of the PokerNews live reporting and the end of Season 1 for the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS tour. However, the Playground Poker Club in Montreal will host the first edition of Season two in just a few days time, and Lefrancois will definitely be back in action to take another shot at glory on home soil.