EPT Paris 2023: Diogo Coelho & Stephen Chidwick Win PokerStars Trophies!

The European Poker Tour stopped in Paris for the first time at the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile from February 15 to 26. This wasn`t the first time PokerStars hosted an EPT in France. Deauville was an EPT stop in 2005 and remained a popular destination until 2015. However, EPT`s debut appearance in Paris – although hit by a few logistical challenges – turned out to be a raging success, witnessing massive participation from local and international players.

The curtain was drawn on EPT’s first stop in the most romantic city in the world on Sunday. Among the final set of winners was the upcoming online grinder Diogo Coelho and well-respected pro Stephen Chidwick.

Portugal’s Diogo Coelho traversed a massive 431-player field in the €10,300 High Roller, bagging away his maiden live title for a career-best €810,500. Russia’s Aleksandr Shevliakov collected a handsome €505,800 runner-up payday.

United Kingdom`s Stephen Chidwick emerged victorious in the final High Roller of the series, €25,000 NLH III, besting a 40-player field to take down his eighth EPT tournament (eleventh PokerStars title) for €324,500. Adrian Mateos, the #1 ranked player on Spain’s all-time money list, came second for €211,700.

Diogo Coelho Wins Maiden Live Title in €10,300 High Roller, Scores Career-Best €810,500

After over 13 hours of action-packed play in the €10,300 High Roller, Portugal’s Diogo Coelho topped a massive 431-player field, winning his maiden live tournament for a career-best €810,500. Russia’s Aleksandr Shevliakov scored a runner-up payday of €505,800.

Coelho, a professional poker player for five years, lapped up over ten times his previous-best live tournament score ($75,304) with the win.

“I’m feeling well. Very hyped in the moment,” Coelho said in his winner’s interview. “It’s amazing. I’ve never won a prize like that before, so for me, it’s everything.”

Primarily an online grinder, Coelho commented on his final table competition, saying they are “good players who usually play more live poker than me” and “probably feel more comfortable than me” in live tournaments.

“But I don’t think they have a lot of edge on me because of that,” he said. “I think it was a fun tournament, a fun final table. A good vibe for almost everyone.”

From India, WPC Loyal Hanoi Main Event finalist Apoorva Goel (40th for €18,800) and 2022 GPI India POY Ankit Ahuja (62nd for €17,100), were among the list of scorers, but they fell much before the final table was formed.

The payouts list was crammed with WSOP bracelet winners like Martin Jacobson (7th for €126,500), David Miscikowski (12th for €60,000), Timothy Adams (23rd for €32,900), Antoine Vranken (25th for €28,600), Stephen Song (39th for €21,600), and Simeon Naydenov (53rd for €18,800).

The €25,000 entry buy-in tournament had 431 hopefuls vying for a share of the €4,137,600 prize pool. The top sixty-three players boarded the money bus, and a min-cash was worth €17,100.

Final Table Recap

Vlada Stojanovic (9th for €86,400), Christian Pedersen (8th for €103,700), former World champion Martin Jacobson (7th for €126,500), Mario Navarro (6th for €164,400) and Mauricio Ferreira Pais (5th for €213,700) were the early eliminations on the final table.

Martin Stausholm departed his fourth place after his failed to get past Diogo Coelho .

Toni Kaukua busted third, going out to a bad beat, where his got cracked by Coelho’s .

The heads-up between Diogo Coelho (17,000,000) and Aleksandr Shevliakov (4,300,000) got over quickly. On the final hand, Coelho open-jammed with , and Shevliakov called the all-in bet with . The board ran out , and Coelho came out ahead to lift the PokerStars trophy and finally won his first live tournament.

Final Table Results (EURO)

1. Diogo Coelho – €810,500
2. Aleksandr Shevliakov – €505,800
3. Toni Kaukua – €361,300
4. Martin Stausholm – €277,800
5. Mauricio Ferreira Pais – €213,700
6. Mario Navarro – €164,400
7. Martin Jacobson – €126,500
8. Christian Pedersen – €103,700
9. Vlada Stojanovic – €86,400

Stephen Chidwick Champions €25,000 NLH III for €324,500

UK-based poker pro Stephen Chidwick emerged victorious in the two-day long €25,000 NLH III, trouncing a 40-player field to win his eighth EPT tournament (eleventh PokerStars title) for €324,500. The #1 ranked player on Spain`s all-time money list, Adrian Mateos, settled for a runner-up payday of €211,700.

Chidwick is an old hand in the game and has been around the poker scene since 2008. The WSOP bracelet winner has amassed a whopping $45.18 Million in total live earnings and is currently ranked fourth on poker`s all-time money list (rank #1 in UK’s all-time money list).

The €25,000 buy-in tournament collected €940,800 in the prize pool and paid out six places.

Notables who ran in the event but fell short of reaching the final table included Jonathan Jaffe, Nick Petrangelo, Mike Watson, Bruno Volkmann, Kazuhiko Yotsushika, Andrew Lichtenberger, Motoyoshi Okamura, Thomas Muehloecker, Joao Vieira, Sam Greenwood, Galen Hall, and Teun Mulder.

Sirzat Hissou fell out in seventh, bursting the money bubble.

Final Table Recap

Justin Saliba (6th for €65,900), Steve O’Dwyer (5th for €84,700), and Daniel Dvoress (4th for €108,200) exited the final table quickly after the money bubble burst.

Jean-Noel Thorel was sent packing in third place, courtesy of Stephen Chidwick’s rivered nut flush.

The heads-up between Stephen Chidwick (2,200,000) and Adrian Mateos (1,800,000) started as an equal trade-off of chips before Chidwick geared up toward victory.

On the final hand, Mateos moved all in with , and Chidwick called him off, holding . The community cards opened , and a seven on the river saw Chidwick cracking Mateos’ fives for the win.

Final Table Results (EURO)

1. Stephen Chidwick – €324,500
2. Adrian Mateos – €211,700
3. Jean-Noel Thorel – €145,800
4. Daniel Dvoress – €108,200
5. Steve O’Dwyer – €84,700
6. Justin Saliba – €65,900

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerNews & PokerStars