EPT Berlin – Massive Prize Pool Draws Marquee Names

Two years after the now-infamous raid at the 2010 EPT Berlin event, when four thugs entered the Hyatt Hotel’s Grand Ballroom and stole most of the cash the players had paid at the buy-in counter, the European Poker Tour has returned to where it all happened.

This time, though, security precautions have been raised to another level.

After a switch to the Casino am Potsdamer Platz last year, the German leg of the 2012 European Poker Tour is taking place in the Hyatt’s Grand Ballroom again and plenty of internationally known players have arrived for Germany’s biggest live tournament of the year.

Around 750 players have paid the €5,300 buy-in to play for a first-place prize of about €800.000. Last year’s winner, Canadian Ben Wilinofsky, earned himself €825.000 after he beat local hero Max Heinzelmann in a dramatic heads-up match.

This year, more than a third of the players are Germans or German speaking and the locals seem determined to keep the title in their own country after missing out on the win so narrowly last time.

Current World Champion Pius Heinz plus EPT Champions Martin Finger, Sandra Naujoks, Sebastian Ruthenber and Vladimir Geshkenbein are playing as well as EPT regulars Johannes Strassmann, Marvin Rettenmaier, Marc Gork, Erich Kollmann and Michael Keiner.

Marquee names outside the world of professional poker are former tennis pro Boris “Boom Boom” Becker, who has been a poker ambassador for years, and German rap star Sido, who has starred twice in Germany’s most famous poker show TV Total Pokernacht hosted by Stefan Raab.

Unfortunately, Sido busted out of the tournament on Day 1 in what poker players call the worst way: Holding pocket aces, the best starting hand in poker, he lost against pocket kings, the second best, when his opponent hit another king on the board.

With a high buy-in and a big prize pool, the EPT Berlin stop continuously proves attractive enough for Las Vegas professionals to make their way to Europe.

One of them is Kevin MacPhee, who won the first edition of EPT Berlin two years ago, and Wilinofsky is also back to defend his title.

Former WSOP champion Jonathan Duhamel, EPT Grand Final winner Nicolas Chouity, and many more former EPT winners will try to become the first two-time winner on the EPT.

Among the past champs in the field are Max Lykov, Liv Boeree, Mickey Petersen, David Vamplew, Rupert Elder, Mike MacDonald and French superstar Bertrand Grospellier.

Currently in its eighth season and having seen more than 70 main events all over Europe (including the annual January event in the Bahamas), no player has managed to win twice.

Will this event be the one? Find out here next week.

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