The 2018 European Poker Tour (EPT) €2,200 National High Roller drew a total of 1,527 entries over two starting flights. Outlasting this huge field was Finland’s Tuomo Niskanen, who took home a payday of €368,925 along with the EPT trophy. During the heads-up play, Niskanen made a deal with Brian Kaufman where Kaufman ended up as a runner-up banking a payday of €432,135.
Indian player Mayank Saxena finished 100th and he banked €5,560 (INR 4.54 Lac). Saxena entered the Day 1B flight of the event and secured a stack of 124,000 into Day 2. Facing challenges from the top pros, Saxena managed to chip-up but his tournament journey eventually ended in 100th place.
With this win, Niskanen whose prior earnings were just $21,569 has taken his earnings to a huge $444,271.“I wasn’t even going to play this event, because I was sick all week. A friend told me yesterday that I should play and I signed up,” Niskanen said, after wining the tournament.
Niskanen registered his first live cash in April 2018. He finished 42nd for € 970 in an international event at European Poker Tour (EPT) in Monte Carlo. However, Kaufman holds more experience in live poker. In 2017, he scored an eighth place finish in the €1,100 National Championship for €66,370 and he followed up that with his fourth place finish in the €5,300 Main Event for €402,000.
The top 229 players made money in this event with a minimum cash of €3,360. Some notables who finished in the money included the likes of Maurice Hawkins (28th for €10,500), Maria Konnikova (34th for €9,200), Benny Glaser (58th for €7,100), Shaun Deeb (85th for €6,280), Andre Akkari (92nd for €6,280), Ludovic Geilich (190th for €3,760) and Celina Lin (194th for €3,760).
Final Table Payouts:
- Tuomo Niskane – €368,925
- Brian Kaufman – €432,135
- Ignacio Barcenas – €205,040
- Marton Czuczor – €151,880
- Milad Oghabian – €119,560
- Oleh Okhotskyi – €90,120
- Leonardo Patacconi – €65,980
- Bernardo Dias – €45,100