Leonard Maue Takes the Title (€383,129), Nick Petrangelo Takes Top Money (€405,131) in €50k High Roller Second Chance
The casual, relaxed atmosphere that took place over the course of €50,000 Super High Roller Second Chance here at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona belied the fact that over a million euros were at stake. Indeed, the quick, two-day tournament (that could have easily fit into one day) felt more like a glorified Sit 'n' Go than one might expect from a high-roller tournament.
At the end of it all, it was another day in the office for high-stakes pros Leonard Maue and Nick Petrangelo — who both emerged victorious over the 26-entry field after agreeing to an ICM deal heads up. Petrangelo took the lion's share of the €1,261,260 prize pool after claiming €405,131, while Maue was awarded €383,129 and the Spadie after winning a flip on the last hand of play.
Maue and Petrangelo navigated a star-studded field that held many of poker's elite, which only served to strengthen their own resumes as some of the best among their peers. The victory adds to Petrangelo's staggering $37 million in live tournament earnings, while Maue added a third Spadie to his collection, having taken down a €25k high-roller and a €2,000 hyper turbo in EPT events in 2022.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonard Maue | Germany | € 383,129* |
| 2 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | € 405,131* |
| 3 | Patrik Antonius | Finland | € 205,000 |
| 4 | Morten Klein | Norway | € 148,200 |
| 5 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | € 119,800 |
| *Denotes ICM chop |
Day 2 Action
Despite coming in as the co-chip leader alongside Jesse Lonis, Petrangelo got off to a rough start after Jean-Noel Thorel nearly doubled through him shortly after play began.
The average stack was shallow enough that it didn't take long for many hands to become all-in affairs. Finnish poker legend Patrik Antonius claimed two casualties early, knocking out Nacho Barbero and Jules Dickerson to give him an early chip lead.
Meanwhile, Petrangelo had a reversal of fortunes after chipping up a bit and then scoring a double knockout against Thomas Santerne and Mikael Thuritz with ace-king.
Of the six Day 2 entrants, only Steve O'Dwyer managed to gain any real momentum, including a hand where he cracked aces against Maue after four-bet shoving with queen-jack suited preflop. It wasn't all smooth sailing for the Irish pro, however, as he suffered a similar beat after getting his own aces cracked by Antonius after Antonius shoved preflop with jack-ten suited and ended up making Broadway. Despite the hit, O'Dwyer managed to chip back up and make the final table.
Lonis entered the final table as one of the chip leaders, but ended up losing a big pot against Morten Klein after shoving into Klein's aces with ace-seven in a blind versus blind confrontation.
Not long after, Lonis ended up bursting the money bubble after getting into a preflop raising war with Petrangelo that ended with Lonis all in with ace-jack against Petrangelo's ace-queen. The dramatic runout pulled Lonis into the lead on the flop, but ended up giving Petrangelo a straight on the turn.
In the Money
After nearly two levels without an elimination, it was O'Dwyer who was the first "in the money" casualty due largely in part to paying off Maue in a hand where he made a full house against O'Dwyer's top pair, top kicker. Shortly after, O'Dwyer fell to Klein after shoving a suited ace into Klein's pocket queens.
Maue held the lead at that point, but took a substantial hit to his stack after doubling up both Antonius and Petrangelo. Klein then got into a flip for his tournament life against Antonius, who ended up making a full house with pocket fours to set up three-handed play.
It looked like it might be Antonius' day after getting his chips in good against Petrangelo, but Petrangelo wouldn't be denied as he spiked a pair of kings with king-queen against Antonius' ace-jack to send the grizzled veteran out in third.
Immediately after Antonius' departure, the final two players agreed to an ICM chop. To make the winner official, it was agreed that the two would deal one hand and run the board. Maue was dealt a pretty seven-six suited against Petrangelo's nine-trey and ended up pairing his seven to put an end to the tournament.
That's a wrap for PokerNews coverage of this event. Stay tuned for continuing coverage of EPT Barcelona and other events around the globe, which can be found at our live-reporting hub.