EPT Sanremo Final Table Preview

An interesting cast of characters will assemble on Sunday to determine who will become champion at EPT Sanremo…

FUNDARO, COREN LOOK FOR MORE HARDWARE

WPT Mazagan winner Giacomo Fundaro (GPI#85) will be looking to add a second piece to his triple crown bid on Sunday. A win at EPT Sanremo, in his home country, would allow Fundaro to make his way to Las Vegas this summer in search of the elusive gold bracelet, and a chance to join the most elite of groups as a member of Poker’s Triple Crown Club.

Fundaro will start final table play second in chips, sitting just a few chips behind American Jordan Westmorland (GPI#1360), who will start the day with a 3,330,000 stack

For UK star Victoria Coren (GPI#2124), it’s a chance to do what shockingly no other winner on the European Poker Tour has ever done before, add a second EPT title to her resumé. Coren become the first ever female poker player to win on the EPT back in 2006. The PokerStars Team Pro won EPT London on home turf and added £500,000 to her bankroll.

Sadly for Coren, she comes into final table as the short stack, she will need to get busy early in order to get back into contention in Sanremo.

KEEP AN EYE ON BENELLI

If you are unfamiliar with Andrea Benelli (GPI#560), you may want to take a peak at his GPI Profile page before the start of final table play.

Benelli could very well be added to a list of top players to have come close to a major poker title without a win. Benelli final tabled two EPT events back in 2008 and 2009, in Poland and at EPT Deauville.

He also has collected final table finishes on the IPT, the WPT and finished the 2013 poker season with a pair of respectable results at WPT Prague and EPT Prague in December.

Benelli starts the day fourth in chips.

Let’s take a closer look at our Main Event final table participants:

[table id=1072 /]

›› SEAT 1  |  JORDAN WESTMORLAND  

• Just under 2M in online tournament earnings according to PocketFives
• Finished 10th at WSOP APAC in 2013 ($65,408 AUD)
• Finished 17th at APT Philippines in 2013 ($6,500)
• Finished 3rd at ANZPT Snowfest in 2012 ($41,200 NZD)
• Finished 7th in Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon in 2012 (140,100 HKD)
• EPT Career: First EPT Cash
• GPI Ranking: Current: #11360  |  Career Best: #438 (May 2013)

›› SEAT 2  |  GIACOMO FUNDARO  

• Ranked #2 in Italy, Top 100 in the World
• Won WPT Mazagan in December 2012 (1,443,000 Moroccan dirham)
• Was runner-up to Tony Dust at WPT Caribbean last November ($100,000)
• Finished 30th at WSOP Europe last October (€ 21,750)
• EPT Career: 2 cashes, $40,059
• GPI Ranking: Current: #85  |  Career Best: #66 (Jan 2014)

›› SEAT 3  |  EMMANUEL PARISET  

• Earning first cash on the live tournament circuit
• Cash game regular at the Aviation Club de France
• EPT Career: First EPT Cash
• GPI Ranking: Never ranked on the GPI

›› SEAT 4  |  BRUNO STEFANELLI  

• First cash on live tournament circuit came in 1998
• Finished 119th earlier in the festival at IPT Sanremo (€ 1,500)
• Finished 138th at EPT Sanremo in 2011 (€ 7,500)
• Finished 8th at IPT Sanremo in 2009 (€ 12,000)
• Finished 69th at EPT Sanremo in 2009 (€ 11,900)
• EPT Career: 2 cashes, $25,861
• GPI Ranking: Current: #4394  |  Career Best: #3425 (Aug 2013)

›› SEAT 5  |  ANDREAS GOELLER  

• Only live cash came in a super satellite event at the Torneo Di Poker 2010
• EPT Career: First EPT Cash
• GPI Ranking: Never ranked on the GPI

›› SEAT 6  |  ANDREA BENELLI  

• Cashed in IPT Main Event and High Roller events earlier in festival
• Former member of GPI300
• Finished 11th at WPT Prague last December (€ 14,000)
• Finished 54th at EPT Prague last December (€ 15,600)
• Finished 5th at IPT Sanremo last October (€ 32,000)
• Finished 6th at IPT Nova Gorica last August (€ 19,000)
• Finished 5th at WPT Venice in 2011 (€ 34,245)
• Finished 4th at EPT Deauville in 2009 (€ 219,800)
• Finished 7th at EPT Poland in 2008 (€ 45,745)
• EPT Career: 2 final tables, 7 cashes, $452,633
• GPI Ranking: Current: #560  |  Career Best: #152 (May 2012)

›› SEAT 7  |  VICTORIA COREN-MITCHELL  

• Won EPT London in 2006 (£500,000)
• Finished 6th in High Roller event at EPT London in March 2013 (£67,130)
• Won 5K Heads-Up event at EPT Grand Final in 2012 (€ 58,900)
• Finished 26th at the EPT Grand Final in 2010 (€ 40,000)
• Would become the first-ever two-time winner on the EPT with a victory
• EPT Career: 1 win, 1 final table, 4 cashes, $1,055,673
• GPI Ranking: Current: #2124  |  Career Best: #597 (April 2013)

›› SEAT 8  |  ANDRIJA MARTIC  

• Finished 76th at the Berlin Cup at EPT Berlin in 2013 (€ 2,200)
• Won a TCOOP title in 2013 ($96,931)
• EPT Career: First EPT Cash
• GPI Ranking: Current: #18045  |  Career Best: #12621 (April 2013)