May 12 2013, by Eric Danis
EPT Grand Final: Final Table One for the Ages
Hope you have no plans for Sunday because something special is about to go down in Monte Carlo.
Just a few short weeks ago, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were battling for tennis supremacy with Djokovic ending up as the Monte Carlo Masters Champion, ending Rafa’s eight-year run in Monaco.
A few weeks from now, Sebastien Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton and the other stars of the Formula One circuit will invade the streets of Monte Carlo for the 71st edition of the Grand Prix de Monaco.
But on Sunday, its time for some of the biggest names in poker to shine as the Final Table is set at the EPT Grand Final and it features what could very well be one of the greatest final tables of all-time.
The eight finalists have combined for over 39 million in earnings on the live tournament circuit; 56 EPT/WPT/WSOP final tables including 14 Championships, one Triple Crown winner with a second looking enter the club and two participants hoping to become the very first player to win a second European Poker Tour title. Five of our players are members of the GPI 300 with two of those in the Top 10.
[table id=160 /]
// SEAT 1 //
JAKE CODY  |
GPI#338 | 1,633,000 |
| Best EPT Grand Final Result: | Never cashed | $- |
| Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: | 3 wins, 11 cashes | $2,773,569 |
| First WSOP, WPT or EPT Cash: | EPT Deauville, ’10 | $1,213,194 |
| Biggest Live Tourney Score: | EPT Deauville, ’10 | $1,213,194 |
| Career Live Tournament Circuit: | 5 wins | $3,222,239 |
Triple Crown winner Jake Cody is coming off a recent victory at UKIPT Series 1 London. Cody will attempt to become the first player to ever win twice on the European Poker Tour.
// SEAT 2 //
JASON MERCIER  |
GPI#6 | 824,000 |
| Best EPT Grand Final Result: | Never cashed | $- |
| Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: | 2 wins, 41 cashes | $3,876,754 |
| First WSOP, WPT or EPT Cash: | EPT Sanremo, ’08 | $1,372,893 |
| Biggest Live Tourney Score: | EPT Sanremo, ’08 | $1,372,893 |
| Career Live Tournament Circuit: | 13 wins | $8,228,470 |
It hasn’t been the best time on tour for Mercier – who failed to collect at least 1M in earning on the live tournament for the first time in his career in 2012 – but things started looking up last week when he earned the win in the Open-Face Chinese event here in Monte Carlo. The 13-time winner on tour will, like Cody, be looking to be the first to win twice on the EPT.
// SEAT 3 //
ANDREW PANTLING  |
GPI#2470 | 4,180,000 |
| Best EPT Grand Final Result: | 26th, 2012 | $46,209 |
| Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: | 0 wins, 6 cashes | $333,492 |
| First WSOP, WPT or EPT Cash: | WSOP Side, 2009 | $11,464 |
| Biggest Live Tourney Score: | Irish Open, 2009 | $271,508 |
| Career Live Tournament Circuit: | 1 win | $898,635 |
Pantling brings a lot of chips to the final table but may not have the live tournament experience in a major event that others do at the final table. However Pantling has been around for a long time and has been at or near the chip lead of a few days now.
One of the most successful poker players in Australia, Levy owns two ANZPT titles and is no stranger to big pressure situations however, Levy will start the day as the short stack.
// SEAT 5 //
| STEVE O’DWYER |
GPI#8 | 4,452,000 |
| Best EPT Grand Final Result: | Never cashed | $- |
| Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: | 0 wins, 22 cashes | $1,837,295 |
| First WSOP, WPT or EPT Cash: | PCA, 2007 | $17,787 |
| Biggest Live Tourney Score: | EPT London, 2011 | $726,790 |
| Career Live Tournament Circuit: | 5 wins | $3,235,824 |
O’Dwyer has been on one hell of a run for on the live tournament circuit. Most recently, O’Dwyer final tabled EPT London.
// SEAT 6 //
| DANIEL NEGREANU |
GPI#36 | 1,581,000 |
| Best EPT Grand Final Result: | Never cashed | $- |
| Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: | 7 wins, 82 cashes | $10,788,669 |
| First WSOP, WPT or EPT Cash: | WSOP Side, 1998 | $169,460 |
| Biggest Live Tourney Score: | WPT 5Diamond ’04 | $1,770,218 |
| Career Live Tournament Circuit: | 33 wins | $17,476,835 |
Coming off a Main Event victory at the inaugural WSOP Asia-Pacific, Negreanu looks like a world beater and adding a second major title just weeks after adding bracelet #5 to his trophy case would be great to see.
A win for Negreanu and he would enter poker’s Triple Crown club.
// SEAT 7 //
| NOAH SCHWARTZ |
GPI#70 | 1,068,000 |
| Best EPT Grand Final Result: | Never cashed | $- |
| Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: | 1 win, 23 cashes | $2,281,477 |
| First WSOP, WPT or EPT Cash: | WSOP Side, 2007 | $21,456 |
| Biggest Live Tourney Score: | WPT Jax, 2012 | $402,972 |
| Career Live Tournament Circuit: | 4 wins | $2,996,562 |
Schwartz has had success in Monte Carlo before but never in the Main Event. A few months removed from his first major poker title – the WPT Jacksonville bestbet Fall Series – we should not overlook Schwartz, despite his depleted chip stack.
// SEAT 8 //
JOHNNY LODDEN  |
GPI#228 | 1,402,000 |
| Best EPT Grand Final Result: | 17th, 2008 | $73,263 |
| Career WSOP, WPT, EPT: | 0 wins, 17 cashes | $854,843 |
| First WSOP, WPT or EPT Cash: | EPT Barca, 2006 | $26,287 |
| Biggest Live Tourney Score: | WSOP Main, 2010 | $317,161 |
| Career Live Tournament Circuit: | 3 wins | $1,250,449 |
No stranger to cashing in EPT Main Events, Lodden is certainly looking for that first major poker title on the live tournament circuit.
Related articles
GPI GLOBAL POKER RANKINGS RANK PLAYER NATION GPI SCORE LAST CHANGE #1 Stephen Chidwick (4th week) UK 3,803.02 1 = ...
THE BEST POKER PLAYERS IN THE WORLD Updated: January 22, 2020 rankings release GPI GLOBAL #1’s FIRST WEEK LAST ...
Massive buy-in events at EPT Monte Carlo and at Triton Series Montenegro were no match for Canadian Daniel Dvoress, who ...
About the author
Eric Danis’ passion for poker came at a very early age but it’s when writing about and covering the game he loves that Danis is most in his element. Danis is better known for creating www.PTPRpoker.com where he spent a few years covering poker events. Danis is also known for having worked on the poker shows Poker Eh! and The Pulse on the Quad Jacks Network.
