The PokerStars European Poker Tour headed back to Monaco this year for the Season 8 Grand Final. Plenty of members of Team PokerStars Pros made their way to the principality for nine days of poker — after all, the Super High Roller, Main Event, and High Roller had to be
The trip didn’t start off so well for Daniel Negreanu. On April 21 he tweeted, “British Airways ahhhh! No bags again wtf! That’s the 4th time that’s happened with BA. My own fault I guess for trying them again. #steaming” Losing you bags is never fun, but Kid Poker headed back to the airport to rescue them after having “an awesome meal in Menton” at The Loving Hut.
Negreanu, along with 37 other players plopped down €100,000 to take part in the Super High Roller, which began on April 23. On Day 2 of the Super High Roller, Negreanu took it upon himself to order food for several people, including fellow pros David Williams (who was on his way into Monaco and is OK with “anything except cucumbers and olives), and Vanessa Selbst (who likes her spring rolls not fried).
There are a few ways of getting to Monaco — train, car, or helicopter. And when given the option, it’s always best to ride in style, which is what David Williams did. Chris Moneymaker did the same, tweeting, “Just landed in Nice. About to jump in a helicopter for quick ride to Monaco.”
Of the eight players who made it to the final table of the Super High Roller, Team PokerStars Pro represented half the field — Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Duhamel, Eugene Katchalov, and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. “Made the final table of SHR. Gonna be a sick fight with @realkidpoker @eugenekatchalov @jonathanduhamel @justinbonomo +masa patrik tobias,” ElkY tweeted. Negreanu and ElkY cashed in sixth and third respectively, and Justin Bonomo walked away with the title and €1.6 million first-place prize.
If you’ve got a view from your hotel room like most of the Pros did, it’s a given that there will be plenty of obligatory “awesome view” tweets, like this one from Lex Veldhuis, “Obgligatory Monte Carlo balcony view pic: one of my favorite hotels on EPTour. #eptgrandfinal”
And some of the pros use the “my balcony has a nice view” as a way to lure Achtung players over. “Are we getting an #Achtung game going. My balcony has a nice view… Where u guys at? @VanessaSelbst @ssigsbee @ah_22,” tweeted Jason Mercier.
By the time that the Super High Roller was over, the Main Event was well under way. There were a number of pros in the field on Day 1a, but on Day 1b, one Pro was ready to make some history. “And day1b of #EPTGrandFinal is starting now. About time I become the first double champion. Joke has ran on for long enough! #itstime,” tweeted ElkY.
Liv Boeree got ready for Day 1b in an interesting way. “Ate a whole one of these last night for a dare, the accidentally rubbed my eye. Hell does exist.” We would never recommend that.
ElkY’s Day 1 didn’t go as well as he’d like, but he didn’t give up hope. “6k going into last level of the night. Everything been going wrong so far, Time to turn it into 200k soon. #whywoulditend #EPTGrandFinal.” But it eventually came to an end, “And my dream of becoming the first Double EPT Champion will have to wait till Barcelona. Busted 55 vs @BigCheese_Poker AJhh next to the end.” Even though, he still didn’t give up hope, “Good night sleep and hardcore workout are the best remedies for bustout. Will be ready to take on the world again ! #thingsiwishiknewbefore”
As we all know, patience is a virtue and it’s definitely something that’s needed in poker tournaments. “Being so overwhelmingly patient I deserve a medal for patience for being patient in patient times #EPTPatience,” tweeted Boeree, followed by, “Russian kid keeps coughing on me #EPTPatience.”
Barry Greenstein took the saying “when in Rome” literally while in Monaco, tweeting quite a bit of his updates in French — and since we didn’t take French in school, we didn’t understand any of it.
Even though the Pros were in Monaco for the Grand Final, the upcoming SCOOP was on the minds of some. “Thinking about going to Mexico to play SCOOPs now. Is internet stable and what’s the best spot there for you guys? Any links? Thanks,” tweeted ElkY. Angel Guillen was quick to answer, “@elkypoker Mexico city is close to perfect internet wise, if u wanna go to the beach u could have a 2nd connection just in case”
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