Friday, 29th March 2024 14:58
Home / Uncategorized / Mickey Petersen wins EPT Copenhagen and DKK2,515,000 after marathon heads-up
ept-thumb-promo.jpg

If you’re playing online right now, or in a card room somewhere, take note: if you get it in good your hand will hold. If you’re ahead, you’ll stay ahead. That guy looking for a miracle? He won’t get it. For today the capricious poker Gods tamed their impulses and permitted poker to run pure. We know this because Mickey Petersen is the new EPT Copenhagen champion. Quite simply the best player won.

This window of wonderment might not last very long, in fact it may even have closed already (apologies if you just moved all-in), but it was open long enough for a near perfect display to be played out at the Radisson Hotel tonight, awarding Petersen a first prize of DKK 2,515,000 and the Shamballa bracelet.

mickey_petersen_wins_ept8cop_d5w.jpg

Mickey Petersen wins EPT Copenhagen

The heads-up between Petersen and Pierre Neuville was the culmination of one of the most entertaining EPT final for some time. Here we had Team Online against Team PokerStars Pro; youth against the old timer; blonde hair against dark hair; machine-made livery against endearing handmade badges. It was something else too. It was the enthusiasm of a young player against the enthusiasm of an old player, something that united both and showed through to the very last hand.

petersen_heads_up_ept8cop_d5w6.jpg

Petersen heads-up

Copenhagen has, in the past, hosted heads-up stretching into the early hours, finals that have left even the most partisan onlookers begging for someone to do enough to win. For some that was repeated today in a heads-up match that lasted more than six-and-a-quarter-hours.

But for those familiar with the ghost of Tim Vance, this was all to be expected and somehow it didn’t really matter.

mickey_petersen_ept8cop_d5w_2.jpg

Petersen in action

“It’s absolutely and completely surreal,” said Petersen. “When you play live tournaments you have a lot of doubt in yourself because you can’t play that many.

“I’ve played maybe fifty live tournaments before and people have been saying ‘Why isn’t this guy winning? Why isn’t he transitioning well?’ The sample is so small. It does feel good to get a win under my belt though, especially in my home town which is awesome.

“I’m good friends with Rupert (Elder), David (Vamplew), (Kevin) MacPhee and Ben (Wilinofsky), all those guys that have won EPTs in the last couple of years so to join that club is awesome.”

heads_up_ept8cop_d5w.jpg

Heads-up

They began level in chips then Petersen pulled ahead, before Neuville pegged him back. Soon after the Belgian found aces and quietly took the lead, but then they were back to where they started from.

That was 100 hands later, and with the chip stacks even they began the to-and-fro again. During one break Neuville found some much needed food. At the dinner break a level later he was again spotted pacing the lobby with a second bowl of something.

While nourishment was Neuville’s priority, Petersen needed reassurance from railing friends, who dusted off the lingering doubts creeping into the young Dane’s mind.

“I felt pretty confident going into the heads up match but I’d like to think that I ran really bad in cards in the first couple of hours,” said Petersen. “I barely had a pair and I had ace-jack once and had to fold it. I was getting run over a little bit and then I made two stupid mistakes that I kind of regret which put a little doubt in my mind. Eventually I managed to grind it back, very slowly and steadily so that was really nice.”

mickey_petersen_ept8cop_d5w_3.jpg

Petersen looked confident from the start

But as the clock crept past midnight Petersen had regained his composure and was beginning to press his advantage home. Neuville slugged back, doubling with queen-ten against Petersen’s jack-ten, then again with ace-jack, and again with ace-king. But it proved only a brief respite. Petersen dominated, reducing Neuville to a handful of big blinds. Finally it came down to a rivered five, which gave a leg up to Petersen’s ace-five over Neuville’s ace-four.

A visibly exhausted Neuville reached out to shake Petersen’s hand, patting him on the back. Petersen hardly reacted at all and may not until sometime tomorrow when all of this becomes a more definite reality in his mind.

To concentrate purely on Petersen would be to ignore another miraculous performance this week, that of Neuville.

The former company executive, who famously took a 25 year break from poker (during which time someone invented the internet and online poker), defied everyone again today, finishing second for the second time.

pierre_neuville_ept8cop_d5w_1.jpg

Pierre Neuville

Neuville, a gent and an honourable ambassador for the game, was typically gracious towards his young vanquisher, but may privately mourn coming so close once more, the fourth player to record two second places on the tour. He shouldn’t. Frankly the game is better when Pierre plays, a welcome reminder that while money may be the driving factor in this game, pure enjoyment can run a very close second, and that age really is no barrier in this most open of games.

pierre_neuville_ept8cop_d5w_4.jpg

Neuville played on, visibly exhausted…

“I’ll do better next time,” joked Neuville, as he watched his opponent lift the trophy.

Copenhagen usually throws something unusual together, but today’s final could claim a surplus of talent than anything out of the ordinary.

Spencer Hudson, who narrowly hung on to reach the final yesterday, would depart in eighth place, one place ahead of Steve O’Dwyer.

O’Dwyer, a laconic American, now living in Ireland, (land of the free-er) was playing his second EPT final table of the season, after missing out in London when he lost heads-up to Benny Spindler. His prospects were never great, being the short stack, and he played the pragmatic game he had to, moving in with ace-three only for Aage Ravn to find ace-jack to send his to the rail.

steve_odwyer_ept8cop_d5w.jpg

Steve O’Dwyer

Jacob Rasmussen would follow but not until more than two and a half hours had passed. The Dane had suffered at the hands of Bjarke Hansen before Petersen sent him out, rivering a flush against his pocket fives.

jacob_rasmussen_ept8cop_d5w.jpg

Jacob Rasmussen

Aage Ravn had arrived today with the chip lead, and a grin to match. But this was not to be his day.

The crucial turning point came in a hand between Ravn and Petersen, who got their chips in with Petersen showing aces, to Ravn’s ace-king. It marked an enormous swing towards the Team Online pro, from which Ravn would never recover.

aahe_ravn_ept8cop_d5w.jpg

Aage Ravn

bjarke_hansen_ept8cop_d5w.jpg

Bjarke Hansen

Bjarke Hansen would come out from under the hood he’d been permanently hiding under to bust out in third, setting up the longest ever EPT heads-up. The result was worth waiting for.

mickey_petersen_ept8cop_d5w_4.jpg

Petersen in control

While Petersen picked up first prize of DKK 2,515,000 and the Shamballa bracelet, Neuville finished as the best Skrill player, winning his buy-in back, and also resumes his place in the top ten of the EPT tournament leader board. Read all about the day at the links below, while live coverage, as well as the full list of pay outs from this week, can be found here.

The final table begins
Familiar view from the rail
Rampant Ravn eliminates Hudson
O’Dwyer and Van Alphen, five players remain
Final five outnumber the rail
Petersen doubles through Ravn
Petersen at the break…
Rasmussen out in fifth, Petersen in the driving seat
Where did everybody go?
Petersen and Neuville go heads up, Hansen out in third
The dinner break debacle

That brings another leg of the EPT to a close, Petersen and his new entourage heading towards a night of celebration. It brings an end to this week’s coverage from Copenhagen. Next up is Madrid in two weeks from now, full coverage of which will be right here on the PokerStars Blog, with EPT Live Lite, arriving just in time for the final two days.

petersen_and_friends_ept8cop_d5_7.jpg


Petersen and friends

Thanks for reading. See you in Madrid.

Study Poker with Pokerstars Learn, practice with the PokerStars app