Laurent Polito Wins 2012 EPT Barcelona €10,000 High Roller Event

Surprise winners are part and parcel of major poker tournaments, but they tend to be rarer in High Roller events. If a seasoned commentator had looked at the line-up for the final 12 of the €10,000 High Roller event in Barcelona today - a field including Andrew Lichtenberger, Jonathan Duhamel, ElkY, Tobias Reinkemeier and Alex Bilokur - it would have taken a brave bettor to ignore them and predict a win for Laurent Polito instead.

But Polito defied form and delighted a few lucky pin-stickers, closing out to take the title after a double-quick final day. The High Rollers started with more players today than the main event final, which played out simultaneously, but they were still done before dinner time. The main eventers were still pushing chips around between their final three.

The full payouts from today's action are as follows:

1. Laurent Polito, France - €270,229
2. Alex Bilokur, Russia - €295,451
3. Tobias Reinkemeier, Germany - €119,660
4. Stanislav Labutkin, Russian Federation - €95,180
5. Carlos Mora Alvarez, Mexico - €73,430
6. Jean-Noel Thorel, France - €54,390
7. Bertrand Grospellier, France - €43,510
8. Joao Vieira, Portugal - €32,630
9. Kristijonas Andrulis, Lithuania - €27,190
10. Jonathan Duhamel, Canada - €27,190
11. Andrew Lichtenberger, United States - €24,470
12. Gurgen Melkonyan, Russian Federation - €24,470

Source:  www.pokerstars.com