Remi Castaignon Wins EPT Deauville 2013
French player Remi Castaignon has won EPT Deauville and a first prize of €770,000 after defeating a 782-strong field. Below is a breakdown of the top 8 finishers and their winnings.
1 Remi Castaignon, France, €770,000
2 Walid Bou Habib, Lebanon, PokerStars qualifier €475,000
3 Roberto Romeo, Belgium, PokerStars qualifier €275,000
4 Enrico Rudelitz, Germany, €215,000
5 Franck Kalfon, France, €165,000
6 Joseph El Khoury, Lebanon, €125,000
7 Noel Gaens, Belgium, €87,800
8 Jeffrey Hakim, Lebanon, PokerStars player, €60,000
The 29-year-old insurance broker, who hails from Saint Aunix Lengros, a tiny village in the Pyrenées, came into the final with a massive chip lead, lost it but was then able to retake it later in the day, finally beating EPT veteran Walid Bou Habib heads-up to take the title. Castaignon, who has been playing poker since 2007, is the second French Deauville champion – and eighth French winner since the EPT began.
In addition to his title and cash prize, Castaignon also receives a stunning watch worth more than €5,000 from luxury Swiss brand Slyde, the Official Watch Sponsor for EPT9 Main Events. All eight finalists were also presented with a gift box of shirts from French poker clothing brand JAQK.
Castaignon, who had no live poker results prior to today, said: “I felt like I had it the whole time. Even after I lost a lot calling with 55, I still believed that I would win it – and I just kept on believing it.”
It was a bitter-sweet day for Lebanon, the current EPT Country of the Year. Lebanon accounted for just two per cent of the field at the start of EPT Deauville (with 16 players) but ended up with 37.5% of players at the final. A well as Bou Habib, Joseph El Khoury came sixth and EPT serial qualifier Jeffrey Hakim scored his best EPT result to date, finishing in eighth place. Bou Habib's €475,000 cash takes him from eighth to third on the Lebanon all-time money list, just behind EPT London champion Joseph Mouawad and EPT Grand Final winner Nicolas Chouity.
Team PokerStars Pros Matthias De Meulder and Sandra Naujoks were among the 120 players who cashed in the €5,300 Main Event which ran February 3 - 9, 2013 at Casino Barriere. More than 220 players won their seats to the event on PokerStars, and 29 made the money. Team PokerStars Pro Jonathan Duhamel went deep in the EPT Deauville High Roller, finishing seventh for €38,000. The event was won by Vojtech Ruzicka, who takes €313,000 back home to the Czech Republic, as well as a stunning bracelet from Official EPT 9 High Roller Bracelet Sponsor Shamballa Jewels.
Former poker dealer Anais Lerouge, from France, won her third EPT ladies title, earning €7,500. EPT Copenhagen champion Anton Wigg won the €5,000 PLO Turbo, Jon Spinks won the €2k and Jan Bendik won the €1,000 NL event.
Some 14 members of Team PokerStars Pro took part in the EPT Deauville Main Event including Jake Cody, Jonathan Duhamel, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Julien Brecard, Vanessa Rousso, Liv Boeree, Vicky Coren, Sandra Naujoks, Eugene Katchalov and Matthias De Meulder.
This season, for the first time, the EPT joined forces with the national France Poker Series to create a mega ten-day, 48-event festival in Deauville, making it one of the biggest events ever held in France. The €1,100 FPS Main Event attracted a record 828 players and was won by Canadian Patrick Braga for €165,000.
Source: www.pokerstars.com
