Anthony Apicella Wins Deauville Main Event 2015 for €197,000

Corsican bar manager Anthony Apicella has won the €1,100 FPS Deauville Main Event for €197,000. The 32-year-old, who only plays a few live tourneys a year, beat a 1,355-strong field to take down the event. He said: "This is a victory of love, love of my family, love of my friends, who all supported me throughout the event."

Apicella beat German PokerStars qualifier Felix Lambertz in just a few hands heads-up to win the title, trophy and life-changing first prize. Lambertz snagged €125,500 for his runner-up finish while online player Nicolas Hamouni, who also qualified online, was third for €88,500. Ivan Luca, who finished fourth for €68,500, was the probably most experienced player on the final table. He is currently on an extended international poker trip after winning packages for EPT Prague and the PCA. In Prague, he had two great cashes and followed that up with a 33rd place in the $25k High Roller for $44,540.

‪1. Anthony Apicella, France, € 197,000

‪2. Felix Lambertz, Germany, PokerStars qualifier € 125,500

‪3. Nicolas Hamouni, France, PokerStars qualifier € 88,500

‪4. Ivan Luca, Argentina, PokerStars player € 68,500

‪5. Vincent Garat, France, € 53,550

‪6. Abdelkader Medjahed, France, € 40,110

‪7. Yohan Figueiras, France, € 31,080

‪8. Anthony Picault, France, € 22,460

The record-breaking 1,355 entries for the event generated a massive €1,300,800 prize pool. Pokerstarslive.fr/live broadcast every day of the event. Numbers were up more than 30% on last year when French pro Kamel Tir defeated a 303-strong field for a first prize of €131,000.