EPT GRAND FINAL: MAD MARVIN HITS, ANDREW CHEN MOVES ALONG

PICTURE: POKERNEWS

Mad Marvin Rettenmaier has finally won his first tournament of 2012. After a successful run in 2011 - which had him at the top of the Player of the Year race for a while - Retenmaier's third PTPR Score of 2012 is a victory!



Rettenmaier captured the 2K NLH title at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

Mad Marvin moves to 30th on the 2012 QuadJacks Poker Player of the Year leaderboard, powered by PTPRpoker.

Meanwhile, Canadian Andrew Chen continues his ascension atop the 2012 POY race. After his second place finish at EPT Berlin 10 days ago, Chen finished ninth in this event and moves up fifth on the 2012 charts.

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FT PAYOUTS (EURO) Marvin Rettenmaier € 118,300 Xavier Carruggi € 65,800 Arno Del Curto € 38,400 Chady Merhej € 29,500 Richard Abou € 24,110 Rob Shields € 19,100 Vojtech Ruzicka € 14,530 Jean-Jacques Ichai € 10,800 RELATED POSTS >> SMITH IS SICK! >> KURGANOV WINS HR >> IVEY COOLERED >> FINALLY! CHARANIA WINS BIG >> FINAL TABLE SET >> SMITH SURGING IN MC >> DOWN TO 26 IN MC >> ROY WINS TURBO BOUNTY >> SMITH WINS 5K TURBO >> MARTINEZ LEADS MAIN >> 665 IN MONTE CARLO >> BONOMO WINS SHR >> SHR FINAL TABLE SET

PTPR SIDE EVENT PokerStars and Monte Carlo Casino European Poker Tour Grand Final EPT 2K NLH Event April 28-29, 2012 Casino Monte Carlo | Monaco Buy-in: $2,825 | Prizepool: $546,050 Entries: 214 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION MARVIN RETTENMAIER 75 XAVIER CARRUGGI 40 ARNO DEL CURTO 25 CHADY MERHEJ 15 RICHARD ABOU 10 ROB SHIELDS 8 VOJTECH RUZICKA 5 JEAN-JACQUES ICHAI 5 ANDREW CHEN 5 NEXT TOUR STOP EPT Barcelona Festival August 15-25, 2012

EPT BERLIN: BRAVE BLUFFS AND COURAGEOUS CALLS - DAVIDI KATIA ENTERS TRIPLE CROWN CLUB

PHOTO: POKERNEWS

Welcome to the Triple Crown Club, Mr. Davidi Kitai. After a Pot Limit Hold'em Bracelet victory at the 2008 WSOP and a 2011 WPT Invitational victory, Kitai has just wrapped won EPT Berlin, becoming the first Belgian poker player to win a EPT event.

Kitai and Canadian Andrew Chen had quite the duel. Both players bluffed and semi-bluffed as as they exchanged the chip lead. But it's a monster call by Kitai that had the twitter world - especially fellow poker pros.


It's a big win for Kitai and a big win for Belgium. Kitai joins Kevin Vandersmissen with recent major tournament victories.

Both Kitai (2012 PTPR Rank: 10th) and Chen (2012 PTPR Rank: 4th) enter the 2012 QuadJacks Poker Player of the Year Top 10 with their Berlin performances. For Chen, it's a return to the Top 10.

Mario Puccini was fourth in the event, Cesar Garcia sixth, Vladimir Geshkenbein was 10th while Anton Wigg finished 14th in Berlin.

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FT PAYOUTS (EURO) Davidi Kitai €712,000 Andrew Chen €613,000 Andre Morath €290,000 Mario Puccini €220,000 Bahadir Kilickeser €172,000 Cesar Garcia €133,000 Marc Wright €97,000 Pratyush Buddiga €72,000 DEFENDING CHAMPION Ben Wilinofsky (Eliminated) NEXT TOUR STOP EPT Grand Final Casino Monte Carlo, Monaco April 25-May 1, 2012

PTPR PREMIER EVENT European Poker Tour Berlin EPT Berlin NLH Main Event April 16-21, 2012 Grand Hyatt Berlin | Berlin, Germany Buy-in: $6,955 | Prizepool: $4,889,435 Entries: 745 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION DAVIDI KITAI 132 ANDREW CHEN 82 ANDRE MORATH 52 MARIO PUCCINI 42 BAHADIR KILICKESER 37 CESAR GARCIA 32 MARC WRIGHT 32 PRATYUSH BUDDIGA 17 JORDI RIBA CORRONS 17 VLADIMIR GESHKENBEIN 17 ERIC VUISSOZ 17 TOMAS CIBAK 15 HEINZ KAMUTZKI 15 ANTON WIGG 15 FLORIAN DOHNERT 15 DMITRY GRINENKO 12 DANIEL PIDUN 12 JASPER WETERMANS 12

EPT BERLIN: KITAI LOOKING TO MATCH COUNTRYMAN VANDERSMISSEN

PHOTO: POKERSTARS

Belgian poker pro Davidi Kitai will be the man to beat when the final eight players assemble at EPT Berlin on Saturday, where the winner will collect an incredible €825,000 paycheque.

Kitai is no stranger to EPT Final Tables, he final tabled EPT Barcelona back in Season 5.

Kitai will certainly be looking at matching what fellow Belgian Kevin Vandersmissen did a few weeks ago at the Irish Poker Championship - and that's winning a major poker title!

Canadian Andrew Chen is no stranger to the big stage. The former PCA Bounty event winner could be on his way back onto the 2012 QuadJacks Poker Player of the Year Leaderboard as well. Chen had two PTPR Scores at the PCA earlier in the season, he is assured of at least 17 PTPR Points in the event.

FINAL TABLE SEAT ASSIGNMENTS/CHIP COUNTS
Seat 1. Cesar Garcia Domínguez, 1,485,000 chips
Seat 2. Pratyush Buddiga, 1,280,000
Seat 3, Mario Puccini, 2,065,000
Seat 4. André Morath, 1,940,000
Seat 5. Andrew Chen, 3,600,000
Seat 6. Davidi Kitai, 5,695,000
Seat 7. Bahadir Kilickeser, 4,640,000
Seat 8. Marc Wright, 1,540,000

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FT PAYOUTS (EURO) 1 € 825,000 2 € 500,000 3 € 290,000 4 € 220,000 5 € 172,000 6 € 133,000 7 € 97,000 8 € 72,000 DEFENDING CHAMPION Ben Wilinofsky (Eliminated) LIVE FINAL TABLE COVERAGE POKERSTARS TV

PTPR PREMIER EVENT European Poker Tour Berlin EPT Berlin NLH Main Event April 16-21, 2012 Grand Hyatt Berlin | Berlin, Germany Buy-in: $6,955 | Prizepool: $4,889,435 Entries: 745 PTPR POINTS DISTRIBUTION 1st place 132 2nd place 82 3rd place 52 4th place 42 5th place 37 6-7th place 32 8th place 17 JORDI RIBA CORRONS 17 VLADIMIR GESHKENBEIN 17 ERIC VUISSOZ 17 TOMAS CIBAK 15 HEINZ KAMUTZKI 15 ANTON WIGG 15 FLORIAN DOHNERT 15 DMITRY GRINENKO 12 DANIEL PIDUN 12 JASPER WETERMANS 12 NEXT TOUR STOP EPT Grand Final Casino Monte Carlo, Monaco April 25-May 1, 2012

2012 PCA: CLOSING OUT PCA WITH BUCHANAN'S HIGH ROLLER VICTORY

PHOTO: POKERNEWS, JOE GIRON PHOTOGRAPHY
SOURCE: THEHENDONMOB.com

That's a wrap! The action is now complete at the PCA in the Bahamas. Shawn Buchanan wins the final event at the PCA, the 10K High Rollers No Limit Holdem Six Max event.

Buchanan (2011 PTPR Rank: 35th) had to survive a surge from a strong field of competitors.

Second place finisher Andrew Chen earns his second score of 2012. Chen (2011 PTPR Rank: 144th) also collected points in the NLH Turbo Side Event on January 12th.

Anatoly Gurtovy (2011 PTPR Rank: 737th), Jon Turner (2011 PTPR Rank: 63rd) and poker superstars Eugene Katchalov (2011 PTPR Rank: 3rd) all earned Top 7 finishes in the event.

EVENT PAYOUTS (in USD):
1st Shawn Buchanan $202,360
2nd Andrew Chen $191,984
3rd Stefan Huber $187,936
4th Anatoly Gurtovy $75,950
5th James McCrink $54,850
6th Jonathan Turner $37,980
7th Eugene Katchalov $25,320
8th Nacho Barbero $25,320
9th Tommie Janssen $21,100
10th Joe McKeehen $21,100

PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
EPT PCA Event #41 - NLH Turbo 10K High Rollers
January 14, 2012

Atlantis Resort and Casino | Bahamas
Buy-in: $10,200 | Prizepool: $843,900 | Entries: 87

FINAL RESULTS:
SHAWN BUCHANAN 100
ANDREW CHEN 60
STEFAN HUBER 35
ANATOLY GURTOVY 25
JAMES MCCRINK 18
JONATHAN TURNER 10
EUGENE KATCHALOV 8
JOSE BARBERO "NACHO" 5
TOMMIE JANSSEN 5

RELATED POSTS:
MORE SIDE EVENT RESULTS FROM ATLANTIS
BILOKUR WINS HIGH ROLLERS BUT DUHAMEL TAKES OVER #1 SPOT
AMATEUR DIBELLA BEATS THE PROS TO WIN FIRST PTPR GRAND SLAM OF 2012
COVIENSKY, WORLD CHAMP CADA PICKUP WINS ON THE SIDE
OVER 10 MILLION ON THE LINE AT THE PCA MAIN EVENT
ISULDR1 IS THE LONE SUPER HIGH ROLLER IN THE BAHAMAS!
SCHWARTZ ON THE BOARD AT THE PCA WITH PLO WIN

2012 PCA: MORE SIDE EVENT RESULTS FROM ATLANTIS

PHOTO/SOURCE: POKERSTARSBLOG.com

We've got more results from the Bahamas - more side event action from the PCA!

Kapalas, McKeehen and Weisser pick up wins at Atlantis ...



EVENT 21 - NLH SIX-HANDED
1K Buy-in, 321K Prizepool, 331 Entries
Greek pro Georgios Kapalas took down Event 21 - NLH Six-Handed - picking up his first points of 2012. Kapalas (2011 PTPR Rank: 657th) collected defeated Dutch player Erik Robert Van Leer heads up.

Frank Rusnak (2011 PTPR Rank: 781st), Daniel Buzgon (2011 PTPR Rank: 303rd) and Stephen Chidwick (2011 PTPR Rank: 787th) all finished in the Top 5 while Francois Billard (2011 PTPR Rank: 347th) and Hassan Babajane (2011 PTPR Rank: 298th) also collected PTPR Points in the event.

TOP 5 PAYOUTS (in USD):
1- Georgios Kapalas $86,350
2- Erik Robert Van Leer $52,980
3- Frank Rusnak $32,750
4- Daniel Buzgon $21,830
5- Stephen Chidwick $13,810

PTPR SIDE EVENT
European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
EPT PCA Event #21 - NLH Six-Handed
January 11, 2012

Atlantis Resort and Casino | Bahamas
Buy-in: $1,100 | Prizepool: $321,070 | Entries: 331

FINAL RESULTS:
GEORGIOS KAPALAS 75
ERIK ROBERT VAN LEER 40
FRANK RUSNAK 25
DANIEL BUZGON 15
STEPHEN CHIDWICK 10
DIEGO BRUNELLI 8
FRANCOIS BILLARD 5
HASSAN ALI BABAJANE 5
DOMINQUE RIAL MOSELEY 5


EVENT 28 - NLH TURBO
2K Buy-in, 457K Prizepool, 236 Entries
Joseph McKeehen picks up a nice amount of cash to start 2012 - over 116K for defeating 235 other competitors in the NLH Turbo event.

2010 PCA Bounty Shooout winner Andrew Chen (2011 PTPR Rank: 144th) earned a Top 4 finish in the event.

Ondrej Vinklarek (2011 PTPR Rank: 1765th), Joris Springael (2011 PTPR Rank: 1845th), Pat Pezzin (2011 PTPR Rank: NR), Matt Kay (2011 PTPR Rank: 1694th) and popular pro Olivier Busquet (2011 PTPR Rank: 657th) all finished in the Top 9.

TOP 5 PAYOUTS (in USD):
1- Joseph McKeehen $116,230
2- Stevie Tripp $86,820
3- Ondrej Vinklarek $42,350
4- Andrew Chen $32,510
5- John Alm $26,550

PTPR SIDE EVENT
European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
EPT PCA Event #28 - NLH Turbo
January 12, 2012

Atlantis Resort and Casino | Bahamas
Buy-in: $2,150 | Prizepool: $457,840 | Entries: 236

FINAL RESULTS:
JOSEPH MCKEEHEN 75
STEVIE TRIPP 40
ONDREJ VINKLAREK 25
ANDREW CHEN 15
JOHN ALM 10
JORIS SPRINGAEL 8
PAT PEZZIN 5
MATT KAY 5
OLIVIER BUSQUET 5


EVENT 32 - NLH TURBO BOUNTY
2K Buy-in, 410K Prizepool*, 210 Entries *Approx. prizepool
American Mark Weisser won the NLH Turbo Bounty Event #32 beating the likes of defending WPT Vienna Champion Dmitry Gromov (2011 PTPR Rank: 107th) and Canadian online and tournament pro Mike Leah along the way.

Russian Yulius Sepman earned his second PTPR score of the season - he was the runner-up at the PCA 5K NLH Turbo event earlier in the week.

TOP 5 PAYOUTS (in USD):
1- Mark Weisser $43,775
2- Paul Van't Veer $43,775
3- Alexey Ermolov $18,260
4- Dmitry Gromov $14,020
5- Kenneth Hicks $11,450

PTPR SIDE EVENT
European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
EPT PCA Event #32 - NLH Turbo Bounty
January 13, 2012

Atlantis Resort and Casino | Bahamas
Buy-in: $2,150 | Prizepool: $410,000 | Entries: 210

FINAL RESULTS:
MARK WEISSER 75
PAUL VAN'T VEER 40
ALEXEY ERMOLOV 25
DMITRY GROMOV 15
KENNETH HICKS 10
MICHAEL LEAH 8
MAXWELL GREENWOOD "MAX" 5
YULIUS SEPMAN 5
MICHAEL GREEN 5

RELATED POSTS:
CANADIAN CLOSERS: MOLSON, CHEN WIN ON FINAL DAY OF PCA (2011)
WPT VIENNA: GROMOV WPT WINNER, ISAIA PTPR LEADER (2011)
BILOKUR WINS HIGH ROLLERS BUT DUHAMEL TAKES OVER #1 SPOT
AMATEUR DIBELLA BEATS THE PROS TO WIN FIRST PTPR GRAND SLAM OF 2012
COVIENSKY, WORLD CHAMP CADA PICKUP WINS ON THE SIDE
OVER 10 MILLION ON THE LINE AT THE PCA MAIN EVENT
ISULDR1 IS THE LONE SUPER HIGH ROLLER IN THE BAHAMAS!
SCHWARTZ ON THE BOARD AT THE PCA WITH PLO WIN

CANADIAN CLOSERS: MOLSON, CHEN WIN ON FINAL DAY OF PCA

PHOTO CREDIT: POKERSTARSBLOG.com


Fellow Canadians Will Molson and Andrew Chen won big events on the final day at the PCA in the Bahamas.

This was Molson's (pictured, celebrating with his father) third straight year heads up at the PCA 25K High Rollers event - an amazing, almost inplausible feat - after two straight runner-ups in 2009 and 2010, Molson finally sealed the deal, winning the event. Molson, who had 3 PTPR Scores last season, earns his first PTPR Score of 2011.

Molson beat Leo Fernandez heads up. Fernandez and 4th place finisher Erik Seidel each score for the second time at the PCA. Max Lykov, David "Bakes" Baker and Jason Mercier also scored in the event.

Andrew Chen won the very popular 5K NAPT Bounty Shootout event. He won the event in very dramatic fashion, eliminating pros Shaun Deeb and Michael Binger on the same hand, to end the event.

Chen earns 102 PTPR Points for his win and is now ranked 3rd on the PTPR Player of the Year charts. Deeb earns his second PTPR Score of this very young season.

Although the PCA is now over and done with, we are still awaiting official results from a few events. Stay tuned.


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure
PCA 25K High Rollers Event
January 14-16, 2011

Atlantis Resort & Casino
Paradise Island, Bahamas

Buy-in: $25,000
Prizepool: $3,995,500
Entries: 151

Defending champion: William Reynolds

POINTS AT STAKE
MOLSON WILLIAM 101
FERNANDEZ LEO 61
LYKOV MAX 36
SEIDEL ERIK 26
METAAL GOVERT 19
BAKER DAVID "BAKES" 11
MARAFIOTI MATT 9
MERCIER JASON 6
DE VRIES SHANDER 6


PTPR TIER 3 EVENT
Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure
NAPT Bounty Shootout
January 13-16, 2011

Atlantis Resort & Casino
Paradise Island, Bahamas

Buy-in: $5,250
Prizepool: $1,134,000
Entries: 216

POINTS AT STAKE
CHEN ANDREW 102
BINGER MICHAEL 62
DEEB SHAUN 37
BAUMSTEIN SCOTT 27
NEUMANN MARKO 20
PILOSSOPH WILLIAM 12

WOW CANADA: MOLSON BREAKS STREAK, CHEN WINS SHOOTOUT

It was a good day for Canada in the Bahamas!

Two-time PCA High Roller runner-up Will Molson was back heads up for a third straight year - this time winning the whole thing! Molson could be the best High Roller out there.

Fellow Canuck Andrew Chen won the NAPT Bounty Shootout event, surviving a tough final 6 that included Shaun Deeb and Michael Binger.


Full event reports later today.