Giedrius Gradeckas Wins 2013 FPS Sunfest Cannes For €120,000

Lithuanian Giedrius Gradeckas has won the France Poker Series Sunfest Cannes, after overcoming a field of 559 players over four days on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the €120,000 first-place prize.
The €1,100 Main Event attracted a good-sized field of amateurs and pros alike to create a total prize pool of €536,640, with a 64th place minimum cash worth €1,800. Amongst the big names entering the competition but falling short of a money spot was Team PokerStars Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, whose A-6 was beaten by the pocket jacks of Nathalie Pawluch on a Q-4-10-K-9 board.
Commenting on her experience competing against the sharks, the online qualifier who was playing at her first ever live tournament, said: “When I saw him come to the table, I was impressed! When faced with such a pro, I was startled! I must admit that when he re-raised, I thought about folding! Especially with two big cards on board.”
Nevertheless, Grospellier was just one of 357 players to fall on Day 2 and by start of Day 3 the field had been further whittled down to 16, with the final table eventually getting underway when eight players remained.
Through a combination of solid play and patience, Giedrius Gradeckas was subsequently able to progress all the way through to heads-up play where he faced off against Frenchman Yann Belkheir. The defining hand was then played with Giedrius Gradeckas (9d-7d) and Yann Belkheir (Qd-9s) all-in on a Js-7c-10s flop and after the turn and river produced a Js and 7s, Yann Belkheir had to content himself with a runner-up finish worth €81,100, while Giedrius Gradeckas was crowned the 2013 FPS Sunfest Cannes champion.
2013 FPS Sunfest Cannes Final Table Results:
1 – Giedrius GRADECKAS: €120,000
2 – Yann BELKHEIR: €81,100
3 – Gregory BULTEL: €52,300
4 – Julien BAUDUIN: €36,200
5 – Matthew RENOUD: €29,200
6 – David ZAKINE: €22,800
7 – Michael HUGHES: €17,400
8 – Tim HARTMANN: € 13,440