Pokerstars EPT Vilamoura Winner Antonio Matias

PokerStars’ first Portuguese tournament reached a popular conclusion after an amateur Portuguese player by the name of Antonio Matias (54) from Setubal won the EPT Vilamoura to take the trophy and the main prize of €404,793.

Following his victory, the travel agency director at 54 years of age, became the oldest EPT winner in the 5 year history of the tour and said:

“I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world but it is very satisfying win an EPT in my home country. I just decided to play the way I play, and hope that luck didn’t turn its back on me. When I got the chip lead yesterday the only thing I had on my mind was winning.”

Matias held the chip lead as the final table got underway which grew into a 7 to 1 advantage by the time the heads-up stage had been reached. Ryan Franklin knocked Russian Andrei Vlasenko out in 8th (€31,234) but was eliminated himself, 2 hours later, in 7th and collected €46,851 for his first live tournament appearance.

Frenchman Michel Abecassis finished in 6th for €62,468, and then local boy and crowd favourite Joao Silva  put up a strong performance before losing in a pocket Q’s versus pocket J’s showdown to exit the tournament in 5th €78,075 better off.

The Czech player Jan Skampa then got involved in a big pot when Jeff Sarwer, first to act, raised with pocket Q’s, was re-raised by Skampa holding K-9, who then called the original raiser’s all-in. Skampa lost the hand and was out soon after in 4th for €117,128.

For two and a half hours the three way battle raged between Canadian player Jeff Sarwer, Pierre Neuville and Antonio Matias until Jeff Sarwer was raised all-in and called Matias’ bet on a 9c7h3c flop. Sarwer held 9s5s but was dominated by Matias’s pocket 10’s and despite hitting two pair on the turn when a 5c fell, a 3d on the river neutralised his hand and so he exited in 3rd for a  €156,170 pay day.

Matias’s 7 to 1 chip lead going into heads-up play was significant and the Belgian Pierre Neuville had to be content with a runner-up position and €257,681 prize money.

Antonio Matias was the last man standing and had  managed to outlast a field of 322 players to claim the EPT title and an impressive €404,793 first prize.

The EPT picks up the action next in the Czech capital, Prague on  December 1st.