The WPT Grand Prix de Paris Main Event concluded this weekend and when all was said and donw, Matt Waxman who had taken down the €518,750 first place prize.
Though the final table didn’t feature the large names of yesteryear (quite the opposite in fact) the table was nonetheless action-packed with rather large pay jumps between finishing positions. Sixth place was worth €88,900 but fifth was worth a much heavier €133,330. The 24 big-bling shortstack Martin Jacobson was the first eliminated when his AsJd ran into the dominating pocket jacks of Mikko Sundell.
Soon after, Sundell himself received the other end of the stick after a crippling encounter with Waxman. Sundell’s King high club flush draw got tangled up with Waxman’s made flush. The board did Waxman no favors and was left with less than one big blind, and was soon eliminated by Byron Kaverman.
Much like Sundell before, Kaverman was the next to face the disappointed walk to the rail after an all-in encounter with Qh9c against Fred Magen’s Ah7s. Though the Q-T-K flop looked promising for Sundell, a Jack on the turn ultimately sealed his fate, leaving Kaverman with only €155,550 and likely a few broken dreams as he headed towards the rail.
After Magen was eliminated by Waxman’s dominating AK to his own KQ, Waxman and Hugo Lemaire were the only two men still standing (err…sitting rather.) Unfortunately for Lemaire, the 7.81 million to 1.55 million chip lead seemed nearly insurmountable, and the pro was put out of his misery after a mere three hands of headsup play. Ultimately, Waxman took down the victory with a river ten of clubs that completed his flush that eliminated Lemaire and his top pair of Queens.
Waxman's victory provided a comfortable €518,750 in addition to the prestigious title. Somewhat surprisingly, Waxman’s victory marks the first American player to win a European-based WPT Main Event, something that has not happened in the previous nine seasons of the long-running tour. The WPT’s next stop is back in the USA for the Borgota Poker Open. Stay tuned for future coverage.
Final table payouts
1st: Matt Waxman: €518,750
2nd: Hugo Lemaire: €311,150
3rd: Fred Magen: €211,100
4th: Byron Kaverman: €155,550
5th: Mikko Sundell: €133,330
6th: Martin Jacobson: €88,900
