ODwyer Hits a Royal Flush as Kaverman Takes Down EPT Barcelona €25K
The first €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona drew many high-roller poker stars to Casino Barcelona. After the last card was dealt and the final chip exchanged, Byron Kaverman emerged victorious, claiming the trophy and a €381,060 prize for his efforts.
Just two days prior, Kaverman had finished second in the €12,300 Cuatro Knockout, earning €119,400. This time, he went all the way, defeating Markkos Ladev in heads-up play. Ladev, who took home €248,500, secured his largest-ever live cash. The remaining €1,104,460 prize pool, generated by 46 entries, was shared by Mike Watson, Enrico Camosci, Niklas Astedt, and Sam Grafton, each earning at least €77,300 for reaching the money.
EPT Barcelona €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Byron Kaverman | United States | €381,060 |
| 2 | Markkos Ladev | Estonia | €248,500 |
| 3 | Mike Watson | Canada | €171,200 |
| 4 | Enrico Camosci | Italy | €127,000 |
| 5 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | €99,400 |
| 6 | Sam Grafton | United Kingdom | €77,300 |
Early Action
The day began with a flurry of activity, with players like Teun Mulder and Sven Andersson firing multiple bullets before the late registration closed. However, the event saw early exits from Hall of Famers Erik Seidel and Patrik Antonius, along with Kayhan Mokri, the winner of the €20,000 No-Limit Hold’em event earlier in the series.
Seven of the 29 unique players hailed from the United States, though Seth Davies, Sean Winter, and David Coleman departed before the dinner break. When play resumed, Nacho Barbero was the first to be eliminated, with Jamil Wakil following him as the last player to go before the final two tables.
Sam Greenwood missed out on his third final table of this EPT, and he was soon joined on the rail by Santhosh Suvarna and Jesse Lonis.
Steve O’Dwyer also failed to pick up his second trophy of the series, falling in 11th place. French all-time money leader Jean-Noel Thorel became the final table bubble in tenth.
Before O’Dwyer found himself on the wrong side of the rail, he delivered one of the day’s most memorable moments by making a Royal Flush. Seated at the same table as soccer legend Gerard Pique, O’Dwyer found himself facing a pressure play from the FIFA World Cup winner, who was trying to exploit the shorter stacks.
Pique held pocket sixes, while O’Dwyer had king-ten of spades. The flop brought the jack of spades, followed by the queen of spades on the turn, and finally, the ace of spades on the river, completing the Royal Flush. Even the usually stoic Irishman couldn’t help but break into a small celebration after hitting poker’s most premium hand.
Coincidentally, this hand occurred shortly after Pique mentioned to PokerNews that his favorite player to battle against at the poker table was O’Dwyer. However, after watching O’Dwyer make a Royal Flush at his expense, Pique might be rethinking that opinion.
Final Table Action
The former FC Barcelona star was unable to recover after O’Dwyer had dented his stack, and he became the first final-table casualty. Ren Lin, who had been nursing a short stack, was the next to go, also falling Watson. The latter continued his dominance by knocking out Nick Petrangelo in seventh, with Petrangelo becoming the tournament’s bubble boy, missing out on the money.
The tournament, which had moved at a decent pace, slowed down after the bubble burst. It took two hours for the next elimination, with several players doubling up in all-ins. Watson eventually knocked out PokerStars Ambassador Grafton before 2024 WSOP third-place finisher Astedt lost his remaining ten big blinds in a blind-on-blind battle against Camosci, who briefly claimed the chip lead.
Camosci’s lead was short-lived, as he doubled up Kaverman in a flip just one hand later. The Italian’s misfortune continued as he ran his two pair into Watson’s straight in a monster pot, leaving him on crumbs. Three-handed, Watson held a significant chip lead, but Kaverman quickly turned the tables, winning a crucial flip to take the lead for the first time.
Ladev also climbed back, through aggressive preflop play, leaving Watson as the short stack. Watson eventually got his last 12 blinds in with king-nine against Ladev’s ace-five, and Ladev made a flush to take a small chip lead into heads-up play.
However, Kaverman struck first in the heads-up match, securing a two-to-one lead he never relinquished. Ladev eventually put in more than half of his stack on the river before folding to Kaverman’s shove. His final few blinds went in with nine-deuce against Kaverman’s ace-nine, and he failed to improve, sealing his fate as the runner-up.
Kaverman was crowned the champion around 3:15 a.m. local time and quickly returned to his accommodation, clutching his fourth PokerStars trophy. Undoubtedly, he’ll be looking to add more hardware during the rest of EPT Barcelona.
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