The grand finale of the European Poker Tour (EPT) was won by Jeff Williams, a 19-year-old student from the University of Georgia. The tournament was the first major live poker event the college freshman attended. Williams took home the first prize of €900,000 ($1.07 million).
The EPT grand finale was hosted by the luxurious Monte Carlo Bay Resort in Monte Carlo. The tournament is a five-day NL Holdem event with a buy-in of €10,000. The tourney had a total prize pool of €2,980,000 which made the event the richest poker tournament ever to be held in Europe.
Williams didn't have to pay to get into the EPT finale because he qualified for the tourney at the online poker site Pokerstars via a $40 satellite.
After outlasting a player field of 298, including poker luminaries and World Series of Poker champions Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem, Williams was the only American left at the final table.
The final (TV) table looked like this:
- Seat 1, Marc Karam (Canada), 231,900
- Seat 2, Marcel Luske (Holland), 486,000
- Seat 3, Jeff Williams (USA), 495, 700
- Seat 4, Ross Boatman (UK), 119,700
- Seat 5, Thierry Cazals (France), 766,650
- Seat 6, Arshad Hussain (UK), 131,600
- Seat 7, Fraser Dunphy (UK), 125,600
- Seat 8, Aleksander Strandli (Norway), 633,500
The two best-known players at the final table were Marcel Luske, a.k.a. "The Flying Dutchman", and Ross Boatman from the "Hendon Mob". Luske couldn't catch any cards and was eliminated in 7th place. Boatman went out soon after in 6th position.
The Brit Arshad Hussain finished second collecting €492,000 ($585,726) in the process. On the final hand he called Williams' all-in with A8 offsuit. When Williams turned over AT offsuit, Hussain realized he made a mistake. Hussain didn't improve and 19-year-old Jeff Williams took home the first prize of €900,000 ($1.07 million).
The baby-faced Williams isn't allowed to play in a casino or poker room in his home country until he reaches the age of 21, but fortunately for him the legal gambling age in Europe is 18. Williams' parents flew over from the US to give the youngster moral support at the final table.