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Barbosa Bags EPT Poland
Portugese player João Barbosa took the day last Thursday at the European Poker Tour Polish Open, battling back from the short side of the table to haul off the tourney's $457,489 first prize. Barbosa turned 26 the very day he went over the top and is Portugal's first EPT champion.
The four-day final table began with Barbosa in seventh place going up against ten former EPT champs, including Dario Minieri and Arnaud Mattern. As chip leader, Minieri started the day well on his way to improving on his performances in seasons III and IV. Mattern, meanwhile, was riding high as last year's Warsaw champ and, with a strong opening seat, looked to wrap up an '08 twofer.
Yet neither pro's lead was a buffer against Barbosa's surplus of luck and superior play. After snuffing out fellow Italian Andrea Benelli with a flush to Benelli's pocket jacks, Minieri next went after Barbosa only to have a second flush fail on the board against the Portugese's pocket jacks - then to have a pair of sevens shut down by Barbosa's pocket nines. Barbosa also personally put Mattern's bid for first place to rest when his pocket eights turned set against the Frenchman's pocket tens.
By the time the smoke cleared, Barbosa entered heads-up play with a 2-1 lead over German Nico Behling. The Portugese expanded his lead to 3-1 before falling back to a dead heat with Behling. But following an ill-advised shove on A, 9 against Behling's A, J in which the board miraculously showed a tie, Barbosa got back on his feet and began chipping away at the German's stack.
The final hand saw Barbosa again in the lead and slowly but surely putting Behling down. When the frantic German went all-in on a suited J, 7 against the Portugese's suited A, 10, Barbosa called. Both men caught pairs on the flop, but Barbosa lucked into the higher of the two with a pair of aces that held through the river.
In a post-match interview, Barbosa said, "Things worked perfectly for me. For three hours, I was trying not to think about anything but winning. It's the best birthday present I've ever had. It was great to win."
The EPT will go on break for the holidays and recommense Dec. 9.
- Phill Provance