The partypoker Grand Prix KO Series concluded on August 2 with the completion of the $109 buy-in Main Event. A field of 5,407 descended on partypoker over multiple starting flights, ensuring the $500,000 guarantee was well beaten. Sasa Lukovic was the main beneficiary of the juicy prize pool because he finished at the top of the payouts, and banked $50,159 with bounties included.
Grand Prix Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Bounties | Prize | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sasa Lukovic | Germany | $20,040 | $30,119 | $50,159 |
| 2 | Bruno Dell | Brazil | $8,540 | $30,061 | $38,601 |
| 3 | Rodrigo Ruas | Brazil | $3,002 | $18,705 | $21,707 |
| 4 | Phillip Ocvirk | Austria | $3,284 | $12,494 | $15,778 |
| 5 | Matthew Stumpf | Canada | $636 | $8,531 | $9,167 |
| 6 | Thomas De Rooij | Netherlands | $4,094 | $6,055 | $10,149 |
| 7 | Bruno Oliveira | Brazil | $518 | $4,202 | $4,720 |
The seven-handed final table exploded into life when the first of three Brazilians crashed out. Lukovic opened for a shade over a min-raise before calling the 22 big blind three-bet all-in from Bruno Oliviera. It was jacks for Lukovic, eights for Oliviera, and an ace-high board that reduced the player count by one.
Oliveira’s seat had not grown cold when Thomas Rooij joined him on the rail. De Rooij and Bruno Dell both turned a straight, and all the chips went into the middle on the river. Unfortunately for De Rooij, he held the low end of the straight, so was resigned to a sixth-place finish in this event.
The final five became four when a short-stacked Matthew Stumpf bowed out. Stumpf was down to a single big blind when he pushed all-in with king-five. He ultimately lost to the pocket kings of Rodrigo Raus; it just was not Stumpf’s day.
With bounties included, none of the remaining four players could win less than a five-figure score. Phillip Ocvirk of Austria busted in fourth at the hands of Lukovic. Lukovic open-shoved from the small blind with ace-five, and Ocvirk called off his last 15 big blinds with the dominated ace-deuce. A five on the turn left the Austrian drawing dead.
Lukovic found pocket jacks again, and they sent Ruas to the sidelines in third. Lukovic min-raised before quickly calling the 13 big blind shove from Ruas, which he made with a pair of fives in the hole. The board did not even hint at rescuing Ruas because Lukovic flopped a set and turned a boat.
That hand gave Lukovic a substantial chip lead over Dell, and it took less than 10 minutes for Lukovic to secure the title. The final hand saw the players go to a king-high two-flushed flop. Dell check-raised Lukovic’s continuation-bet with nothing but a gutshot straight draw. Lukovic, however, had flopped top pair and was going nowhere. Dell continued his story with a sizeable bet on the potential flush-completing turn, before jamming on the river with nothing but seven-high. Lukovic called with his top pair, and became the Grand Prix KO Series Main Event champion.
Mini Main Event and High Roller Crown Their Champions
The $11 buy-in Mini Main Event crowned its champion on August 2 after a three-way deal. Gary Biggar of Canada finished in third place for a combined score worth $5,869 with Marcos Paulo Padilha Moreira collected $5,783 in total. Vyacheslav Litvinenko was crowned the tournament’s champion, an accolade that came with $9,900 exactly.
David Lopez got his hands on an impressive $82,624 after he came out on top of a 1,129-strong field in the $530 High Roller event.
Some 166 players made it through to the final day’s action, all of them in the money. The likes of Jack Hardcastle, Jans Arends, and Team partypoker’s Day Kotoviezy, Jeff Gross, and Joao Simao all cashed but failed to reach the final table.
It was Lope who shone at the final table, defeating the likes of Simon Lofberg, Arsenii Karmatckii, and Peter Traply on his way to victory. Brazil’s Warley Bruno Borges Galvao was the tournament’s runner-up, his total haul weighed in at $42,594.
