Diogo Coelho Completes Comeback Story to Win EPT Cyprus' $2,200 Eureka High Roller ($357,048)
After a 16-hour Day 2, four players came back to Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa for an unscheduled third day of the $2,200 Eureka High Roller at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus. The biggest prizes of the $2,610,600 prize pool were still up for grabs, and it took just under two hours to crown Diogo Coelho from Portugal as the champion, conquering a field of 1,374 entries.
Coelho defeated Italy's Michele Guerrini heads up after the two had struck a deal. Coelho received the big lump of $357,048 for his victory, of which $20,000 was played for heads up, while Guerrini hauled massively as well, receiving a consolation prize of $328,592. Meanwhile, the short-stacked Ibrahim Ghassan fell in fourth place as the first casualty of the day, while start-of-day chipleader Mukhtor Nasiradinov had to make do with a bronze medal.
EPT Cyprus $2,200 Eureka High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diogo Coelho | Portugal | $357,048* |
| 2 | Michele Guerrini | Italy | $328,592* |
| 3 | Mukhtor Nasiradinov | Russian Federation | $187,410 |
| 4 | Ibrahim Ghassan | Lebanon | $144,610 |
| 5 | Ali Emre Ozcan | Turkey | $110,900 |
| 6 | Roman Timergazin | Russian Federation | $85,310 |
| 7 | Gediminas Uselis | Lithuania | $65,630 |
| 8 | Leonid Logunov | Russian Federation | $50,490 |
* denotes heads-up deal
Winner's Reaction
This was Coelho's second EPT trophy after claiming his first-ever live victory in the $10,300 High Roller at the inaugural EPT Paris. "It feels amazing," Coelho described after his victory. "I never expect to win a trophy like this."
However, Coelho's victory was a hard-fought one. Mid-way through Day 2, he was down to less than two big blinds after he value-bet his two pair into trips. "It is a situation where we lost a little bit of hope," Coelho admitted, "but we still do whatever we can to make sure we come back."
Not only did Coelho come back, but he rode the momentum all the way to victory, capturing the beautiful trophy to add to his collection.
Day 3 Action
Ghassan was the shortest player of the four who came back for the extra Day 3. A mere ten minutes after their arrival, he got in his chips dominated and could not improve, being the first exit of the day. Coelho then became the shortest stack three-handed, but he doubled through Guerrini to stay in contention.
Nasiradinov, on the other hand, seemed to get shorter by the minute and eventually fell in third place when he lost a flip against Guerrini. By taking the former leader's chips, Guerrini started the heads up with a sizable lead over Coelho. However, Coelho won a couple of small pots in a row and eventually gained a small advantage in chips.
Coelho and Guerrini then paused to discuss deal. They agreed to chop the prize pool in accordance with their chips but left a sum of $20,000 still to play for heads up, along with the trophy and bragging rights. Once they resumed playing, Coelho kept winning pots and eventually had Guerrini down to 15 big blinds.
On the last hand of the tournament, Coelho open-shoved and Guerrini called off his stack. Coelho's ace-seven was ahead of Guerrini's king-eight, and he paired his ace to set his victory in stone, leaving Guerrini with the title of runner-up.
Coelho proudly received his trophy, took some photos, and then went to collect his massive payout of $357,048. At least $5,300 of that would be reinvested in the hunt for further poker success, as Coelho intended to jump in the Main Event, but not after a well-deserved small break.
Thus ends PokerNews' coverage of the $2,200 Eureka High Roller. However, be sure to check out our coverage of the other ongoing EPT tournaments to find out if Coelho will follow up on his High Roller success in the prestigious Main Event.