The Partypoker Live Millions Grand Final Barcelona proved to be one of the biggest poker festivals of the year thus far. It was chock full of big-name players taking down titles, such as Sam Greenwood and Jake Schindler, so it was only fitting the Main Event was a star-studded affair.
Stacked Final Table
The 2018 Partypoker Live Millions Grand Final Barcelona €10,300 Main Event offered up a €10 million guarantee, which it surpassed by drawing 1,175 entries. That created an €11,397,500 ($14,060,572) prize pool with a monster payday of €1.7 million ($2,097,212) up top;
Among those at the final table were chip leader Pascal Lefrancois, 2016 MSPT Venetian champ Thomas Boivin, Partypoker Live Millions Grand Final Barcelona High Roller winner and soon-to-be-father Davidi Kitai, 888poker Ambassador Dominik Nitsche, US Poker Open MVP Stephen Chidwick, and the short-stacked Adam Owen.
Of those, Boivin was the first to go after getting it in with the A♥3♥ and failing to get there against Chidwick’s J♣J♦. Not long after, Kitai got unlucky with his A♠J♦ when Diogo Veiga paired his kicker holding the A♥4♣.
As for Nitsche, action folded to him in the small blind and he jammed his last nine big blinds holding the K♠6♣ and Lefrancois called with the K♦3♣. The board ran out 10♠4♠2♣5♣A♣ and Lefrancois made a wheel to run over the young German. Nitsche took home €800,000 ($986,923) for finishing in fourth place.
Chidwick’s Million Dollar Heater
Three-handed play was comprised of Lefrancois, Owens, and Chidwick, who was fresh off finishing runner-up to Jake Schindler in the Super High Roller. Chidwick busted in third place for €1,000,000 ($1,233,654), which was his third seven-figure score in three weeks. He didn’t have any before that.
Chidwick busted after he jammed his last 12 big blinds from the big blind over Lefrancois’ button limp. The Canadian called with the K♠10♠ which was behind Chidwick’s A♥7♣. However, the board ran out K♥9♠8♦5♦8♣ and Lefrancois made two pair to bust Chidwick.
“I just try to think about the cards and the decisions, not about the outcome,” Chidwick said after his elimination.
I want to dedicate [this run] to my granddad, who is probably the biggest gamer in my family. If I hadn’t grown up playing card games and board games, and even video games with him, then I maybe wouldn’t be here now.”
That left Lefrancois with a near 2/1 chip lead over Owen, but it’d take a couple levels for this to finish. In the final hand, Owen four-bet jammed with the A♠10♠ only to run it into the A♦J♦ of Chidwick. The Q♣5♣5♦ put some chop outs on the board, but both the 3♠ turn and 7♦ river were blanks.
“It has been exhausting, an exhausting four days especially with the two flights on Day 1,” the 31-year-old Lefrancois told Partypoker officials after his win. “I tried to keep my focus even though I was pretty tired. It is really sick. You see these events and you just don’t think you can win.”
The win was far and away the biggest of Lefrancois’ career and surpassed his previous best of $635,011 for finishing 11th in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. That same summer, he won a $1,500 NLH event at the WSOP, good for $568,972 and a bracelet.
Others to cash the Main Event were Sean Winter (11th for $123,365), Byron Kaverman (16th for $80,188), Philipp Gruissm (22nd for $61,683), and Sam Trickett (35th for $49,346).
The next big Partypoker Live event is the Millions North America, which is coming up in May at the Playground Poker Club.
Final Table Results
1 Pascal Lefrancois (Canada) €1,700,000 ($2,097,212)
2 Adam Owen (UK) €1,300,000 ($1,603,750)
3 Stephen Chidwick (UK) €1,000,000 ($1,233,654)
4 Dominik Nitsche (Germany) €800,000 ($986,923)
5 Jan Schwippert (Germany) €602,500 ($743,277)
6 Diogo Veiga (Portugal) €450,000 ($555,144)
7 Davidi Kitai (Belgium) €325,000 ($400,938)
8 Thomas Boivin (Belgium) €225,000 ($277,572)
9 Honglin Jiang (Australia) €150,000 ($185,048)
