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The European Poker Tour has elected its new winner, with Piotr Nurzynski winning the 2018 Main Event. The Polish player managed to overcome a pool of 1,900 + entrants, routing everyone in his way. Here is what happened.

Defeating Goliath – How Nurzynski bested 1,900 People

The EPT Barcelona €5,300 Main Event has reunited a record-breaking number of contestants. Over 1,900 came to get a bite of the action and vie for the astounding cash prize of over $1 million. Tried though everyone did, it was up to Piotr Nurzynski to walk away with the lion’s share of the rewards.

Nurzynski’s success has not been exactly straightforward. He took two years off of any other activity to be able to travel and play at poker tournaments over the globe. The struggle, as they say, was real and gut-wrenching. With measly $11,000 in life-long earnings, Nurzynski’s was no-one’s first guess of a potential winner. However, his latest victory, added €1,037,109 to his bank bankroll.

That, and a chance to compete at The Bahamas on January 6, 2019, courtesy of the freshly-won $30,000 Platinum Pass. Speaking to reporters after his victory, Nurzynski was visibly excited. Having a hard time believing his luck, he repeated several times that he was incredulous of his success. Not only that, but he also acknowledged to having made costly mistakes that might have diminished his chances of winning at all.

The Whole Amazing Affair and $9m in Prize Money

Nurzynski’s story is quite inspiring. Turning €250 into €1 million is the success story you would like to hear about. Still, the total prize pool of the event was €9,365,350 and that meant that the remaining players also had a shot at the big money.

Haoxiang Wang did pull a notable second place, earning €1,023,701, followed by one of the other primed favorites Ognyan Dimov who added €725,621 to his name. The rest of the pool also comprised of notable players, including Pedro Marques and Rodrigo Carmo who both with $810,000 and $411,000 respectively.

The first four spots merited a Platinum Pass each, turning the competition into an unapologetic game for a better ranking. Even then, the money that the first 9 players won were sufficient to buy them a pass at the upcoming Bahamas action.

Nurzynski in the meanwhile was thrilled to be winning. And the Polish national doesn’t intend to call it a day just yet. He’s looking forward to his trip to The Bahamas. Estimated 320 Premium Passes will be handled out by the end of the year, allowing as many players to play at the event for no personal cost at all. More noteworthy players have been adding to their fortunes by winning a Platinum Pass in the meanwhile.

Poker Beyond the Dregs

The sudden success of Nurzynski is definitely not a matter of luck. He allocated two years of his life mastering the game and living off poker titbits. The ensuing results have been worth the wait as it turns out. But most importantly, Nurzynski’s accomplishment is yet another proof that the world of poker offers chances to skilled and gifted individuals. Of course, it’s all a matter of hard work and not many players are prepared to put as much effort.