Hannes Jeschka was a card away from possible elimination and certain decimation. Then came what the players at the final table of the $5,300 Luxon Pay Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event final table affectionately called the “mamacita,” a queen, and it changed the fortunes of the tournament.
Jeschka’s rivered two pair to crack the aces of Steven Warburton and double up during three-handed play was the turning point in the German native winning the Main Event trophy at the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel in North Cyprus and the $542,000 first prize after a three-way deal.
“It’s really hard to put into words. It’s a lot of emotions. It’s been really tough for me the past eight months or so poker-wise,” an emotional Jeschka said following his triumph over a field of 1,032 total entries at this seaside paradise.
“This is just amazing. This is my biggest final table. It’s my biggest win ever. And it’s a prestigious tournament. Just amazing. It’s just incredible. I don’t really know how to feel. I’m really looking forward to taking the winner’s picture with my friends.”
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Final Table Action
The last day of the Main Event saw Jeschka take the chip lead over the final 21 players. It took only about three hours to narrow the field down to the final table as the likes of Erik Cajelais, Kyle Maguire, and Natalya Nikitina all saw their tournament come to an end.
Jeschka had fallen from atop the chip counts to the middle of the pack by the time of the final table, beginning in fifth place among the remaining nine players. Riccardo Saraniero was the first casualty, running his pocket tens into the kings of Arsenii Karmatckii. Nuri Hadioglu would take out Gabriel Akiki in eighth, also holding pocket kings after Akiki four-bet jammed with ace-ten.
$5,300 MPP Main Event Final Table results
| Rank | Player | Country | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannes Jeschka | Germany | $542,000* |
| 2 | Arsenii Karmatckii | Russia | $471,000* |
| 3 | Steven Warburton | United Kingdom | $534,000* |
| 4 | Yiannis Liperis | United Kingdom | $230,000 |
| 5 | Nuri Hadioglu | Turkey | $160,000 |
| 6 | Koray Korkmaz | Turkey | $110,000 |
| 7 | Manuel Fritz | Austria | $80,000 |
| 8 | Gabriel Akiki | Lebanon | $65,000 |
| 9 | Riccardo Saraniero | Italy | $53,000 |
*denotes a three-way deal
Jeschka fell down to around 12 big blinds when he was all in with two sixes against the ace-king of Koray Korkmaz and held on to double up. With the blinds rising and the stacks getting shallower, big pots proved few and far between.
“There were like a few key spots, for example when I had the sixes versus the ace-king, where I was down to 12 big blinds or so. I got lucky on that one and won the flip. I think actually the jam was a little too wide, but it doesn’t matter. It worked out,” Jeschka said. “I feel pretty confident playing all the different stack sizes. I’m just as confident playing 20 big blinds as I am 60 big blinds.”
Finally, after nearly four hours without an elimination, Manuel Fritz found himself all in with king-queen against the pocket queens of Warburton to bust in seventh place. Korkmaz was eliminated by Karmatckii in sixth shortly after as the Russian and Warburton began to separate from the pack. Short stacks Jeschka, Yiannis Liperis, and Hadioglu picked their spots in order to get their chips in as they attempted to rise up the payout ladder.
It would be Hadioglu who would fall in fifth place, losing on the river with deuces against Karmatckii’s ten-eight. Liperis busted in fourth after Karmatckii made a full house.
It would take a little luck for Jeschka to avoid being the next one out. He got his chips in the middle with ace-seven against Karmatckii’s queen-three. A queen on the flop meant Jeschka needed help to survive, and he got it when he spiked a jack on the river to make a straight and double up. The three players then agreed to a deal, with Warburton earning $534,000, Karmatckii $471,000, and Jeschka $442,000, leaving $100,000 to the eventual champion.
Then came Jeschka’s lucky queen on the river to best Warburton’s aces as he took the chip lead for the first time at the final table. Warburton shoved the next hand with ten-nine but ran into the ace-ten of Karmatckii. Warburton, who spent most of the final table as overwhelming chip leader, busted in third place as Jeschka took a narrow lead over Karmatckii into heads-up play.
It took just three hands before a champion was crowned. Karmatckii raised with ace-jack, Jeschka reraised with ace-queen, then called when Karmatckii shoved all-in, Jeschka having him covered by just over 8,000,000. A clean board meant Karmatckii, champion of the MPP Warm Up event a few days earlier, was denied a second trophy and Jeschka got to celebrate with his boisterous supporters on the rail.
“It just happened. I really don’t know what to say. It probably hasn’t even sunk in yet,” he said.
When it does, Jeschka will realize the magnitude of what he just accomplished. The likes of Phil Ivey and world champion Espen Jorstad made the trip to North Cyprus and allowed this event to surpass the guaranteed $5,000,000 prize pool. In the end, it was Jeschka holding the trophy.
That concludes PokerNews’ coverage of the Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event. Stay tuned for more coverage from North Cyprus.