The tournament drew 207 entries to the Onyx Club at the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond Hotel & Spa, pushing the total prize pool to an impressive $4,968,000. Finnish phenom Patrik Antonius entered the final day as the overwhelming favorite, holding the chipleader position, while Ladva was in a modest seventh place.
The Estonian player showcased a performance he later described as an "insane run." "I can't recall ever having such great hands at a final table. Everything went incredibly smoothly," said the 28-year-old winner, whose triumph pushed his live tournament earnings over the $5 million mark. A former chess prodigy who earned the grandmaster title before turning 20, Ladva continues to prove he can hold his own at the poker table.
The Turning Point: A Legend Falls
The pivotal moment of the tournament came with Patrik Antonius' elimination. Although the Finn initially controlled the game and eliminated multiple opponents, he came up short in crucial clashes with Ladva. The frustrated legend reached a boiling point when Ladva completed a straight on the river with 7s 6c, prompting an uncharacteristic angry strike on the table from Antonius.
Ladva sealed Antonius' fate in a hand where his Qh Qd called Antonius' all-in with Ah 5h, knocking him out in 5th place. At that stage, Ladva commanded nearly 60% of the chips in play and was unrelenting in his pursuit of the title.
Soon after, he took out Shcherbakov and Vaskaboinikau in two quick hands, advancing to heads-up with commanding dominance. His final showdown against Australia's Geoffrey Mooney was swift. Ladva began with a massive 4:1 chip lead and needed just a few hands to seal the victory.
In the final hand of the tournament, Mooney went all-in pre-flop with Ac 5s, and Ladva called with Ad Qc. Although Mooney had hopes of a flush following the flop of Jc 6c 8c, the turn Ah and river Qs definitively secured the title and trophy for the chess grandmaster.
Final Table Results Event #6: $25,000 NLH Main Event
|
Place |
Player |
Country |
Prize |
|
1. |
Ottomar Ladva |
Estonia |
1,150,000$ |
|
2. |
Geoffrey Mooney |
Australia |
717,000$ |
|
3. |
Mikalai Vaskaboinikau |
Belarus |
490,000$ |
|
4. |
Kirill Shcherbakov |
Russia |
355,000$ |
|
5. |
Patrik Antonius |
Finland |
270,000$ |
|
6. |
Matthias Lipp |
Austria |
200,000$ |
|
7. |
Boris Kolev |
Bulgaria |
160,000$ |
|
8. |
Daniil Kiselev |
Russia |
124,000$ |
|
9. |
Jessica Teusl |
Austria |
100,000$ |
Sources: Onyx Club, PokerNews, YouTube, Flickr
