PHOTO: Pietro Nicastro Triumphs in the Italian Poker Challenge Main Event at Campione

The PokerStars Live festival, the Italian Poker Challenge (IPC), returned to Campione Casino after its summer debut, offering players a packed schedule of 17 tournaments. The Main Event took center stage with a 770€ buy-in and a guaranteed prizepool of 700,000€. Also on the slate were the High Roller (1,650€ buy-in), Mystery Bounty Challenge (440€, 100k GTD), and the Assopoker Cup (330€, 100k GTD).

The Main Event attracted 927 entries, which just missed the set guarantee. A total of 135 players made it to the payout spots, and on Monday, November 10th, the top 18 battled for the largest prizes. Leading them into the final day was local contender Sebastiano Bagatin.

The final table had an all-Italian lineup, featuring notable names from the domestic scene. Among the eight finalists were Davide Suriano, the 2014 WSOP Heads-Up champion, and Luigi Shehadeh, the 2019 EPT National winner.

After a few hours of play, with Ruggero Magri's exit in 4th place, the last three players entered deal discussions. At that point, Davide Suriano held a significant lead (approximately 15 million vs. 6 million for his opponents), securing the largest share – 99,735€. Pietro Nicastro locked in 79,510€ and Stefano Ji took 73,555€.

The trophy and title were still on the table, so the tournament continued. Shortly thereafter, Stefano Ji was eliminated in 3rd place, and Nicastro managed to turn the tables in heads-up play to claim victory. Pietro Nicastro emerged as the champion of the November IPC in Campione, collecting 79,510€ in addition to the trophy. Although Davide Suriano officially finished 2nd, he walked away with the largest prize – the aforementioned 99,735€.

Final Table Results:

Finally, here's a photo gallery from the event:

Sources – PSlive, Flickr