ShareRazvan Belea has taken down the 2023 EPT Paris Main Event for €1,170,000. The Romanian topped a 1,606-entry field in what was the sixth largest Main Event in EPT history. Belea took the lion’s share of the €7,708,800 prize pool after defeating Sweden's Peter Jorgne heads-up.
First EPT Main Event Title for Romania
Razvan Belea came into the final day’s play as the chip leader and was never headed by any of his four opponents as he took down the first ever EPT Main Event title for Romania. Dany Parlafes had previously finished runner-up in 2015 at Deauville when the tour last visited France.Although Belea only had around $112K in live tournament cashes, he has racked up $1.25 million on his PokerStars account alone, so he was definitely one of the favourites when the event got to the sharp end.
The climax wasn’t particularly interesting. Belea maintained a 2:1 chip lead all the way through the heads-up battle.
Jorgne would have been happy to hold top pair and a straight draw but unfortunately for the Swede his new draw completed a gutshot for Belea and it was all over. €780,100 for the runner-up would have taken the sting out of losing somewhat, we imagine.
Speaking to Joe Stapleton after his victory, Bela said: "That this is unreal, that it couldn't happen like this. I mean, yeah, it's all I ever dreamed of since I started to play poker. I was watching all the time EPTs, have played a couple, and now I am here, it is an unbelievable feeling, I don't know what to say ... I am a bit emotional, but anyways, I follow my dream from the beginning and I studied a lot of hours behind the computers. Everything is possible!"
Results 2023 EPT Paris €5,300 Main Event
| 1 | Razvan Belea | €1,170,000 |
| 2 | Peter Jorgne | €780,100 |
| 3 | Fabrice Bigot | €535,850 |
| 4 | Brian Delaney | €412,200 |
| 5 | Henri Kasper | €317,050 |
| 6 | Konstantin Held | €244,000 |
| 7 | Denzel Spekman | €187,650 |
| 8 | Johan Schultz-Pedersen | €144,300 |
| 9 | Mehdi Chaoui | €111,000 |
