Big Slick Poker

The EPT German Open concluded recently in Dortmund, Germany. A record size field of 667 showed up to participate in this year’s event which shattered last year’s then-record of 411 players. In that event, 18 year old Canadian Mike McDonald took first place for €933,600. This year, when McDonald climbed to the chip lead with 150 players left, all eyes were on him to see if he could become a two-time teenage millionaire.

Sandra Naujoks had other plans for McDonald. The 26 year old economics student who is relatively new to the game became just the second woman to win an EPT event. Vicky Coren won the EPT London event in season three. Naujoks captured €917,000 along with the first place trophy. The reason McDonald’s score in a field of 411 was larger than Naujoks in a field of 667 is that last year’s buy-in was €7,700 while this year’s was just €5,000.

For McDonald, his dreams of becoming a back-to-back EPT champion were cut short in fifth place. That impressive showing allowed him to head back to Canada with another €197,000 earned on German soil.

Holger Kanisch and Marc Gork made it a clean sweep for the Germans in the top three. They earned €533,000 and €307,000, respectively. Swedish pro Johan Storakers was fourth for €237,000.

The EPT rolls on to Italy next for the San Remo tournament on April 18th. American sensation Jason Mercier will see if he can follow in McDonald’s footsteps and make a strong run at defending his title.

The European Poker Tour (EPT) is coming back to Germany. Dortmund will host the €5,300 buy-in event from March 10th through the 14th. Last year, Mike “timex” McDonald triumphed over a field of 411 players to win the €933,000 first place prize. McDonald’s win sent a message to the poker world that youth is most certainly not a handicap; he was just 18 at the time of his big win.

It is likely that this year’s field size will increase notably. Firstly, EPT field sizes have been steadily increasing in general. Additionally, poker has been growing in Germany more rapidly than most other parts of the world, so there could be a sizable turnout for this one.

Players to Watch

Johannes Strassmann

Strassmann finished 6th in this event last year (€152,000) and should be hungry to continue his streak of fantastic success on the EPT in his home country. Presumably many Germans feel the way Strassmann does about this event. As he told Poker Tips in an interview, “It was surely of great importance to do so well in my home country.”

Moritz Kranich

Moritz was a fairly unknown player until a few weeks ago when he won the EPT Dauville (France) event for €851,000. Now that he is no longer a stranger to the poker world, this young German could be antsy to join the likes of Strassmann and Sebastian Ruthenberg among his country’s best tournament players.

Peter Eastgate

The reigning world champion of poker is showing that his win in Vegas last November was no fluke. He has already won a $5k second-chance event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas this year. Just yesterday he received double honors at the Scandinavian Poker Awards for “Rookie of the Year” and “Best Performance of the Year”. There is perhaps no one in the world with greater confidence in their game than Peter Eastgate right now.

Dario Minieri

Relentlessly aggressive, this young Italian has had a quiet 2009 so far. If his success in 2008 says anything (a WSOP bracelet, and two 3rd place finishes on the EPT), it’s just a matter of time before he pops off something big.

EPT German Open Info

Players and fans alike can catch all the EPT German Open action in Dortmund at Casino Hohensyburg. Satellites priced at €300 kick-off on March 8th with the Main Event starting March 10th. There will also be a €2,000 buy-in second-chance tournament that starts on March 13th which is the day the Main Event will play down to a final table of eight players.