The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Cyprus is the hottest ticket in poker right now, with the Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa playing host to some of the biggest names and most intense action in the game. And amid all the excitement, Spain’s Elias Gutierrez (cover image) pulled off an incredible victory, taking down the $25,000 Super High Roller Warm Up!
Gutierrez faced a stacked field of 57 contenders, but he navigated the tournament with incredible skill and determination. He played flawlessly, breaking a 14-year winning drought in the process! This victory earned him the PokerStars spadie trophy and a massive $417,570 payday—the biggest of his career!
The victory was even sweeter because it involved a dramatic comeback. Gutierrez entered heads-up play against Russia’s Alexander Zubov with a commanding chip lead, but Zubov steadily chipped away at it until he was in the lead. Then came a crucial 15-minute break, which allowed Gutierrez to regroup and refocus. Whatever he did during that break worked wonders because he came back with a vengeance, reclaiming the chip lead and ultimately defeating Zubov to secure the title, leaving him with $273,700 for his runner-up finish.
“It means a lot because I always feel the pressure of winning, especially creating content. So when the heads-up was not going my way I was feeling very intense,” Gutierrez shared after his victory. “The break was great for me. I could relax a bit and rethink what I was doing. And in the end, I end up winning, which is amazing so I’m very happy.”
Gutierrez has primarily been an online player throughout his career, with impressive accomplishments like winning a SCOOP title in 2021. While he has some live cashes dating back to 2010, the first-place prize from this event nearly equals all of his previous live winnings combined! This victory marks his first live tournament win in 14 years and his first ever on the EPT circuit.
“I would not say that this is validation. At the end of the day I’ve been playing poker for 14 years, 15 maybe, so it’s been a while. It’s true that I’ve been playing online most of the time, but particularly now, in the future, I see myself playing live poker mainly,” he said.
Gutierrez is not just a poker player; he’s also a popular content creator with a large online following. He brought a team of videographers to the tournament to document his journey, which he plans to share with his 200,000 YouTube subscribers and 120,000 Twitch followers. “It is my other passion to create content,” he said. “It means double when you win a tournament.” He’s excited to give his fans a behind-the-scenes look at his biggest victory yet.
The $25,000 Super High Roller Warm Up attracted a total field of 57 entries, generating a massive $1,368,570 prize pool. The tournament was packed with some big names, including Kayhan Mokri, Juan Pardo, Roman Hrabec, Patrick Leonard, and $20K NLHE champion Ognyan Dimov.
The single-day tournament was a nail-biter, with Gutierrez winning a crucial pot off Enrico Camosci to take the chip lead. Lewis Spencer, Artur Martirosian, and Ren Lin fell just short of the final table, as did Mikalai Vaskaboinikau in a heartbreaking fashion. Vaskaboinikau was second in chips at the final two tables until Adrian Mateos rivered a flush to crack his queens and double up. Artsiom Lasouski then doubled up with ace-jack, crippling Vaskaboinikau and leading to his elimination shortly after.
Camosci dominated there on, building a massive chip lead. After a tense bubble period, Aliaksei Boika was eliminated in ninth place, bursting the bubble and guaranteeing the remaining players a minimum payout of $54,700.
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Final Table Recap
The final table started with Zhendong Li hitting the rail in eighth place, his king-nine falling to Enrico Camosci’s king-queen.
Camosci continued his dominance by eliminating Aleksejs Ponakovs in seventh place, his king on the turn beating Ponakovs’ pair of queens.
Alexander Zubov then landed a crucial blow to Enrico Camosci, winning a coin flip with pocket nines against Camosci’s ace-jack to double up. This turned the tide of the tournament, and Camosci’s run ended soon after when his ace-queen couldn’t beat Gutierrez’s pocket nines in another crucial flip.
With Camosci out of the way, the remaining players jockeyed for position. Zubov survived an all-in against Gutierrez and doubled up again with a flopped pair of aces. Artsiom Lasouski, short on chips, was eliminated in fifth place when his jack-six couldn’t beat Dimitar Danchev’s king-seven, which improved to two pair.
Adrian Mateos, who had been quietly accumulating chips, found a golden opportunity with pocket tens. He used this powerful hand to eliminate Dimitar Danchev in fourth place and climb further up the leaderboard. However, his run ended in third place when his king-nine was outkicked by Gutierrez’s ace-nine.
The heads-up match between Gutierrez and Alexander Zubov was a rollercoaster. Gutierrez started with a massive 10:1 chip advantage, but Zubov quickly doubled up with a flopped pair of queens and continued to win most of the subsequent pots, steadily eroding Gutierrez’s lead. The momentum shifted dramatically, and Zubov took over the chip lead with 9.90 Million in chips to Gutierrez’s 4.30 Million. As they approached a 15-minute break, Gutierrez, feeling the pressure, admitted, “I need some fresh air.”
After the break, Gutierrez returned with renewed focus and immediately doubled up with ace-six against Zubov’s king-ten. He then regained the chip lead and never looked back. The final hand saw Zubov limp in with , and Gutierrez, holding , shoved all-in. Zubov called, but the board ran out , giving Gutierrez the win and ending an intense and captivating heads-up battle.
Final Table Results (USD)
- Elias Gutierrez – $417,570
- Alexander Zubov – $273,700
- Adrian Mateos – $198,400
- Dimitar Danchev – $150,500
- Artsiom Lasouski – $116,300
- Enrico Camosci – $89,000
- Aleksejs Ponakovs – $68,400
- Zhendong Li – $54,700
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Content & Images Courtesy: PokerNews
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