Richard Toth wins the second EPM title, following in the footsteps of London winner Gus Hansen

‘The fact that Gus Hansen won the first tournament of the European Poker Masters and I won the second is just amazing. I can’t even describe it’.

Richard Toth – Austrian Classics EPM winner

The picturesque city of Vienna provided the backdrop for this year’s Austrian Classics, where Absolute Poker along with the Concord Card Casino hosted the second stop on the inaugural season of the European Poker Masters.

The Austrian Classics is one of the most prestigious and well established tournaments on the European Poker circuit, where players from all across the globe descended on the capital. The international field included players from America, England, Russia, Hungary, France as well as from the land down under - Australia.

The opening day saw some big European casualties including defending champion and well known Austrian poker pro Sigi Stockinger. After a gruelling 14 hours of play the field was whittled down to the final 8. The line up included a Dutchman, a Russian, two Hungarians, two Austrians, an Englishman and a Lithuanian. 

The final table began under a cloud of tension as players folded to any raise, with the first flop not seen until hand 13.

Richard Toth could not put a foot wrong throughout the tournament. He sat down at the final table in 3^rd place and had his eyes set firmly on becoming the chip leader. His aggressive style set the pace as he attempted to dominate the table from the go.

The short stack coming to the table, Nick Slade, was unsurprisingly the first to go when his pocket Jacks were busted by Kalo’s pocket 7s as he managed to hit trips on the flop.  

With both big money and only the second ever EPM title up for grabs, play on the final table remained tight.  The Russian Sergey Rybachenko was the 7^th out with Peter Karall not far behind going out at hand 53 - his suited Ace/Nine, being cracked by Orlov’s suited Ace/Jack as Orlov made trip jacks on the flop!    

It took a while for people to start finding hands, and unfortunately for Dieter Wagenknecht he found a hand at precisely the wrong time.  He pushed all-in with King/Queen but got called with Toth when he looked down to find pocket Kings.  The Kings held up and it was bath time for Wagenknecht.

Hand 85 was unlucky for Rein Zijda, he thought he’d died and gone to poker heaven when short-stacked he found pocket Kings.  Unfortunately he ran straight into Toth who had Ace/Queen and it was Toth who came out smiling hitting an Ace on the flop, to see off Zijda in 4^th.

With three players remaining after hand 91, Grigorij Orlov found himself looking down at a single Ace under the gun. After a few moments of quiet reflection, the Lithuanian shoved his dwindling short stack across the line. To his left was current chip leader Richard Toth, who sat in the small blind with Queen/Jack offsuit. After calmly counting out his chips he announced “call”. The big blind was folded and the cards were turned over for a showdown.   

Heart monitors immediately revealed the players’ rapidly rising heart rates which soared to over 140 beats per minute. Both players stood up, eyes focused on the table, Orlov pacing from side to side, his tournament on the line. The flop was dealt and a sudden roar echoed through the casino as the Lithuanian punched his fists in the air as a rainbow 5 Ace Queen were turned over, his face ecstatic as he confidently sat back down in his seat, his hands poised to gather the winnings. However there is no such thing as a certainty in poker. The turn came a Jack and the River a second Queen giving Toth a Full House and his opponent a horrific bad beat story as he went home in third place. 

If Denes Kalo looked a little tired or unanimated in his heads up match against Toth it was not surprising.  After competing for 14 solid hours on the first day of play the 30 year old left the Concord Card Casino at 4.30am to make the 2 hour drive to Budapest in order to put a few hours in at the office.  After fulfilling his work compliments the young Hungarian drove back to Vienna to take part in his first ever televised final table.  So by the time he sat down at the final table he hadn’t slept for over 32 hours!

Perhaps it was this exhaustion that gave his fellow countryman Richard Toth the edge in the heads-up battle.  Or perhaps it was the fact that Toth is no stranger to high pressure games having finished second in the 2 day No-Limit Hold’em Event at the World Series of Poker this year.      

Toth began the heads up match a commanding chip leader and it only took a total of 27 hands before young Richard Toth was crowned the new Austrian Classics Champion. His aggressive style and flawless poker impressed a host of fellow poker professionals who have now touted him as a one to watch for the future. Toth’s pocket 4s held up against Kalo’s Ace nine.

James Hopkins, EPM Tour Creator and Head of Programming at All In Sport (Sky Guide 444) said: “The addition of the Austrian Classics to the European Poker Masters schedule of events proved to be a huge success, confirming once again that the European Poker Masters is now firmly established in the global poker calendar. We expect an even bigger field for the EPM Paris Hold’em Trophy on October 21^st & 22^nd at the Aviation Club de France”.  

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AbsolutePoker.com

'Austrian Classics 2006'

3-4th October 2006

€3,000 NLHE Event