Zauner still a league apart

The ParadisePoker Tour League is in need of an update after our trip to Vienna in March/April, though even another €125,000 Main Event has failed to dislodge Andreas Zauner from the table summit.

The Austrian - who won the first event in his native country in the autumn of 2011 - remains 11 points ahead of Barcelona winner Santiago Soriano Ramos and Prague's champion Nat Jarmonthavat.

All three defeat bigger fields than our most recent victor Pavlos Xanthopoulos, but with the tour regular set to play the final event on home soil, would you bet against another strong showing that would see him snatch the top prize?

A final table appearance for many of our top competitors could still wrestle the lead from our most stubborn leader in ParadisePoker Tour League history, so it's all to play for in Thessaloniki.

Here's the standings in full:

ParadisePoker Tour Vienna Results (click to enlarge)

League Standings (click to enlarge)

Party pics!

A little late, we're willing to admit (that's better than never so they say) but the pictures from our party night in Vienna have finally arrived!

The Saturday night fun fest was held on the night of March 31st at ‘Club Nautique’ on the Danube river and as well as the intriguing setting, the free bar helped lift the mood of players eliminated from the Main Event.

Here's our slideshow of the best shots...



Viewing on your mobile phone? Click to see the ParadisePoker Tour party pics.

Fantasy Poker Vienna - Official Results

The penultimate chapter of Season 3 saw nearly 200 entrants battling it out for Fantasy Poker glory with Luka Lesic, Toni Englund and Maly Vitezslav propelling many a team into the points - but Main Event winner Pavlos Xanthoplous proved the key.

Despite more than 20 teams bringing all three players into Day 2, not one managed to squeeze a pair of picks into those crucial money places so it was the six teams with Pavlos on board that shared the victory.


Όνομα ομάδας, team justmenow, Quads, nixokoftes, kopečkovi and ROG ACADEMY were all right to add the Greek to their line-up but as Fantasy Poker rules dictate - only one can win the €1300 prize package to Thessaloniki!

That means we'll have a six-player playoff on ParadisePoker to see who wins the grand prize in May/June. We'll be in touch with our winning entrants next week.

Here's the official top 10 from Vienna:

Click to enlarge standings

UPDATE - The Fantasy Poker final will be played on April 18th at 20.00 CEST. Good luck to the six players involved! We'll announce the winner on the blog when he/she is confirmed.

Pavlos in pics

Congratulations again to Pavlos Xanthopolous on winning the ParadisePoker Tour Main Event in Vienna. Our photographer was on hand to snap the aftermath of his victory, so here's our slideshow of the best shots.



On your mobile? Check out our ParadisePoker Tour Vienna pictures via this link.

A word with the champ...

We promised you a transcript of our interview with ParadisePoker Tour winner Pavlos Xanthopolous and here it is, complete with comments on his brother, the hand that made him believe and his plans for the next event in Greece!

How does it feel to have won the ParadisePoker Tour Main Event in Vienna?

It feel s great to have won this tournament, especially as I’m a regular on the ParadisePoker Tour. I made a deal in one side event before but today was my day to win the Main Event – and I’m delighted! I’ve been hunting it for a long time.

Your brother Christos won the Main Event in 2010, are you two competitive when it comes to poker?

Christos never really boasted about winning the London event, but we are a bit competitive with each other sometimes. In the side event earlier in the week, I knocked him out so it’s a perfect weekend!

Coming out of Day 1 you had just short of 90,000 chips so you were a big stack. What do you remember of the tournament?

Things started slowly but then I never had to get all-in. I won lots of small pots and barely had to showdown a hand. I just kept on increasing my stack without having to risk my tournament life or double up.

By the end of Day 2 you were the chip leader, so things must have gone really well for you?

Again I didn’t have to take too many risks; I was only all-in once with KK against 88. I won around 30 big blinds in that pot but there wasn’t really any other standout pot I can remember. It was similar to Day 1 in that. I was actually on the same table as Pavel Chalupka on Day 2 and we had a few clashes. I had taken a lot of chips off him in a blind battle and we had a little rivalry long before we met heads-up.

So how did you feel the final table went? There was a spell where all the short stacks kept getting lucky and you lost a few pots when you were a big favourite.

There were a few but the worst was probably the blind battle with Billy Ngo, who shoved with 88 and I called with 99. He caught an 8 to win a really big pot and I was getting annoyed at that point.

Did you feel like the luck had turned against you at that point?

It did feel like that at one point but I didn’t let it get on top of me. These things happen but maybe I was just involved more because I had a lot of chips.

After that time you finally had a hand hold up, QQ vs AJ and you shouted across the room in celebration. You never really looked back from there.

I won that hand and then raised with 99 and Vincent Gomez went all-in with A6. I called and won again and that was probably the turning point for me. That was the hand where I really believed I was going to win because I was buzzing after that pot. I had a second wind and upped my game.

Next up is the Greek event in Thessaloniki, which seems fitting. We assume both you and your brother will be there?!

That’s for sure! We’re really looking forward to that one in our own country so we’ll be playing both that and the Greek Poker Tour this summer.

Xanthopolous the name on the trophy... again!

The Xanthopolous brothers celebrate together

Pavlos Xanthopolous made it a family double on the ParadisePoker Tour by wrapping up the victory he so craved to match his brother's achievement from 2010.

Younger sibling Christos had taken down the London event in Season 2, but Pavlos can lay claim to an equal share of the bragging rights once more after putting on a strong showing at the final table here in Vienna.

He tops up the €31,070 he claimed in the deal with a further €1,000 and of course the ParadisePoker Tour trophy for the family cabinet!

The final hand came after an hour of sparring, during which Pavel Chalupka doubled up with a flush vs the two pair of Xanthopolous but gradually leaked the chips back to his Greek rival in a series of small pots.

In the end a pre-flop shove from the champion-to-be found him behind, with K♣6♠ against Pavel's A♦10♠. The flop looked to favour his Slovakian opponent, falling A♣K♠7♠ - but the 6♣ on the turn ended the heads-up match.

The PP blog caught up with our latest champion in the aftermath of his victory and we also got a host of great photos too, so check back tomorrow for both added instalments.

We'll also have a Main Event recap and official Fantasy Poker results for you in the coming week.

Pavlos in control after eliminating Daranyi

Pictured earlier, Pavlos holds a 4.5-1 chip lead

Pavlos Xanthopolous is closing in on his brother's footsteps as his stack has risen to 4,300,000 after eliminating Tamas Daranyi.

The Hungarian has returned from a break with the shortest stack and quickly shipped it when next he was on the button. Xanthopolous looked down at KK and made the simple call.

There was no drama in the hand, with not so much as a draw to trouble the Greek. He goes heads-up with comeback kid Pavel Chalupka (1,180,000), though not without a quick deal discussion.

Earlier Pavlos had seized the initiative with a number of good-sized pots, first betting all three streets before shoving the river vs Chalupka and then drawing to a straight to cripple Daranyi.

Daranyi meanwhile takes €13,020 for third place.

UPDATE - A deal has been struck in which Pavlos will take €31,070 and Pavel €21,960. They will play for the remaining €1,000 and the ParadisePoker Tour title.

Ngo go for Billy

Ngo won €10,410 for 4th

The big stacks haven't been able to dispose of Pavel Chalupka but Billy Ngo has proved a different matter, with the Edinburgh-based player going out in 4th.

Ngo had raised it up holding A♠10♠ but with Pavlos Xanthopolous picking up J♠J♦ the inevitable followed.

There was no help for Billy, as the river even made Pavlos a full house and sent the Brit home with €10,410.

That Chalupka hasn't beaten him to the rail is something of a poker miracle, given he was down to less than a big blind earlier and has been all-in and called on countless occasions.

Shortly before Ngo's departure, he was at risk again with A3 vs the A9 of Xanthopolous and somehow caught a 3 on the turn to keep his chances alive.

Another deal was discussed once we were down to three players but the Greek refused to budge on his demands and play has since resumed.

Prize Pool Reminder: 1st €34,510, 2nd €19,520, 3rd €13,020.

Gomez next to fall

The spate of underdog victories seems to be drawing to a close and the next victim of Day 3 is Vincent Gomez, who was eliminated by Pavlos Xanthopolous.

The Greek's 99 held up against the A♦6♦ of his shorter stacked opponent and sent Gomez home with €8,460 for 5th.

The flow of all-ins has not been stemmed now and it is little surprise with the blinds now at 25,000/50,000, which make the average stack around 27 big blinds.

Expect more action!

Final five: chip count

Here's a quick breakdown of our final five stack up...

Tamas Daranyi - 1,830,000
Pavlos Xanthopolous - 1,720,000
Billy Ngo -780,000
Vincent Gomez - 785,000
Pavel Chalupka - 485,000

Heinz H. breaks the spell, exits in 6th

The madness is over and with it, the tournament life of Heinz H. as the mysterious character bows out in 6th for a €7,160 payday.

With the blinds still applying the pressure, it was little surprise he was happy to get it in with A♠J♥ but found Pavlos Xanthopolous waiting with QQ. The 10-high board had no help for him and means we're down to 5.

The exit sparked a deal discussion here in the Concord Card Casino, which remains ongoing. We'll update you on our players' decision soon enough.

UPDATE - The deal talks have stalled and the remaining five have decided to continue playing for now.

Prize Pool Reminder: 1st €34,510, 2nd €19,520, 3rd €13,020, 4th €10,410, 5th €8,460.

Short stacks won't be beat

Chalupka (right) is mounting an improbable comeback

The killer touch has been lacking in the last few hands as the short stacks have battled back into contention with a series of double ups.

First was Heinz H. with Q8 vs the rag Aces of Billy Ngo, only for the river to save his tournament life by delivering a Queen.

Shortly afterwards it was the turn of Pavel Chalupka to get the revival treatment, his pre-flop all-in with JJ generously called by the big stack of Tamas Daranyi with K♠10♠.

Pavlos Xanthopolous was on both ends of the race fest, first doubling Ngo when the pair had got it in via a blind battle. Billy showed 88 and was dismayed to find himself up again 99, but spiked the 8 he needed on the turn.

Pavlos then got back in the game with A♦7♦ hitting an Ace versus the 9s of Chalupka, who then miraculously flopped a straight after going all-in blind against Vincent Gomez.

Update - He had just half a big blind in that hand and having won two more since, including a win with J10 vs the AJ of Xanthopolous, Pavel is now back on 500,000 chips! Incredible stuff.

Tamas on top

Daranyi leads the way

Tamas Daranyi leads the final table as we return from a brief break but as we type, Pavlos Xanthopolous has taken down a big pot to rise above the million chip mark.

The Greek chipped up at the expense of Heinz H. after the pair went to the flop in a raised pot. It came Q♦7♦3♣ and both players seemed eager to get their chips into the centre.

When the cards were turned face up, it was clear why as Heinz had flopped top pair with K♠Q♣ and Pavlos had Aces. They held up on the turn and river and took Heinz down to around 300,000 chips.

Here's the latest (rough) chip count:

Tamas Daranyi - 1,800,000
Pavlos Xanthopolous - 1,200,000
Billy Ngo - 850,000
Vincent Gomez - 600,000
Mario Karman - 380,000
Heinz H. - 300,000
Pavel Chalupka - 225,000

UPDATE - As we typed up this piece, Mario Karman made his exit as he lost to the AJ of Daranyi. He wins €5,860 for 7th, while Tamas now has over 2,000,000 chips.

Fally's day comes to an end in 8th

Seven players left now at the final table after Peter Fally followed Vitezslav Maly out of the exit door in Vienna.

He had long been one of the short stacks and after shipping his chips on numerous occasions without getting a call, but when it eventually came, Billy Gno's KK had him in bad shape.

There was little to add some hope on the Q-10-3 flop, but the turn Jack caused the table a little concern. They need not have worried, however, as the river was a blank 5 that sent Fally out in 8th. He wins €4,560.

Prize Pool Reminder: 1st €34,510, 2nd €19,520, 3rd €13,020, 4th €10,410, 5th €8,460, 6th €7,160, 7th €5,860.

Ladies' love is not enough

After his stack was shot down that short time ago, it will come as little surprise that Vitezslav Maly has exited in 9th, though in the end he was unlucky to do so with QQ.

He was looking for just the spot to ship his chips into the centre, so he must have felt Lady Luck was on his side when she sent two of her sisters to his rescue. Maly came over the top of Pavlos Xanthopolous' pre-flop raise and was also called by Tamas Daranyi.

As is the etiquette, both players checked it down until the river, when Daranyi led out with the board reading A♠5♣9♥-9♣-6♣. His girlfriend as on hand to console him, at least, and the €3250 prize might help ease the pain too!

Bullet holes in Maly's stack

Vitezslav Maly took a big blow to his title chances - and with them the Fantasy Poker hopes of team Trinec - when he ran into Aces just a short time ago.

He had called the pre-flop raise of Tamas Daranyi and when the dealer delivered a low 4♥2♣3♥ flop, the money magnetised towards the centre.

Daranyi's Aces made a straight on the turn to seal the deal and leave Vitezslav's stack with a big dent in it.

Final table pics

Nine players fight on in the Concord Card Casino after Mario Karman survived a scare, much to the discontent for the table! He looked certain to be next out of the tournament when his short stack was called holding J♥Q♥ vs the J♠J♦ of Billy Ngo.

The flop brought him the first ray of hope, falling 10♦9♥3♣ and though the 6♣ on the turn changed nothing, the crucial river 8♥ ensured Mario made the straight he needed to survive.

Our photographer has been capturing much of the manoeuvring that has happened either side of that hand, so thumb through some of his pics... Enjoy!



On your mobile? Check out our ParadisePoker Tour Vienna pictures via this link.

Junghuber first to fall

And then there were nine... Philip Junghuber took 10th place after his AQ failed to connect against the KK of Tamas Daranyi.

There was little complicated about the hand, with Daryani raising pre-flop and his rival coming over the top all-in.

It played itself therein and having made the call, a King on the flop all but ended the contest and Junghuber left to collect the final €1,820 cheque.

Prize Pool Reminder: 1st €34,510, 2nd €19,520, 3rd €13,020, 4th €10,410, 5th €8,460, 6th €7,160, 7th €5,860, 8th €4,560, 9th €3,250.

Final table chip count

Smile for the camera! The final 10 pic

The final 10 have arrived back at the table and after a few snaps, they're settling back into their rhythm as we chase a ParadisePoker Tour champion.

Top of the pile as we restart is Billy Ngo, who boasts 1.1m chips after winning a sequence of big pots today, and his nearest competitors look to be Vincent Gomez and Heinz H.

The shortest stack is now Peter Fally and he is already making moves in the early hands. Here's the rough count:

Final Table Chip Count
1. Billy Ngo - 1,100,000
2. Vincent Gomez - 780,000
3. Heinz H. - 720,000
4. Maly Vitezslav - 526,000
5. Pavel Chalupka - 500,000
6. Tamas Daranyi - 480,000
7. Pavlos Xanthopolous - 450,000
8. Philip Junghuber - 436,000
9. Mario Karman - 340,000
10. Peter Fally - 230,000

Speaking too soon... the blog curse

Just as we triumphed his dramatic comeback, so followed his departure and Bernhard Haider is our 11th place finisher.

He will take home an €1,820 consolation prize after running into the fast rising stack of Billy Ngo, as his pocket deuces couldn't find help vs the 88 of his eliminator.

His pre-flop shove had given Ngo plenty of pause for thought, but he eventually came up with the call and the board ran 6♦-5♦4♣-10♦-3♦ to make him a flush.

We're on a short break now and the final table will resume shortly!

River rides to Haider's rescue

The final was looming large just a short time ago but having been crippled to a stack of just 34,000 chips, Bernhard Haider has recovered to around 200,000.

He had lost the majority of his chips in a blind battle with Billy Ngo, shoving in the small blind with KJ and earning a call from his rival, who announced he could not fold AJ in that spot.

Two hands later and Haider was inevitably all-in for the rest of his stack and with two callers in Vincent Gomez and Vitezslav Maly, the room braced for final table to be announced.

It was not to be, however, as this time his KJ caught a river Jack to outdo both rivals and triple his stack to around 100,000 chips.

It got better still a few moments later, as Gomez raised his blind and Haider made the call with A4 off-suit. Vincent showed Jacks and looked in control when the board ran 844-8, but a river Ace put Haider back in contention.

He remains the short stack but another double up and he could be close to the average stack! Great time for a heater.

Thomas & Toni to the rail

Having suffered the early blow, Thomas Taubenschuss was the first player to depart on Day 3 of the Main Event and he was swiftly followed by short stack Toni Englund.

Maly Vetzslav was first to play executioner and the Czech is now threatening to seal Fantasy Poker glory for team Trinec, while Englund supporters know their hopes are now over.

Vetzslav had initially limped and seen Bernhard Haider consider a raise. While he did so, Taubenschuss shipped out of turn but when the correct order was restored, both players stuck to their original line.

That left Maly facing a raise and three-bet but he made the call and after some thought, Haider stepped out of the firing line. It proved a wise decision as his A10 was crushed by the AJ of Taubenschuss and AQ of Vetzslav and the latter held up to send Thomas out in 13th.

Englund soon followed when he eventually shoved his last 70,000 with KJ and was called by A7, which again held to send another player to the cash desk.

Taubenschuss wins €1,560 and Englund reaches the next bracket, taking home €1,820.

Prize Pool Reminder: 1st €34,510, 2nd €19,520, 3rd €13,020, 4th €10,410, 5th €8,460, 6th €7,160, 7th €5,860, 8th €4,560, 9th €3,250, 10-12th €1,820, 13-15th €1,560.

Billy strikes first blow

Ngo doubled up to around 400,000

Not much movement in the first hour of play so far, but the biggest mover is Billy Ngo after he doubled his stack at the expense of Thomas Taubenschuss.

The duo got the money in under predictable pre-flop circumstances, with Ngo spiking the Ace he needed to make his big slick a winner vs the 10s of his rival.

On the other table, the big stacks have been at war and Heinz H. has edged the contest so far, beating Pavlos Xanthopolous to at least two pots to take over the chip lead.

Xanthopolous first lost out with A3 vs pocket 6s when both players made a full house on an 88x-8-3 board, then suffered further damage.

After raising from the button, Pavlos saw Heinz lead out into him on a 2♠6♠Q♣ board and opted to min raise to around 200,000. His opponent called and then bet another 100,000 on the 10♥ turn.

After a spell in the tank, the Greek mucked his cards and left Heinz looking in charge at table 36.

Main Event Day 3: shuffle up and deal

The stacks are in place, cards shuffled and the first deal is now under way in the Concord Card Casino here in Vienna.

We'll be crowning our latest ParadisePoker Tour champion tonight, so stick with us to the end!

Trio hold the key to Fantasy Poker hopes

Three players from the Fantasy Poker players list remain and with no team managing to get more than one into the money places, the hopes of 10 teams rest on a star performing trio.

Six sides can lay claim to chip leader Pavlos Xanthopolous, including ROG ACADEMY, Όνομα ομάδας, team justmenow, Quads, nixokoftes and kopečkovi. That means that should the big stack outdo his remaining FP rivals, those teams will face a playoff for the €1300 package to Greece.

Backing short stack Toni Englund are BPU, fekete61 and Immortals but they must pray for a miracle given he has just 128,000 chips to work with now.

The only team that looks capable of winning outright tonight is Trinec, having been the only side to name Maly Vitezslav in its line-up. Much rests on the performance of the Czech today then!

Here's the teams still in contention:

Click to enlarge

Final 13: Day 3 Chip Count

As suggested last night, Pavlos Xanthopolous will be the man to beat when play restarts in the Concord Card Casino after that final hand edged him in front of Heinz H.

The pair are around 200,000 chips clear of the next batch of competitors, which is headed by Vincent Gomez, but it is a congested middle with the likes of Maly Vitezslav and Mario Karman separated by less than a big blind.

The short stack when we return will be online qualifier Toni Englund, whose performance could yet have Fantasy Poker implications. FP update coming soon!

#	Name	Chipcount
1	PAVLOS XANTHOPOULOS	784,000
2	HEINZ H.	722,000
3	VINCENT GOMEZ	565,000
4	PAVEL CHALUPKA	548,000
5	THOMAS TAUBENSCHUSS	444,000
6	MARIO KARMAN	442,000
7	MALY VITEZSLAV	441,000
8	BERNHARD HAIDER	420,000
9	PHILIP JUNGHUBER	317,000
10	PETER FALLY	284,000
11	TAMAS DARANYI	245,000
12	BILLY NGO	219,000
13	TONI ENGLUND	128,000

Crazy last hand!

Just when you think it's safe to publish your final post, two players go all-in on the final day and BOTH are eliminated.

That means it will be a lucky 13 coming back for Day 3, as Mario Zelsko and Luka Lesic ended their quest with a last gasp effort.

Zelsko was first to go, running his 88 into the KK of Pavlos Xanthopolous, who looks to have extended his chip lead. It was a miraculous story nonetheless for the Croat, as he had returned to Day 2 as the third shortest stack in the room!

Seconds later the other table also had a player at risk and despite being in front with A10, Lesic's hand could not hold up vs the 8♥7♥ held by his rival. The flop came 8♠K♠4♦ and there was no help for the doomed Luka.

Play is officially over now and we're bound for Club Nautica, where the fun has been flowing freely for a number of hours now. Time to party - and we mean it this time!

Calling time on Day 2

Maly had around half a million chips

The final table will not be decided until Day 3 of the ParadisePoker Tour Vienna Main Event, as 15 players will return with their heart set on the €34,510 top prize.

At the last check a few minutes before played ended, the big stacks in the room included the 700,000 tower of Pavlos Xanthopolous, 700,000 under the control of Heinz H and 600,000 behind Vincent Gomez.

Maly Vitezslav had approximately 500,000 chips and Mario Karman was hovering around the 400,000 mark.

Meanwhile, the Concord Card Casino's departed now include Mircea Olaru and Kostas Sokratous, who both won €1300 for 17th and 16th places respectively.

We'll have an official chip count for you tomorrow as play gets under way at 3pm local time (2pm BST) and by the end of the day, we'll have another champion!

Be sure to join us as we follow the action and keep track of your Fantasy Poker team at the same time.

Until tomorrow then... we're off to party! 

Vitezslav builds another tower

Tour regular Jamroz finished in 18th place

Maly Vitezslav continues to grow his stack as we move into the final hour of play, turning down the aggression yet still raking in a pot for some 330,000 chips vs two opponents.

A pre-flop raise had come from early position but both blinds opted to call, including Maly in the small blind, before the flop was delivered 3♠Q♠K♦.

The pre-flop aggressor c-bet after it was checked to him but again both men committed the chips and the dealer flipped the K♥ on the turn. All three players checked to see the river for free.

It came a harmless looking 6♦ and after Vitezslav opted to check once more, the big blind fired out for 55,000 and after considerable thought, the pre-flop raiser matched the bet.

He was unhappy to see Maly also commit the chips into the middle, showing AA with some disgust as his rival showed K10 for the winning hand. The big blind mucked.

In the meantime, Kamil Jamroz became the latest player out of the Main Event in 18th and the Pole wins €1,300 for his two day's of play.

Prize Pool Reminder: 1st €34,510, 2nd €19,520, 3rd €13,020, 4th €10,410, 5th €8,460, 6th €7,160, 7th €5,860, 8th €4,560, 9th €3,250, 10-12th €1,820, 13-15th €1,560, 16-18th €1,300.