Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier"
The TWD 800,000 Superstar Challenge has been won by Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier after the Frenchman overcame a stellar lineup of 49 entries (38 unique) to win the TWD 11,632,810 (\~$367,770) top prize and take home the special edition black lion silhouette trophy. Grospellier battled back from a three-to-one chip disadvantage to beat Lester Edoc in a short but enthralling heads-up duel that saw the Filipino player bank TWD 8,402,000 (\~$265,630) for his runner-up finish.
This is Grospellier's third appearance at an APT event, with the Gallic grinder converting all three into final table appearances; eighth in the APT High Roller at the APT Summer Series Hanoi, sixth in the Superstar Challenge at APT Incheon. It seems that with every passing series, Grospellier betters his previous result, proven here after winning the biggest buy-in event on the schedule and claiming the largest-ever first prize ever awarded in a Taiwan-based poker tournament.
The prize pool ballooned to TWD 36,930,000 (~$1,167,615) – setting a record for the biggest ever in the Superstar Challenge's short history – almost doubling the previous high set at APT Incheon 2023.
Gregory "Greg Goes All In" Liow had a chance to speak to Grospellier after his momentous win.
"I've already won so many things in poker, so I kind of quit and retired. But the Lion Trophy is the thing I've been wanting" confided an ecstatic Grospellier.
"I really want it. I came close twice in Hanoi and Incheon and now finally winning it - I feel so great - it's the best thing ever!"
"I'm so thankful to everyone that always supports and cheers for me even though I'm far from the best player now. So many people, especially in Taipei and Asia, always give me such a warm welcome and I'm so happy to come here and be able to win."
Some of the biggest names in poker made their way to the Asia Poker Arena for the event, but none could have imagined the spectacle that arose. Players including #8 on the All-Time Money List Isaac Haxton, the 2022 WSOP Main Event Champion Espen Jorstad, previous Superstar Challenge winner Joshua McCully, and Steve O'Dwyer were just some of the poker elite in attendance.
As Day 1 neared its culmination, it was Edoc whose name stood out amongst the rest after eliminating McCully, Haxton, and Aidan Tam on his way to the chip lead. Nine players survived one of the toughest fields the tour has seen with the likes of Sweden's Mikael Andersson, the USA's Tony Lin, Natural8 Ambassador Danny Tang, Czech Republic's Roman Hrabec, and Hong Kong's Biao Ding all making it to the final table.
When Day 2 began, the initial objective was to make the money as only seven places were paid. After losing an early flip with ace-king against Grospellier's pocket queens, Tobias Schwecht was the first player to go home empty-handed, his ace-queen undone by the turned straight of Ding, who held ace-four.
The bubble was a tight affair with both Andersson and Lin having short stacks, but despite the former having just two big blinds, Lin decided to shove all in with pocket kings. Ding felt priced in to make the call with ace-ten and was rewarded with an ace-high flop which meant Lin was eliminated in one of the highest-value bubble spots the APT has seen — a TWD 1,939,000 (~$61,310) swing.
Tony Lin
Just two hands later, Andersson would be the first to collect his payout after his ace-four couldn't catch up against the ace-queen of Edoc. A great run for the Swedish player meant he picked up the first payout on offer of TWD 1,939,000 (~$61,310). Given the situation just a few hands prior, Andersson surely felt jubilant at the fact he scraped into the money when it looked likely he would be the one going home with empty pockets.
Tang will feel hard done by after he tangled with Hrabec in back-to-back pots which ultimately ended with the Hong Kong player's elimination. In the first of the two hands, Hrabec shoved all in with king-four and Tang made the call with ace-nine. The Natural8 Ambassador ended the hand with quads and secured a double-up to ease a bit of the ICM pressure being applied. The very next hand was a mirror image of the first as Hrabec shoved with king-four again, and Tang made the call with a dominating ace-king. However, it wasn't meant to be for Tang as he was left drawing dead after Hrabec drilled a flush on the turn. Another fantastic performance from Tang who took sixth for TWD 2,401,000 (~$75,915).
Austria's Klemens Roiter was next to hit the rail after he lost a flip against eventual champion Grospellier. The two were the shortest stacks at the time and got the chips in preflop with Roiter holding ace-ten and Grospellier pocket fives. A flopped set for the man that goes by "Elky" all but sealed the deal and sent Roiter out in fifth for TWD 3,139,000 (~$99,250).
Klemens Roiter
Hrabec was starting to pick up momentum and held almost half of the chips in play with four remaining. Edoc soon joined Hrabec at the top of the counts after the two slowly chipped away at the shorter stacks of Grospellier and Ding before the latter met his demise.
Ding was down just to five big blinds and called off the shove of Edoc with king-queen, with the Filipino player holding ace-eight. Edoc ended the hand with trip eights which was more than enough to eliminate Ding, busting the Chinese player in fourth for a payday of TWD 4,062,000 (~$128,435).
Edoc and Hrabec then went at each other's throats with chips going back and forth between the two player's stacks in a rollercoaster ride. Eventually, Hrabec shoved over the limp of Edoc with six-three suited, but fell into the Filipino player's trap who was holding pocket tens. A clean runout left Hrabec out in third and he banked TWD 5,355,000 (~$169,300) for his run.
Roman Hrabec
When heads-up play began, Edoc held an over three-to-one chip advantage and looked to make quick work of Grospellier to clinch the title. However, the former Starcraft player had other ideas.
The first double-up came when Edoc shoved king-five, and Grospellier made the call holding queen-jack. A queen on the flop earned Grospellier the pot and kept him in contention to win his first APT title. A few hands later, Edoc shoved all in with jack-seven and ran straight into the pocket tens of Grospellier. A clean runout for the pocket tens of "Elky" meant Edoc now only held a two-to-one chip advantage and suddenly Grospellier was booming with confidence.
Moments later, Grospellier took the chip lead for the first time in the tournament after his pocket queens held up against the pocket sevens of Edoc. The very next hand, the two players had all the chips in the middle once again with Grospellier looking to secure the trophy.
The winning moment for Grospellier
Edoc's ace-king was in a dominating position against the ace-jack of Grospellier, but a jack on the flop switched things around and left the Frenchman on the brink of victory. The Filipino phenom never received any help or the turn or river which meant he was out in second, and Grospellier was the Superstar Challenge champion.
Congratulations to Grospellier on his first APT title!
Lester Edoc