Four days ago we started with 480 players and at a little after 3.30 am local time we have finally reduced that number to just one.
Alain Roy is the last man standing, taking home the title and the money in the first annual Partouche Poker Tour Main Event. Some of the days' play were long, some were extremely long but that all is a direct consequence of the the deep stack and great structure on offer.
As with any tournament in its first year there were teething problems along the way but we expect to be back next year to witness and even bigger, better and more successful event.
We appreciate you following our coverage and hope to see you back again next year from the sunny south of France. Until then good night from The Palm Beach Casino, Cannes.
It only took three hands of heads-up play to find our champion and the honor goes to Frenchman Alain Roy.
Claudio Rinaldi was sitting on the button and moved all-in and received an instant call from Roy as soon as he peeked at his cards.
Rinaldi tabled but he soon saw he was in deep trouble to Roy's .
The board came to confirm all 9.5 million chips and over $1.4 million were heading Roy's way as the winner of the inaugural Partouche Poker Tour Main Event, Cannes.
A special mention must go to our valiant runner up Claudio Rinaldi who put in a fine performance to finish second, collecting $729,158 for his troubles.
Antonin Tesseire was first to act and open shoved all-in for over 500,000. Firstly Alain Roy made the call from the small blind, quickly followed by Claudio Rinaldi in the big blind.
No cards were revealed as there was potential for a side pot. The flop came and both players checked before the turn came . Both players checked once more so we saw the river .
Roy revealed which was good for the pot as both other players mucked. That means we're down to heads-up play as Tesseire is our third-place finisher.
Earlier we reported that Antonin Tesseire had to replace his chair because the one he was sitting in broke. A couple of hours later he managed to break another...
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we've just witnessed a third chair experience the wrath of Tesseire. The good news is, there are a few extra chairs scattered about the final table stage now that we're down to three players, so replacement chairs are not hard to come by. The bad news is, he's delivering all of the broken chairs to an area near our desk and we're slowly but surely running out of elbow room!
Under the gun, Stephane Bazin moved all in for a cool 1,000,000 chips. The next two players folded, but Alain Roy looked down at and made the call, having his opponent well covered. Bazin tabled and was racing for his tournament life.
Board:
The ace on the river spells the end for Stephane Bazin, who will take home $321,709 for his fine efforts this weekend. Bazin ran into some terrible luck here at the final table, getting outdrawn on numerous occasions. Each time, he handled the situation with class and dignity, congratulating his opponent and putting his game face back on. This time, he has no chips left to play with, but picking up the check from the cashier's desk should provide some consolation.
With Bazin's elimination, we are down to just three players.
Under the gun, Claudio Rinaldi moves all in for right around 1,000,000 chips. Tesseire and Roy fold, and action is on Stephane Bazin in the big blind, who calmly says, "Call," as he turns over . Rinaldi doesn't seem too upset as he tables .
Right in the door comes the , and the board fills out with , doubling Rinaldi up on a big outdraw. He has moved up close to the 2,000,000 mark, while Bazin has dropped to about 1,400,000. Chips are flying around the table right now with these huge blinds and antes.