Chino Rheem Wins Inaugural Epic Poker League Main Event ($1,000,000)!
The first-ever Epic Poker League Main Event is in the books and Chino Rheem has emerged victorious with the $1,000,000 first-place prize!
When the final table began, six of the absolute best poker players in the world were in alive and in contention for the title. Rheem was joined by Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, Hasan Habib, Huck Seed and Gavin Smith. Just about 10 hours after the first hand was dealt, all five of them had been eliminated and the only man left standing was Rheem.
The first player to go was Seed, who entered the final table with the least amount of chips. He was followed by Smith in fifth place and then the start-of-the-day chip leader Habib in fourth. When three-handed play began, Rheem was up against Mercier and Seidel. All three were fairly close in chips and had been playing their A-game so far.
Mercier was clearly the fan favorite in the final table arena. He had the largest rail and almost everyone seemed to be pulling for him. After losing a big flip to Seidel with pocket fives versus Seidel's big slick, Mercier was left short. He ended up shipping the last of his chips in from the small blind with the 
and was called by Seidel in the big blind with the 
. No help came for the youngest player to make the final table and he was out the door in third place, setting the stage for a Rheem-Seidel battle.
After nearly 50 hands of heads-up play, the last hand finally took place. Rheem had been steadily eating at the stack of Seidel all throughout the duel and then the two got all of the money in with Seidel being dominated. he held the 
to Rheem's 
. Both players flopped and ace, but it was the king kicker for Rheem that held strong throughout the hand, eventually giving him a flush on the river and the victory.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chino Rheem | $1,000,000 |
| 2 | Erik Seidel | $604,330 |
| 3 | Jason Mercier | $360,970 |
| 4 | Hasan Habib | $237,560 |
| 5 | Gavin Smith | $154,260 |
| 6 | Huck Seed | $107,980 |
That wraps up PokerNews' coverage of the first EPL Main Event and it was a blast from start to finish. Congratulations to all the winners and especially to Rheem for outlasting a superstar field of 137 players to take home $1,000,000 and the gold championship ring!