Berende Captures Grand Final €2,000 OFC Title
There’s no denying that Open Face Chinese Poker (OFC) is popular. Throughout Season 10 of the EPT, there have been numerous OFC events, but they saved the best for last – the €2,000 OFC event at the Grand Final. That tournament attracted 17 players that accounted for 10 reentries and created a prize pool of €52,380.
The Netherlands’ Paul Berende almost didn’t play the event. He originally planned to play Day 1a of the Main Event, but since he made Day 2 of the FPS High Roller, he had to push it back a day. He then busted the FPS High Roller and decided to jump into the OFC tournament to help pass the time.
"I had an insanely good year and was in the best run of my life probably," Berende told the PokerStars Blog. "I cashed in Sanremo, went 17th (€30,000), then went straight to Monte Carlo, which I won a package for, then went 24th in the main (€50,000). I was running so good, feeling so good that I sold some action in the High Roller and went fifth in that (€191,400). That was an insane year."
"It's awesome," Berende continued after his win, "especially as this game feels more like a home game because all the cards are open, everybody's relaxed, you know. I started this game a year ago, maybe a little longer, and I didn't really consider myself one of the best players in it so to win it is really, really awesome."
EPT Monte Carlo Event #16 €2,000 Open Face Chinese
| Buy-in | Entrants | Reentries | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| €2,000+€200 | 17 | 10 | €52,380 |
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paul Berende | Netherlands | €19,400 |
| 2nd | Chenxiang Miao | China | €13,350 |
| 3rd | Sergey Rybachenko | Russia | €8,500 |
| 4th | Alexander Hering | Germany | €6,130 |
| 5th | Olivier Decamps | France | €5,000 |
Berende is now playing in the Day 1b field.