It took only two hands for the fireworks to begin at Sunday’s final table. Dorfman, sitting in third place with just under 500,000, put in a preflop raise to 32,000, and David Steicke, a little shy of 350,000, reraised behind him to 92,000. It folded back to Dorfman who promptly moved all in, and Steicke just as promptly called, showing Ks Kd to Dorfman’s Ad Kh. The flop was safe for Steicke -- 10c 7d 7c -- but the Ac popped out on the turn, leaving him hoping for the case king. The river was the 4c , and Steicke was out in eighth.
The next elimination came just 15 minutes later. Tony G, in second place when play began on Sunday, raised to 40,000, and a short-stacked Andrew Feldman pushed all in for 160,000. Tony G called, turning over Qc Qh. Feldman showed As 10d. The flop came Qd 5d 7c, giving Tony G the set, and the 7s on the turn meant Feldman was drawing dead. Not a half hour into the day, just six players remained.
Shortly after that hand, William Thorson, the table’s short stack when play began on Sunday, found a hand and pushed all in. The table folded to Dorfman, who reraised all in over the top, then David Eldar, covered by Dorfman, called with the rest of his chips as well. Thorson showed 8d 7d, Dorfman 7s 7h, and Eldar Qd Qc.
The flop came Ks Qs Jc, and Eldar was sitting pretty with his set of queens and both of his opponents drawing thin. The turn was the As, providing Thorson and Dorfman some outs to a chop, and Dorfman the spade flush draw. Then the river brought the 5s, giving Dorfman his flush and knocking out both Thorson and Eldar. As Eldar had more chips when the hand began, he finished fifth, while Thorson ended in sixth place.
With all of that action, Dorfman had assumed the chip lead with about 1.2 million, Florian Langmann was next with 1.1 million, and Tony G was close behind with 900,000. Meanwhile, Rousso, the PokerStars pro, who had begun the day with a sizable advantage over the field, had slipped behind the others with 810,000.
Both Langmann and Rousso would subsequently lose some chips, with Rousso falling to 600,000 and Langmann down to about half of that. Then came a hand in which Langmann open-raised to 43,000 from the button and Rousso called from the big blind. The flop came 7c 3c 3d, prompting Rousso quickly to push all in. Langmann thought a moment, then called. Rousso turned over 7d 8d for sevens and trees, while Langmann showed As Kd. Rousso’s hand held up, and Langmann was out in fourth place.
The remaining trio of players would push back and forth for the next few levels, with each taking turns assuming the chip lead. At one point the chip counts between the three drew all but even, and the three agreed to an equal chop, with €420,000 for each player and €150,000 set aside for the winner.
Following the deal, Dorfman finally began to edge out ahead of the other two, with Tony G falling behind. After nearly five hours, they’d reached the dinner break, at which point Dorfman had 1.88 million of the chips, Rousso 1.53 million, and Tony G 560,000.
Soon after the players returned, Dorfman raised, Tony G pushed over the top all in with Ad 6h, and Dorfman called with Qh 9c. The flop came Jh Jd 2c, and all was still well for Tony G. But the turn brought the 9d, leaving Tony G looking for an ace to save him. The river was the 8h, and Tony G exited in third place, leaving the two Americans, Dorfman and Rousso, to battle it out for the title.
When heads-up play began, Dorfman had the edge with 2.4 million to Rousso’s 1.8 million. Dorfman quickly built on his advantage, and soon Rousso was down to about 700,000. After an hour of small fluctuations up and down, Rousso’s stack was sitting at less than half a million when it all went in the middle on a board of 7d Qh 5c Kd. Rousso had 5s 7s for two pair, while Dorfman had Qc 3d for a pair of queens. The river was the 10h, and Rousso had doubled up.
Rousso would double up again after another hand in which she flopped two pair, thereby pulling close to even with Dorfman. A badly-timed bluff by Dorfman shortly thereafter then gave the chip advantage to Rousso. With the board showing Ad 2h As 10c, Dorfman check-raised all in with 6s 5s only to be called by Rousso who held Ac 4h, meaning Dorfman had no outs whatsoever with a card to come. That hand pushed Rousso near the three-million mark.
The pair would battle for another half-hour, with Rousso maintaining her large lead. Then came a hand in which both players checked a flop of 3c 9s 8h. The turn was the 5c, Rousso bet 150,000, and Dorfman called. The river was the Kh, and that was enough for Dorfman to move all in. Dorfman showed for two pair, but Rousso had for the turned straight. About 11 hours after it had begun, the PokerStars EPT High Rollers Championship had its winner.
Only the eight players who survived the original field of 79 to make the final table cashed in this event. Here’s what they earned:
1. Vanessa Rousso (USA) -- €570,000
2. Randy Dorfman (USA) -- €420,000
3. Tony G (Lithuania) -- €420,000
4. Florian Langmann (Germany) -- €188,000
5. David Eldar (Australia) -- €138,000
6. William Thorson (Sweden) -- €99,000
7. Andrew Feldman (England) -- €79,000
8. David Steicke (Australia) -- €60,000
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