Barny Boatman wins EPT Paris Main Event for biggest career score of €1,287,800

He came up short. After Canadian Eric Afriat was first to hit the rail in sixth, Jörgne was next, eliminated by high-stakes crusher Aleksejs Ponakovs.

What's incredible about the Jörgne story is that the $833,645 he got from last year's EPT Paris Main Event wasn't just his biggest cash, but a huge percentage of his total $887,057 winnings. He added another €340,100 today. You can watch his elimination below.

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Barny shifts up the gears

When Owen Dodd was taken out by David Kaufmann in fourth, Boatman locked up the biggest cash of his 26-year career. He was also the shortest stack of the three remaining players.

• David Kaufmann: 21,475,000
• Aleksejs Ponakovs: 15,780,000
• Barny Boatman: 15,150,000

It didn't take him long to flip the script. In a huge hand, Boatman limped his small blind with T-7 and hit trips on the 9-7-7 flop. He bet, and Kaufmann came along for what would turn out to be a bumpy ride with Q-8.

A ten on the turn filled Boatman up and gave Kaufmann an open-ended straight draw. Boatman checked, Kaufmann bet, and Boatman called. Kaufmann paired his eight on the river, and after Boatman led out with a weak bet, Kaufmann pumped it up to 5,000,000. Boatman shipped, Kaufmann folded, and Boatman took a big chip lead.

Barny Goatman

Ponakovs was next out. Crippled by Kaufmann, he rallied from a spot where he was forced to post all but his last 25k chip. But Kaufmann came back to finish him off in a race between threes (Kaufmann) and A-8 (Ponakovs).

• Barny Boatman: 35,625,000
• David Kaufmann: 16,775,000

Kaufmann had a 2:1 chip deficit, but he won some new fans when he shook Boatman's hand ahead of the heads-up duel and said, "It's an honor to play against a legend."

It was an honor that didn't last long. Just two hands, in fact.

On a 9-J-6-5 board, Boatman checked his cards and moved all-in. Kaufmann asked if he could have a count, and his request was granted. That gave him a bit more time to make his decision, but he still made the wrong one.

Boatman: J♦️️-2♦️️
Kaufmann: A♦️️-9♣

The river bricked, and, just like that, it was over.

Talking afterwards, Boatman said, "I'm very, very happy... All it needed was for me to run like god, especially three-handed. I made flushes, a full house, they didn't stand a chance, really... It just all fell together this time. It doesn't feel real. It's way, way the biggest result I've had."

And with that, Boatman choked up. Along with more than a few people watching along on the livestream.

You can relive his winning moment below.

2024 EPT Paris Main Event results

^{Images courtesy of PokerStars}