In August, Tomasz Brzezinski earned an impressive fourth-place finish at the EPT Barcelona Main Event, marking the biggest score of his live poker career. Just one festival later, at EPT Malta presented by PokerStars, he went even further.
Brzezinski captured the EPT Malta Main Event title for €631,632 after agreeing to a heads-up deal with Mykhailo Ostash. He topped a field of 898 entries, which generated a prize pool of €4,355,300.
With back-to-back final tables, more than €1 million in combined earnings, and two career-best scores, Brzezinski proved he could hang with some of the best in the world across two grueling Main Event runs.
Main Event final table results
| Place |
Player |
Country |
Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tomasz Brzezinski | Poland | €631,632* |
| 2 | Mykhailo Ostash | Ukraine | €603,098* |
| 3 | Adria Calonge | Spain | €339,000 |
| 4 | Aliaksei Boika | Slovenia | €260,750 |
| 5 | Tom-Aksel Bedell | Norway | €200,550 |
| 6 | Tony Kaukua | Finland | €154,250 |
*Denotes heads-up deal
From Poland with love
Although Brzezinski represents Poland at the tables, he had plenty of local support from friends and family on the rail in Malta. "It means so much to have everyone here supporting me," he said. "I couldn't do it without them," he told us afterwards.
Despite his impressive play on the biggest of stages at back-to-back EPT festivals, Brzezinski identifies as a recreational player. He's ingrained in the gaming industry here in Malta and has lived here for about a decade. As such, many locals rooted him on at Casino Malta.
In almost every all-in confrontation during heads-up play, Brzezinski stood beside his girlfriend, both wearing hopeful smiles as fate was decided by the cards. However, he didn't know just how many all ins he would have to withstand en route to victory.
From middling stack to champion, but it wouldn't come easy
It wasn't an easy road to victory for Brzezinski. He came into the final day middle of the pack with 67 big blinds, but was looking up at his eventual heads-up opponent, Mykhailo Ostash, for most of the day. During five-handed play, Ostash at one point had more chips than his other four competitors combined.
It was once play got to three-handed that Brzezinski started to close the gap with Ostash.
A turning point came in the 50K/125K/125K level. Ostash opened the 
to 250K on the button. Brzezinski called with 
in the big blind. The 
flop looked disastrous for Brzezinski, as it connected with both players but heavily favored Ostash.
Ostash bet 225,000, and Brzezinski called. The 
turn meant even more trouble for Brzezinski, though his equity increased from 3% to 24% with full-house possibilities. Brzezinski check-called 750,000 with trips. The 
came in on the river to give Brzezinski the runner-runner full house. Action went check-check, but that pot gave Brzezinski the lead for the first time.
Holding the lead, Brzezinski also took the rest of third-place finisher Adria Calonge's chips. Brzezinski opened 
from the button, and Calonge shoved his last 19 big blinds with 
from the big blind. Brzezinski snapped it off and held, taking a 1.7:1 chip lead into heads-up play.
The two players looked at numbers, but they decided to play on with no deal in place. However, Ostash narrowed the gap to near even, and deal discussions resumed. The two settled on an even chop and decided to play for the set aside €28,524 and the trophy.
Ostash just wouldn't go away
It was a very deep-stacked match at that point, though Brzezinski quickly re-took a commanding lead over Ostash. Multiple times, the title was within reach. Brzezinski flipped with vs 
for 30 big blinds, but Ostash made trips to stay alive. Brzezinski whittled him back down before getting in 
vs Ostash's 
, but once again Ostash made trips to double and avoid elimination.
Brzezinski got Ostash back down to another short stack before shoving with 
, and Ostash called it off with 
for about 15 big blinds. Another flip, and Ostash survived the sweaty 
runout. Three chances at the title, three effective coinflips, and all of them went Ostash's way.
An hour more of play before the same situation played out once more.
Ostash was low again after flopping two pair and losing to a straight, and he went with 
against the 
of Brzezinski for six big blinds. Brzezinski faced his rail in hopeful anticipation, but again a king hit the flop to deny Brzezinski and his supporters and keep Ostash in the game.
The very next hand, Ostash was all in with 
against the 
of Brzezinski. The 
flop kept Brzezinski in the lead, but the newly-presented gutshot came in immediately on the 
turn, and Ostash doubled once more, and again escaped the danger zone.
Unable to close the deal, players were sent on a mandatory dinner break, giving them both 40 minutes to ponder the situation.
A key hand came shortly after that break, when Brzezinski opened the button to 800K with 
at the 150K/300K/150K level. Ostash called with . The flop came 
. Ostash check-called the continuation bet of 1.1M. The hit the turn, and action went check-check. The hit the river, leaving Brzezinski with only queen high.
Ostash went for thin value by betting 1.1M with third pair. Brzezinski came alive with a river bluff all in, putting Ostash to the test. Ostash called, and once more the stacks were nearly even. The heads-up match had lasted well over 100 hands already, and they were no closer to deciding a winner.
Brzezinski wins a big one, but it still wasn't over
Ostash had survived nine all ins and calls, winning each one to stay alive. He would only need one more, as he finally had Brzezinski covered when the next hand went down. Ostash raised to 1M with 
at the 200K/400K/200K level. Brzezinski found and moved all in for 11,550,000. Ostash quickly called, just one flip away from the epic comeback with 23.5M of the nearly 27M chips in play riding on those five cards.
The board ran out 
, leaving Ostash with less than 10 big blinds once again. He had won nine straight all ins, but couldn't with the one that would give him the title. Back to work he went.
A couple of hands later, Ostash needed a double in a bad way. It was another flip with Ostash holding 
and Brzezinski holding and the chance to finally end it. He was back to his flip-winning ways on the king-high flop that held for yet another double. He was 10-1 in all ins.
"It was funny, but not anymore," said Brzezinski.
"If we're stuck in some sort of Black Mirror poker episode, there's no one else I'd rather be stuck with," said commentator Griffen Benger.
The words were barely out of Benger's mouth, before chips were into the fray once more. Ostash moved all in for 6.8M with 
, and Brzezinski called with 
. He once again had the best hand, and walked to his rail in hopes of finally closing it out.
"This is the last one," he said, more hopeful than confident.
He was wrong. Ostash flopped trips, found another double, and somehow took the chip lead again.
The dominating dagger all but ends Ostash's run
Suddenly covered again, Brzezinski raised to 1.2M with 
, and Ostash quickly moved all in for 12,950,000 effective with . Brzezinski quickly called with a dominating ace, but he was at risk. Needing a win or else, a seven-high board gave Brzezinski the victory to cut his opponent lower than ever before. Ostash was left with just over one big blind, and the hopes were dimmer than ever.
Nearly forced all in on the next hand, Ostash had , but Brzezinski dominated him with 
and won the hand without drama. Ostash went 10-3 when all in and at risk, but in the end, it wouldn't be enough. After enduring a relentless barrage of doubles from Ostash, Brzezinski finally closed it out — hoisting the trophy and securing a long-overdue victory.
Congratulations to Tomasz Brzezinski on back-to-back EPT Main Event final tables, his new biggest high score, and his first EPT Main Event title.
All photos courtesy of Danny Maxwell/Eloy Cabacas/Rational Holdings Limited.
