PokerStars Qualifier Ben Wilinofsky Wins EPT Berlin for €825,000

PokerStars qualifier Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilinofsky from Canada celebrated his first ever live cash today by winning EPT Berlin for €825,000.

As well as the title, Wilinofsky, a highly successful internet pro, also wins a stunning bracelet from Shamballa Jewels, the Official Bracelet Sponsor of EPT Season 7, a seat to the EPT Grand Final in Madrid and a seat in the EPT Champion of Champions event on May 13.

Wilinofsky triumphed after beating his friend Max Heinzelmann from Germany heads-up when he hit a straight on the turn against Heinzelman’s top pair. A total of 773 players from 50 countries entered the €5,300 Main Event creating a total prize pool of €3,865,000. 120 places were paid.

Up until EPT Berlin, Wilinofsky – who has made more than a million dollars online - had never had a live cash. Once Berlin hit the money, the 22-year-old from London, Ontario, wrote on facebook “RIP legendary Hendon Mob page” in reference to his totally blank page on the Mob’s database.

Wilinofsky nearly didn’t make the event at all when his flight was cancelled. He said: “I had to jump through so many hoops to even get here! I ran very well and, for the most part, I played very well. My only goal was just to accumulate as many chips as possible so I guess I did that! I had to do everything right and hope for the best. Everyone on the final table played very well. They’re great players and really nice guys as well. I am feeling so much overwhelming emotion I can’t even think right now. It’s incredible.”

Online, Wilinofsky has made more than a million dollars including winning the PokerStars Super Tuesday event last November and the PokerStars daily $100 rebuy event six times in the last two years – those events alone amounting to more than $300,000. He plans to play EPT San Remo in two weeks’ time.

PokerStars qualifier Martin Jacobson, who came fourth, was on his third final table of Season 7 having had two runner-up finishes at EPT Vilamoura in September for €297,985 and Deauville in January for €560,000. He earned €230,000 for EPT Berlin, bringing his total winnings this season alone to more than €1 million. He also gains a spot in the EPT All Time Tournament Leader Board Top Ten and substantially increases his lead in the EPT Season 7 Online Qualifier of the Year race.

Team PokerStars Pro Joep van den Bijgaart also made the final, finishing seventh for €100,000. Darren Kramer, 27, who is currently ranked third in Africa’s All Time Money list finished sixth for €140,000.

Team PokerStars SportStar Fatima Moreira de Melo made back-to-back cashes, coming 105th for €7,500. Among others who made a deep run in the EPT Berlin Main Event were Russian EPTLive commentator Ilya Gorodetskiy, (31st, €17,500) and Team PokerStars Pro Henrique Pinho, who celebrated his first EPT cash by coming 20th for €20,000. Other cashes included Team PokerStars Pros George Danzer (26th, €17,500), Juan Manuel Pastor (92nd, €10,000) and Sebastian Ruthenberg (96th, €10,000) as well as former world champion Peter Eastgate (95th, €10,000).

In EPT Berlin side events, Daniel Drescher beat Team PokerStars Pro Sebastian Ruthenberg heads-up to win the €10,000 event for €192,000; Juha Helppi took down the €3,200 Heads-Up event for €21,600; Susanne Kaufer won the €330 Ladies Event for €5,500 and Antonio Palma won the €5,000 NL 6-Max turbo for €67,000.

The next stop on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour is the €5,300 buy-in EPT San Remo event in Italy, running from 27th April - 3rd May, 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.ept.com.

Click here for: Results | nationalities | prize pool | all players

A total of 773 players from 50 countries competed at EPT Berlin (including 160 qualifiers) creating a total prize pool of €3,865,000. First prize is €825,000; 120 places get paid. EPT7 Berlin is running April 5-10, 2011 at the Spielbank Casino. Shamballa Jewels is the Official Bracelet Sponsor of EPT Berlin, EPT San Remo and the EPT Grand Final.‎

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