🇨🇳 Lulei Hu takes down the EPM 2Million Main Event!
- Stefano Atzei
- Jul 23
- 3 min read
Entries 5303
Four days of intense battle at King’s Resort crowned the champion of the €2 Million Guaranteed EPM Main Event, which drew a total of 5,303 entries for a prize pool of €2,659,454.
The winner, China’s Lu Lei Hu, took home €370,000 after a deal with the runner-up, plus a ticket to the upcoming World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. He defeated Italy’s Fabio Gianberardini heads-up, with Gianberardini earning €260,000 (also after the deal), which improved on the original second-place payout of €230,000. Like Hu, Gianberardini also secured a ticket for the WSOPE Main Event.
The Final Table
🇷🇴 Marius Serban Moldoveanu – 63.5M
🇩🇪 Teddy KGB – 61.6M
🇨🇳 LuLei Hu – 43.1M
🇮🇹 Fabio Giamberardini – 39.4M
🇦🇹 Nikolaus Kovacs – 30.8M
🇩🇪 Luka77 – 30.2M
🇧🇬 Presijan Georgiev Tsvetanov – 18.7M
🇮🇹 Matteo Intiso – 17.4M
🇸🇰 Tony Ravnak – 12.1M
It was an intense fight, especially over the last two days, with Germany’s Teddy KGB—who eventually finished 5th for €83,000—dominating much of the tournament with a monster stack. He came into the final day as one of the chip leaders alongside Romania’s Marius Serban Moldoveanu, who closed in 3rd place for €160,000.
However, Teddy KGB’s incredible run came to an abrupt end, leaving him frustrated to exit earlier than expected. The first player to be eliminated at the final table was Germany’s Luca77, who cashed for €26,000. He was followed by Austria’s Nikolaus Kovacs, who collected €34,500 plus a WSOPE Main Event ticket. Despite reaching the final table, Luca77 just missed out on the ticket.
Seventh place went to Bulgaria’s Presijan Georgiev Tsvetanov for €47,000, while sixth place was claimed by Czech player Tony Ravnak—already a standout at the Paris Poker Treasure—who bagged €63,000 plus a WSOPE Main Event ticket.
Italian hopes rested on Matteo Intiso and Fabio Gianberardini. Intiso, during 4-handed play, ran into a brutal cooler against Lu Lei Hu. On a board of K♠3♣x♦ turn 9♦, Intiso hit two pair with K♦9♦, but Hu held pocket 3♠3♦ for a set, crippling Intiso’s stack. That hand proved to be the turning point of the tournament.
Shortly after, Intiso was eliminated in 4th place for €106,000 and a WSOPE ticket, leaving Gianberardini and Hu to battle it out with the Romanian Moldoveanu. Hu entered heads-up with a chip lead, but not an overwhelming one, prompting the two players to agree on a deal.
In the final hand, Hu’s 10♠7♠ faced Gianberardini’s A♠6♣. A flop of 7♦2♣7♣ left Hu nearly locked for victory, and by the turn he could already celebrate.
Gianberardini, delighted with his result, admitted he needs to improve his heads-up game as he wasn’t entirely satisfied with his performance in that phase. Hu, radiant after his win, shared his emotions and thoughts on this incredible run:
"This was such a big result for me. Honestly, I’m still emotional. The whole final table lasted over seven hours, and I had to keep my composure the entire time. There were so many tough players, including this Italian guy who eventually finished second—he was really solid. But I managed to hold my ground in those last three levels. I played a key hand against the German chip leader, and another one versus the Italian, and after those two spots, I started feeling like I could actually take it down.
I didn’t really feel too much pressure, to be honest. I knew most of the players at the table because we’d already been battling together for hours, and I could read them quite well. That helped me a lot to stay calm and make the right decisions.
I only fired two bullets in this event. I arrived on Saturday and got through, and from there it’s been a great run. Lately, I’ve been playing a lot at Imperium and Exclusive since I live in Milan, but I also play EPTs when I get the chance.
This is actually my first big victory. In the past, I finished seventh in a big tournament, and I busted with K‑2 against A‑A… that hand was brutal. But in the end, it turned out way better to run good here!
We agreed on a deal at the end, leaving €64,000 and the trophy to play for. In the end, I walked away with €370,000. My partner has been here with me for four or five days supporting me, and now it’s the perfect occasion to take a trip together and celebrate properly."
Comments