Level 25: 30,000/60,000 (60,000)
Entries: 78/6,039
Prize pool: €2,728,970

At this stage, the pots are becoming very crucial. My feeling is that I see a lot of three-bets pre-flop; players are trying to take down the pots with early aggression.

Candido Cappiello opened to 125,000 from UTG+1. Milan Vanek made the call from the Hi-jack, prior to Cristian-Aurelian Trif making it 475,000 to go from the Big Blind. Cappiello made the call, before Vanek decided to get out of the way.

Trif continued the aggression with a 400,000 continuation bet on the 4♠K♦7♦ flop. Cappiello wasn’t going anywhere, and his call prompted the A♦ turn. Trif sized up to 950,000, and after two minutes in the tank, Cappiello made the call. The pot was now getting ridiculously big.

Trif decided to slow down on the T♣ river. Cappiello put the pedal to the metal, as he forced Trif all in for 800,000. Trif relieved a heavy sigh, and as he leaned back in his chair, contemplating his decision, table mate Richard Essex exchanged a look with Ambre Luciak that screamed, ”What a sick pot.”

Eventually, Trif mucked his hand, and Cappiello – who’s got to be the chip leader at this point – added to his already impressive stack.

As I was writing up the finishing details of the hand, player Gabriele Re came up to me and said, ”When you write the article, make sure to mention that guy will win,” referring to Cappiello. ”He’s by far the best player in the field.” Time will tell if Re’s prediction is right or wrong.

Candido Cappiello: 9,400,000
Cristian-Aurelian Trif: 800,000

Gabriele Re