A 34-year-old entrepreneur from Hungary has beaten 254 other hopefuls to win Eureka Croatia and the €47,298 first prize. After a quick fire final table that lasted exactly four levels Richard Bodis was the last man standing and his feet are still firmly attached to the ground: “The trophy and the win means far more than the money,” he said in the aftermath of his victory.

When the 11 remaining players returned from a break Bodis was second in chips but by the time the final table had started he had slipped to fourth place and had chip leader Vasileios Chantzaras on his immediate left.

Some might have panicked, but not Bodis, in fact within 45 minutes of the final table starting it was he who had the chip lead. Despite his stack shrinking again he kept calm and in a pivotal hand during four handed play he doubled through Chantzaras when both had made a straight.

These two and runner-up Carsten Luxig would then trade the chip lead for much of the final table. Despite getting the better of Chantzaras, Bodis said: “He definitely played the best at the final table, he was my toughest opponent.”

The key hand for Bodis came during four handed play when he and Jose Carlos Fibla Lopez got it all-in pre-flop in a 1,600,000 chip pot with Bodis’ pocket tens holding against Lopez’s pocket fours. That was the first player Bodis had eliminated at the final table and it gave him about two thirds of the chips in play.

He would take those chips into heads up play against Carsten Luxig, the German had done a bit more of the dirty work eliminating Marko Milkovic (8th), Zvonko Petrovic (6th) and Vasileios Chantzaras (3rd).

Heads up would last just a few hands with Luxig three-betting all-in on the turn of a T♠K♣2♦5♠ board with 6♥5♣ and getting a tank call from Bodis who held Q♥T♥.

A thought should be spared for third place finisher Vasileios Chantzaras from Greece. He started the day with a monster chip lead and eliminated two players at the final table (Matej Marinovic in 7th and Michael Lundquist in 5th). It’s the elimination of Lundquist that will live long in the memory, Chantzaras making a great call on the river to send the Dane packing.

It wasn’t all about the final table though as we had to lose three players before the final table was set. The unlucky triumvirate were: Andreas Leledakis (9th), Pavao Vujnovac (10th) and Marko Gasparovic (11th). Below is a full list of who won what today.

1. Richard Bodis, Hungary, €47,298
2. Carsten Luxig, Denmark, €30,150
3. Vasileios Chantzaras, Greece, PokerStars Qualifier, €16,950
4. Jose Carlos Fibla Lopez, Spain, €13,300
5. Michael Lundquist, Denmark, €11,000
6.Zvonko Petrovic, Croatia, €9,150
7. Matej Marinovic, Croatia, €7,350
8. Marko Milkovic, Croatia, €5,850
9. Andreas Leledakis, Greece, PokerStars Qualifier, €4,400
10. Pavao Vujnovac Croatia, €2,950
11. Marko Gasparovic, Croatia, €2,950

That’s all she wrote for Eureka Croatia and the tour now moves on to Bucharest, Romania in November with the exact dates still to be confirmed.

By Nick Wright
Photos: Manuel Kovsca

Three months ago, tens of thousands of people from all corners of the globe swarmed through the gargantuan halls of the Rio Hotel & Casino for their shot at fortune and fame at the 42nd Annual World Series of Poker. It’s the one opportunity for every poker player each year to play on the game’s biggest stage, sweating and betting under the bright lights of Las Vegas and through the glare of the cameras fixed upon them, as millions of viewers around the world scrutinse their every move on television.

All this, at the height of summer, baking in the middle of the Nevada desert.

It’s a far cry from where we’ve been working for the last week – within the confines of a tiny casino in a village resting on the banks of a picture-perfect lake, on the southern isle in a country that’s about as close to Antarctica as you can get, buried deep within the mountains and almost cut off from the rest of the world.

Honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The 2011 PokerStars.net APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event has, without question, been one of our most favourite events to have reported on over the years and, judging by everyone we’ve spoken to, will no doubt become one of the most popular destinations in the Asia Pacific region, if not the world.

And while we’re now packing our bags for the long flight home, lamenting that we cannot stay longer, there’s plenty to take away from our experience here – the most important being that of Germany’s Marcel Schreiner, the first international player in this region’s history to win an APPT title on New Zealand soil.

Right from the get-go, the railbirds in the SKYCITY Queenstown Casino were treated to some incredible action. Still, it took over an hour before 2010 APPT Sydney Main Event champion Jonathan Karamalikis got the last of his money into the middle, moving in before the flop with Q♠Q♥ but ran into the K♦K♣ of fellow Australian PokerStars Qualifier Daniel Laidlaw. The eight-high board improved neither hand and Karamalikis was eliminated in ninth place.

However, the big talking point of the first two hours of play was the incredible six-bet-shove attempt by Marcel Schreiner with 9♠8♠ against Matty Yates. Not an uncommon move as we’ve seen over the last few days, but the only problem was that Yates had woken up with K♥K♦, which improved to two pair after the dealer spread the board of 9♣J♦3♦J♠3♣, moving Yates past the million-chip mark and leaving Schreiner in a world of hurt.

Yates then took out Hugh Cohen in eighth place; the brother of the reigning Queenstown champion moved in pre-flop with A♥K♥ against Yates’ A♦Q♦, but Cohen’s chances of keeping the title in the family were shattered when Yates rivered two pair on the board of 7♦2♣2♠4♠Q♥ to bow out in eighth place.

Soon after, Kiwi Carl Knox delivered a 1-2 knock-out to China’s Xiao Dong Xia, first crippling Xia after his 5♠5♣ held up against his A♦K♥, then taking him out in seventh place after his A♣Q♥ won the flip against Xia’s 6♠6♦, hitting two pair on the 3♦Q♠3♥7♠9♦ board.

Tom Grigg’s third APPT final table appearance ended in similar fashion in sixth place; the 2010 APPT Auckland runner-up was first run down after Schreiner’s A♥K♠ improved to a full house on the board of 8♠7♣A♠A♣K♥ against his Q♥Q♦. Despite a couple of small double-ups, he finally got it in with 8♦6♥, only to see Schreiner’s J♣4♣ turn two pair after the dealer spread the board of J♥3♦2♦3♥T♥.

Daniel Laidlaw joined Grigg on the rail only 20 minutes later in fifth place, with the Australian PokerStars Qualifier risking his remaining chips with A♣Q♠, but again, it was Schreiner who won the flip with his 2♥2♣ when he improved to a set after the flop of 2♠J♠4♦, which held all the way as the turn and river bricked out 9♥, A♠.

The remaining four players went hammer-and-tongs for the next two levels, with New Zealand PokerStars Qualifier John Waterman scoring two crucial double-ups before dinner. Soon after play resumed though, it was Waterman that felted fellow Kiwi Carl Knox in fourth place. Knox got it in good with 7♠7♥, but Waterman’s A♥Q♥ “Greensteined” him when the board was spread T♠5♣J♦2♣A♣.

From there, Waterman’s hard work was brought undone in third place to set up the heads-up battle between Watts and Schreiner. Waterman moved the last of his chips in pre-flop holding K♠Q♦, but Schreiner had him covered every which way with 8♠8♣, which held on the board of 4♥A♦A♣J♥2♥.

With only 180 hands played up until this point (and with such aggression), we were expecting a rather swift heads-up battle, despite the chip counts being practically even. How wrong we were. Yates and Schreiner made every pot, and every chip, count, with both players equally as determined to win the title – for Schreiner, it would mean the breakthrough victory he’d been wanting for so long – and for Yates, it would keep a clean sheet for Kiwis keeping APPT titles on home soil.

Unfortunately for Yates, he was vanquished in second place when the final hand of the night saw him move all-in with A♥9♠, only to see Schreiner snap him off with A♠Q♠, which struck gin on the flop of Q♥A♣A♦. And that, as they say, was that. Game over, man, game over.

Congratulations to Marcel Schreiner, your 2011 PokerStars.net APPT Queenstown Snowfest Main Event champion!

1st Marcel Schreiner (Germany) – NZ$94,300
2nd Matty Yates (New Zealand) – NZ$60,000
3rd John Waterman (New Zealand) – NZ$35,150
4th Carl Knox (New Zealand) – NZ$29,145
5th Daniel Laidlaw (Australia) – NZ$24,000
6th Tom Grigg (Australia) – NZ$19,715
7th Xiao Dong Xia (China) – NZ$16,290
8th Hugh Cohen (Australia) – NZ$12,860
9th Jonathan Karamalikis (Australia) – NZ$10,280
10th Jackson Zheng (New Zealand) – NZ$7,720
11th Charles Caris (Australia) – NZ$7,720
12th Gavin Vickers (New Zealand) – NZ$7,720
13th Ryan McKay (Australia) – NZ$6,000
14th Ben Paurini (New Zealand) – NZ$6,000
15th Cole Swannack (New Zealand) – NZ$6,000

By Landon Blackhall
Photos: Joe Giron