The first ever International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) at the Wembley Stadium in London has come to an end. After several days of play (online and live), Jakub Michalak, from Poland, laid hands on the trophy and the first prize of €436,000. Michalak is the number one ranked online player in Poland and in the top fifty in the world.
Speaking of the tournament, it was a big failure given that the organisers expected about 30,000 players but only 761 turned up. ISPT's organisers knew that 30,000 players would be an impossibility already a few months ago, and therefore they desperately reduced the buy-in from €6,000 to €3,000. In the beginning of March, Laurent Tapie (one of ISPT's founders) told French newspapers that he hoped for 2,000-3,000 players and that it would be enough to cover all costs if 1,500 participated. But, once again, only 761 players entered the tournament and they made a loss of approximately €589,000.
1) Jakub Michalak, €436 000
2) Xavier El Fassy, €204 000
3) Nick Hicks, €254 000
4) Pete Linton, €375 000
5) Alban Juen, €290 000
6) Gwendoline Janot, €243 000
The results above reflect a 6-way deal which left €200,000 aside for the winner.