Moritz Kranich Wins EPT Deauville!

It's been years since the EPT visited Deauville but the way this event went down leaves little doubt it'll be coming back next year!

This event may have been light on pros, but it was big on action, with Germany's Moritz Kranich besting the 645-person field to take down the whole shebang.

When we returned to the felt this afternoon only eight players remained, all of whom had their sights set squarely on the first-place prize of €851,400 and a spot in the EPT record books.

Our bets were on the young Frenchman Tristan Clemencon to take this thing down, and until it was three-handed we thought he was a lock. Clemencon played well and seemed the most composed and determined at the final table, until catastrophe struck during three-handed play.

In by far the most key pot of this tournament Kranich limped in the small blind and called a raise from Clemencon in the big blind. The flop came down T-T-8 and Kranich successfully executed a check-raise, getting a flat-call from his opponent.

The turn was a brick and Kranich shoved. Clemencon put a lot of thought into the decision and eventually made the call, putting the vast majority of his stack at risk. Kranich was exultant, turning over J-T for trips.

Clemencon must have made the call with nothing but ace-high since he threw his cards in the muck before the river hit the felt.

There's always tomorrow.

To make matters worse, we've been told Clemencon turned down €650,000 in the proposed three-way deal. Minutes later he was on the rail and had to be lamenting his decision.

When heads-up began Kranich had a monster lead. Arnaud Esquevin didn't let it get to him, however, and put up a valiant fight. In the end it wasn't enough, as he found himself all-in with A 3, called by Kranich and his A 7.

Earlier at this final table, Esquevin had had a tremendous amount of run-good working in his favor. When it was eight-handed Esquevin was all-in against Kranich with just two cards in the deck to save him. Sure enough, he spiked his set on the river to crack Kranich's overpair, giving him the necessary chips to make a truly deep run.

The champ.

On the final hand, though, there were no suck-outs in store. Kranich's A-7 held up without much of a sweat, and just like that it was over.

PokerListings.com recorded all the action from start to finish in this event so if it's the full meal deal you're looking for click here and read back through the live updates. Photos of the event can be found here and a comprehensive list of everyone who cashed can be found here.

Moritz Kranich takes the entire first-place prize, while Esquevin contents himself with a healthy payday for second.

That's it for the EPT Deauville and PokerListings.com's time in France. Tomorrow we'll be heading back to home base to recharge and get ready for our next tournament reporting adventure. Keep an eye on the live tournaments section and make sure to check out the interview we did with today's champion!

Moritz Kranich qualified for his EPT Deauville seat for just $650 on PokerStars.com, turning it into well over $1 million! For a chance to do the same, click through and take advantage of our exclusive sign-up bonuses.