Words with Glen Chorny: EPT Grand Final Champ!

By Matthew Showell Apr 21, 2008 | 2 years ago

Glen Chorny wins the EPT4 Monte Carlo Grand Final

Making it three years in a row for a non-European champion at the biggest tournament outside of North America, the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Final, Canada's Glen Chorny has gone the distance and pocketed both the honors and the over €2 million first-place cash!

After the mad media circus had died down PL.com elbowed our way through the fray, pulling the champ aside for a few words of our own.

Congratulations again Glen. Let's start by getting the obligatory questions out of the way. This is a massive win for you and you had to overcome an incredibly strong field to do it. How are you feeling right now, moments after the final hand?

There's no better way to feel than how I do right now. I feel like a rock star.

KISS eat your heart out.

From such a big field we were sure to see some talent make it really deep. Coming into the final day how was your confidence and what was your game plan, having to deal with players like Antonio Esfandiari and Isaac Baron?

I was really happy with the way I was playing in the days before the final table so I felt very confident, especially with the big stack that I had. I had planned on sitting back a little bit and I did that at first but then I started testing people a bit and they weren't playing back at me quite as much as I had expected. I took down a lot of pots that I shouldn't have so I was lucky in a sense there.

The seat you ended up drawing for the final table was on Isaac "WestmenloAA" Baron's right which meant you were out of position against him in most of the hands you two played. Did that position make it much more difficult for you today?

Definitely; it wasn't only at the final table though. I had Isaac on my left at like three different tables this tournament and he's hell to have on your left, especially in the blind-versus-blind situations.

You had a really deep finish at this year's PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure but you ended up just missing the final table. Did that experience make you that much more determined once you got to the final few tables here?

Wha happened?

It seemed to help me a lot right after the PCA. I ended up winning a preliminary event in Tunica right after that. I don't think my confidence was ever really an issue though. It's just a matter of running good deep in tournaments.

I could have won or lost the PCA just as easily as I could have won or lost this tournament. It's a matter of the key hands. Picking up aces against your nemesis Isaac Baron isn't a bad thing either.

This final table turned into a real marathon. How much does endurance become a factor in a match like this?

For me playing long is never an issue, especially when there's this much money at stake. It's really just another day at the office but today it yielded some really great results.

Thanks Glen and good luck.

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It's heartening to hear a champion speak realistically. Glen Chorny held a big stack late in the PCA this year but failed to go the distance. When he found himself in the same situation here in Monte Carlo he was able to lock it up and walk away a champion. Either outcome is a distinct possibility but Chorny seems to have the skills to stack the deck in his favor, so to speak.