WPTDeepStacks action in Europe continued with a recent trip to Sanremo. The Italian Riviera played host to the €1,000 Main Event that attracted a field of 286 entries and generated a prize pool of €249,678. In the end, Mélanie Hafeli victoriously earned the €57,081 first-place prize.
WPTDeepStacks Sanremo Final Table Results
1st: Mélanie Hafeli – €57,081*
2nd: Do Van Tung – €36,720
3rd: Roy Al Rineh – €26,766
4th: Tonino Sturzo – €19,819
5th: Ludovic Sultan – €14,860
6th: Isabelle Hadjadj – €11,330
7th: Christos Economides – €8,770
8th: Mauro Muratori – €6,895
9th: Paolo Desimone – €5,508
*First prize includes a €2,000 package for the season-ending WPTDeepStacks European Championship.
Entering the final day of play, 15 players remained. Hafeli was one of the shorter stacks in the field, but she battled her way to the final table of nine where she began in sixth chip position. Isabelle Hadjadj joined Hafeli at the final table and was just ahead of Hafeli on the leaderboard.
On the very first hand of the final table, Hafeli picked up aces. She received no action, but it was a sign of things to come. After the elimination of Paolo Desimone in ninth place, Hafeli won a pot with quad threes to nearly double her stack.
Next to bust were Mauro Muratori in eighth place and Christos Economides in seventh. It was then Hadjadj to bust in sixth place when her 
couldn’t hold up against the 
for Do Van Tung. She earned €11,330 for her sixth-place finish.
Van Tung added more chips when he knocked out Ludovic Sultan in fifth place, and then the remaining four players headed on a dinner break. After dinner, Hafeli doubled up the first hand back. Then she won a pot when she was bluffing with the better hand and took the chip lead.
Hafeli busted Tonino Sturzo in fourth place, and then she knocked out Roy Al Rineh in third place to set up the heads-up match with Van Tung. Entering the match, Hafeli had the lead 5-3 in chips.
Heads-up play lasted about 90 minutes before Hafeli was able to seal the deal and take home the title. The money went in on the 
flop, with Hafeli’s 
ahead of the 
for Van Tung. The 
on the turn left Van Tung needed help on the river. It didn’t come when the 
hit the felt, and Hafeli was crowned the champion.
Van Tung finished in second place and earned €36,720.
For Hafeli, she picked up the largest score of her live poker career. According to her HendonMob.com profile, Hafeli had just one prior live tournament score, coming back in 2013 and worth €1,500. Not only did she earn her largest score, but Hafeli is now a WPTDeepStacks champion. As part of her prize, Hafeli picked up 800 points in the WPTDeepStacks Europe Player of the Year race and earned a package to compete in the season-ending WPTDeepStacks Championship event in Europe.
The top 31 finishers placed in the money. Outside of the final table, notables to finish in the money in the WPTDeepStacks Sanremo Main Event included Yuri Ishida (13th), Paul Testud (17th), and Giuseppe Ruocco (30th).
To relive Hafeli’s victory, check out the event’s live reporting coverage.
Next up for WPTDeepStacks in Europe is a return to beautiful Portugal for WPTDeepStacks Portugal at Casino Vilamoura. The festival runs September 1-9, 2018, with the €1,100 Main Event scheduled for September 6-9. The festival also features a €350 no-limit hold’em opening event and the €2,000 High Roller. For more details and information, visit the event hub on WPT.com.
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