Season 12 of the European Poker Tour was completed with a spectacular poker festival at Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort in Monaco. Slovakia’s Jan Bendik topped the field of the EPT Season 12 Grand Final €5,300 Main Event, thus becoming the first player from his country to win an EPT Main Event title. Bendik took home the first-place prize of €961,800.
With Season 12 of Europe’s largest poker series now being history, the name of this season’s Player of the Year has become clear. Canadian poker pro Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald has collected the most points in the Platinum category over the five stops that comprised the latest EPT season. McDonald has been crowned the EPT Season 12 Player of the Year with a total of 3,747.38 points and beating out runner-up Steve O’Dwyer by less than a point.
During the twelfth season of the poker series, the Canadian player cashed in as many as 18 events. His triumph in the EPT Season 12 Malta €25,750 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller secured him with his largest payout and the most points of all the EPT tournaments he has cashed in since August 2015. The player received the amount of €498,575 for his victory.
Prior to the start of the EPT Season 12 Grand Final, McDonald and O’Dwyer were almost equal in points. However, the Irish player took the lead after cashing in the €50,000 Super High Roller and the €25,750 High Roller. Eventually, McDonald finished 7th in the festival’s last tournament – the €10,200 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo Six-Max, which secured him with the Platinum Player of the Year award.
EPT Player of the Year titles are granted in three categories – the Platinum, the Gold, and the Silver tiers. While the Platinum category represents all EPT events, the Gold tier covers events with buy-in fees of up to $3,000 and the Silver tier represents tournaments with buy-ins of up to $600.
Miguel Silva has become the winner in the Gold Player of the Year category with 1,851.51 points and Adam Milewski has won the EPT Season 12 Silver Player of the Year title with 51.77 points.
