Kaiser rules at EPT Season 8 opener

RONNY KAISER became the first Swiss player to become European Poker Tour champion after winning the first event of EPT Season 8, in Tallinn, Estonia.

Kaiser, 21, from Bern, won €275,000 after defeating a field of 282 players in the €4,250 event, held at the Swiss-owned Swissôtel Tallinn. Kaiser found himself up against the likes of Sami Kelopuro and Jani Sointula but it was Polish player Grzegorz Cichocki whom he had to beat heads-up.

Kaiser, who started playing poker online when hewas 18, is considered one of the best Omaha cash game players in Europe, and is a regular in the €100-€200 games in Austria. He's played around ten EPT Main Events with his best result before Tallin being 20th at EPT6 San Remo, for €30,000.

As well as his prize, Kaiser also gets an 800 point head-start in the race to be EPT Season 8 Player of the Year.

Kaiser said: "It's great to win. I've been chip leader for three days so I was really thinking this time I'm going to win it. I have had deep runs four or five times but always finished around 20th. Now my goal is to become the first ever Swiss World Series bracelet winner."

Grzegorz Cichocki, 38, from Jedlina,near Wroclaw scooped €180,000 for his runner-up finish, the highest EPT place ever achieved by a Polish player. Raigo Aasmaa, 23, who came third, was the first Estonian to ever make an EPT Main Event final, earning €110,000.

Tallinn final table

1 Ronny Kaiser (Switzerland) €275,000
2 Grzegorz Cichocki (Poland) €180,000
3 Raigo Aasmaa (Estonia) €110,000
4 Jani Sointula (Finland) €80,000
5 Stuart Fox (UK qualifier) €55,000
6 Erlend Melsom (Norway qualifier) €45,000
7 Sami Kelopuro (Finland) €35,000
8 Arvi Vainionkulma (Finland) €25,000