Bad Beat Busts Arnaud Mattern in EPT Tallinn

Arnaud Mattern in happier times, before a two-outer ended his run in Estonia.

Earlier today Arnaud Mattern was looking to become the first player ever to repeat as a European Poker Tour champion. Now he’s bemoaning his bad luck after a brutal beat that sent him home from Tallinn, Estonia, in third place.

Things were certainly aligned properly to give Mattern a solid shot at becoming the first two-time EPT champion. He entered the final table with nearly 30 percent of the chip in play and extended his lead when he eliminated the final table’s first player, Bassam Elnajjar, with pocket aces against A-Q. He also busted Mikko Jaatinen, holding A-K to the Finn’s K-9, to take the action down to four-handed.

From there, though, the Mattern Express unable to pick up any more speed thanks to Kevin Stani and Konstantin Bilyauer, two players who won their seats through satellite events. The last three players at the table, they took turns exchanging pots – and the chip lead – until Stani jumped out to a significant lead thanks to a timely bluff against Mattern. Only minutes later Stani would make another aggressive play against the Frenchman, this one timed much more poorly than the first. He opened with 3-3 and then made it four bets all-in after Mattern had made it three bets. Mattern immediately called with pocket queens, making him a 4:1 favorite to double up into the chip lead. Instead another trey fell on the turn, giving Stani a set, and the blank river ended the hand.

Arnaud Mattern took home €160,000 for his third-place finish at EPT Tallinn. He will have to wait until the end of this month, when the tour goes to Vilamoura, Portugal, to make another run at becoming the first repeat European Poker Tour champion.