When fate slips away
We would have liked to write these lines much later. Or even never write them at all. But Thomas Eychenne has just been eliminated from this WSOP Europe Main Event. Ironically, he finishes in the same position as during his first major performance, in January 2023 in the Bahamas. Even if he couldn’t go all the way to his bracelet dream, we’ll remember all the emotions he gave us throughout this deep run. While the French are often said to be arrogant, Thomas proved the exact opposite with his attitude and kindness at the table over these six days of play.
But before hearing his thoughts on the event, let’s go back to his final table.
As mentioned earlier, he came in with the second-biggest stack, naturally aiming at least for a podium finish. Especially since it would have helped make up for his losses since his huge EPT Barcelona win last August, as he told us yesterday. But when things don’t go your way, they just don’t.
It felt like nothing really went in his favor during this final table. Apart from one hand where he managed to bluff Antonio Garcia off a pot on the flop, everything was difficult. He faced five or six preflop 3-bets that forced him to fold. Still, with his experience, he managed to stay around average stack until a key hand against that same Spanish player.
Eychenne opens A♦ Q♥ from early position. It folds to Garcia in the small blind, who shoves for 16 big blinds. After some hesitation, Thomas calls, but runs into K♦ K♣ and loses the pot. “It’s a bit annoying because he was the tightest player at the table, but Ace-Queen offsuit is too strong to fold,” he explained later.
That hand drops him into a dangerous zone with around 26 big blinds. He barely has time to go on break and see the blinds go up before playing the final hand of his tournament.
It’s the Lithuanian Marius Kudzmanas who ends his run. The hand starts with a raise from Kudzmanas with 9♥ 9♦. Thomas looks down at K♥ K♦ in the hijack and 3-bets to 2,700,000 (4.5 BB). The action goes back to Kudzmanas, who decides to move all-in, covering him. Thomas snap-calls and is an 80/20 favorite for his tournament life. But a 9♠ on the flop crushes his hopes. No help on turn or river, and he heads to collect €245,000 for his 7th place finish.
We catch up with him a few minutes later, showing the same kindness and patience while answering media questions—not the easiest thing to do after such a brutal exit.
“Yesterday I won seven all-ins in a row, I got really lucky. I’m aware of that, so it’s still a very good result. You could say I was freerolling today. It gives me some confidence back. People only see the highlights, like Barcelona or here, and think I’m super lucky. But I’ve played a lot since Barcelona and it’s been a straight downswing, no break. What I’ve experienced is what most poker players go through. I would have liked to go further, but I’m very satisfied, I’m not going to complain. It’s still a good result.”
Simple and thoughtful words, just like the person I’ve come to know over these past two weeks. Congrats again Thomas, and there’s no doubt we’ll see you again very soon at a final table of this level.
Photo credit : WSOP-E
Paul Koessler