David La Ronde beat a strong final table to claim the inaugural English Poker Open title and with it a first prize of £208,367. Swedish pro Michael Tureniec was the favourite going into the final table holding a handy chip lead over nearest rival John Eames but none of them was able to beat the Colchester new poker star.

Tureniec, a runner up at EPT London and a finalist in the current Partouche Poker Tour, had to settle for second place after a lengthy heads up battle with La Ronde. The chips eventually went it with La Ronde holding A7 and Turenic K10. The board provided no assistance and the Swede was forced to settle for a second place cash of £121,815.

La Ronde’s victory may be his largest on the UK circuit but he is certainly no stranger to big money cashes. His runner up finish behind Sam Trickett at last year’s GUKPT Main Event in Luton earned him a score of £62,000.
The final table positions and payouts were as follows:

1. David La Ronde £208,367
2. Micheal Tureniec £121,815
3. James Moult £73,089
4. Julian Leonard £51,290
5. John Eames £38,468
6. Simon Pearson £28,851
7. Martyn Bebb £22,440
8. Eric Liu £16,028
9. Thor Drexel £12,823