In the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) stop in Berlin, PocketFives.com member Kevin ImaLuckSac MacPhee came out on top for €1 million. In the process, MacPhee survived a starting grid of 945 players and a full-fledged robbery at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Masked gunmen stormed the tournament’s registration area and made off with an unspecified amount of cash, with the entire scene being aired across cyberspace on sites like YouTube. MacPhee defeated Finnish poker player Ilari Tahkokallio heads-up and sat down with PocketFives.com from Berlin to recap his eventful visit to the German city.PocketFives.com: You entered the final table as a commanding chip leader, holding a stack of 6.1 million for a sizable lead over Ketul Nathwani’s 4.7 million second place tally. What was your big stack philosophy at the final table?
Kevin MacPhee: It’s all about stack size management. For most of the tournament, I had more than 100 big blinds, which is a difficult stack size to play. In general, if you are playing against other 100+ big blind stacks, I think that 3betting and 4betting light is really bad. However, against the middle stacks - between 25 and 50 big blinds - you can still get away with an occasional air ball. Mostly, I tried to flat in position and defend against the big stacks.
PocketFives.com: You lost the chip lead three-handed to Tahkokallio, who you faced heads-up. Talk a little bit about his game.
Kevin MacPhee: He is just really good. He’s solid and never out of line, but capable of making post-flop bluffs and 3betting and 4betting light. Mostly, he was very sticky, flatting a lot and defending and playing post-flop. He felt comfortable with that style and I just let that dictate the tempo of the short-handed game.
PocketFives.com: You had an epic sweat thread in Poker Discussion. Did it feel good to have a massive rail behind you?
Kevin MacPhee: I had a lot of family that got up at 3:00am back on the West Coast of the United States to watch the coverage on EPTLive. It was good to know that I had so many friends and family rooting for me. I was really motivated to win a title for America and represent my country well.
PocketFives.com: We’d be amiss if we didn’t ask you about the robbery. Did you understand what was happening?
Kevin MacPhee: I'll admit that I was a little freaked out at first. When the panic happened in the room, it was clear that someone had a gun, so I just got down low to the ground. Then, I heard a dealer yell for everybody to exit the room. I was close to the service exit, kept clear of the stampede, and got out okay. I went straight back to my hotel and called my parents, who I assume were freaked out and worried about me. I was really surprised that we continued play that day. I was fairly vocal about suspending play, but I was the only one and play went on. That was lucky for me, I guess.
PocketFives.com: Did your EPT Berlin win lose any luster because of the robbery?
Kevin MacPhee: If anything, it gave the win more notice. I did interviews for CNN, CBS, and BBC Radio and just tried to represent poker well.
PocketFives.com: We saw you on the CBS “Early Show.” When did they contact you for an interview?Kevin MacPhee: I was contacted by CBS before I had won. Then, they picked me up from my hotel and took me to a studio here in Berlin. They put makeup on me and then put me in a big empty room with a lot of lights and a green screen behind me. I couldn't see myself or who I was talking to, so that was strange, but I went live to the East Coast with 30 million people watching.
PocketFives.com: Is there anyone you’d like to send a shout out to?Kevin MacPhee: I want to thank the guys that I traveled here with: Richard rjmgrace Grace, Laurence rivermanl Houghton, and Jonathan Weekes. Also, I want to thank Dylan ImaLucSac Linde (pictured at left) and the rest of my friends and family back home for watching on EPTLive and sending in letters of support to the broadcasters.
Check out our EPT Berlin recap.
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