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After three days of intense action, the European Poker Tour London High Roller event is now over, and returning champion Phillip Gruissem defeated a star-studded field once again to take home the top prize of 450k Euro. In 2010, Gruissem was victorious over a field that included Leo Fernandez, Steve O’Dwyer and Sami Kelopuro to win 234k Euro.

Day 3 of the EPT London High Roller started with a final table of eight players. Aside from Michael Tureniec, no player had fewer chips than Gruissem. Tureniec was eliminated on the very first hand of the day, and it initially appeared that Gruissem would be next. He built his momentum with a few very sizable pots from Rob Akery before sending Sam Trickett and Joel Nordkvist to the rail in 7th and 6th places, respectively, and suddenly the tables had turned in Gruissem’s favor.

Gruissem was responsible for the next elimination as well, knocking out Adrain Bussman in the fifth place position. Gruissem pushed all in with 10-10, causing Bussman to call with A-5 after a few minutes of consideration. Although a pair of 5s on the board gave Bussman a set, a 10 on the river secured the full house and pot for Gruissem. Bussman received a tidy sum of 102k Euro for his performance.

A four-way deal was then struck between the remaining players, with Olivier Busquet getting the most value for his chips (171k Euro guaranteed for 552k chips, while Gruissem only received 202k Euro for over twice as many chips). First on the chopping block was Busquet, who was undoubtedly happy that he’d agreed to the deal. Akery was next, winning a total of 220k Euro.

After fighting back to regain the chip lead during heads up play, Gruissem called with 9-9 against the all-in push of Igor Kurganov, who held Q-6 offsuit. A 6 on the flop strengthened Kurganov’s hand to a pair, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Gruissem. Kurganov received a respectable 318k Euro or his runner-up finish.