Lukas Van Eeden Makes a Royal Flush, Then Mucks It at EPT Barcelona
The Day 6 hand ended without a showdown after van Eeden turned the nuts against Jose Criado and chose not to table it.
Lukas van Eeden hit a royal flush in EPT Barcelona’s €5,300 Main Event on Day 6, but he did not table the hand. After making the nuts on the river against Jose Criado, he bet, got a quick fold, and sent the winner straight into the muck instead of showing the table.
According to PokerNews, the hand came with nine players left inside Casino Barcelona in a field of 1,823 entries. Criado opened the button to 250,000 with 6♦4♦ and about 100 big blinds, and van Eeden defended from the big blind with K♣J♣. The flop fell 2♠ A♣ 10♣, giving van Eeden a royal-flush draw, and Criado’s 175,000 continuation bet got called.
The 3♣ on the turn completed van Eeden’s flush, while Criado picked up a gutter and fired 750,000. Van Eeden just called. When the Q♣ hit the river, his nut flush turned into a royal flush, and he led 650,000. Criado folded quickly.
Van Eeden said he was “flabbergasted” by making a royal flush and had never had one before. He also said the spot felt strange because he did not expect another bet from Criado, thought a small river lead might get some value, and later wondered whether he should have shown the hand.
The bigger picture still mattered around the table. Van Eeden was fifth in chips with eight players remaining, while Criado still held the lead. The prize pool reached €8,841,550, the eventual winner was due €1,370,050, and the last six players were set to return on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. local time to play the final day from Level 32, with blinds at 100,000/200,000 and a 200,000 big blind ante.
