After four days of poker in the Czech Republic, LuLei Hu of China earned the biggest result of his career in the 2025 Euro Poker Million main event. With a buy-in of just €590 ($694), Hu’s first-place prize following a heads-up deal with eventual runner-up Fabio Giamberardini reached $435,622, more than 627 times the initial buy-in.
Hu outlasted a field of 5,303 entrants at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. Each of the final eight players also received a ticket to the €10,350 buy-in World Series of Poker Europe main event, which also takes place at King’s Resort and kicks off on October 3.
When the nine-handed final table began, Hu sat in third place. But his stack slipped over the course of a couple of hours, and he was the shortest stack five-handed. In one of the most crucial hands at the final table, three players clashed. Hu opened for a min-raise under the gun to 3.2 million with 3♦3♣. A German player using the alias “TeddyKGB” called in the cutoff with J♦9♦, and Italian player Matteo Intiso called with K♥9♥ on the button.
On a flop of K♣8♦3♥ Hu checked his flopped set. TeddyKGB led out with only backdoor draws, Intiso called with top pair, and Hu check-raised to 16 million. Only Intiso called.
The 9♠ turn gave Intiso top two pair, kings and nines. With 51.6 million in the pot, Hu bet 21 million out of his remaining 34.3 million stack. Intiso shoved, Hu called, and with the 10♠ river, Hu scored a massive double up.
Hu Runs Away With It
Hu scooped several smaller pots in short order and secured a substantial chip lead in the process. In a battle of the blinds, Hu eliminated TeddyKGB in fifth place with a stroke of luck. TeddyKGB got his last 14 big blinds in good with K♣J♥ against Hu’s J♣8♣, but an 8♦ on the flop was enough to give Hu the pot.
One Italian dispatched another, as Intiso got his last 7.4 big blinds in with K♣J♠ against Giamberardini’s A♦6♠. Neither player connected through a Q♦4♥3♣ flop or 7♠, and Giamberardini slammed the door closed with the A♥ river.
Romanian Marius Moldoveanu was the next to go, in third. After Hu opened on the button, Moldoveanu three-bet all in for his last 11 big blinds with A♥10♣. Hu, who had, A♣Q♥, called. Both players connected with the Q♠J♥10♦ flop, but Hu remained ahead.
The 8♠ turn meant Moldoveanu could hit one of two remaining tens to win, or one of eight cards, a king or nine, offered a chop. The 6♠ river gave Hu the pot, and brought the tournament down to heads-up play.
Before heads-up play, with Hu holding a nearly 2-to-1 edge, Hu and Giamberardini agreed to flatten out the pay structure. The new payouts left €64,000 and the trophy to play for.
On the final hand, with Giamberardini getting short-stacked, Giamberardini min-raised the button, and Hu put him all-in. Hu had 10♥7♣ against Giamberardini’s A♥6♦ and flopped a monster as the board fell 7♦7♥4♠. The 9♣ turn was a blank, and Hu had secured the victory. The 10♦ river gave Hu a full house to win with a flourish.
After the deal, Giamberardini received €260,000 ($306,113) for his efforts.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | LuLei Hu | $435,622 | 660 |
| 2 | Fabio Giamberardini | $306,113 | 550 |
| 3 | Marius Moldoveanu | $188,377 | 440 |
| 4 | Matteo Intiso | $124,800 | 330 |
| 5 | Teddy KGB | $97,720 | – |
| 6 | Toni Ravnak | $74,173 | 220 |
| 7 | Presiyan Tsvetanov | $55,336 | 165 |
| 8 | Nikolaus Kovacs | $40,619 | 110 |
Photo credit: Kings Resort.
