Madrid played host to the third leg of the ParadisePoker Tour in May and after setting high standards with sell-out fields in London and Prague, the Spanish disappointed neither the players nor their palate over the weekend of the 8th-9th.

Much like its predecessors on the ParadisePoker Tour 2009/10, the Casino Gran Madrid added a touch of the Vegas to proceedings, with high stakes cash games, eye-catching waitresses and a choice of culinary delights the sides for the excellent structure that dragged in another 250 plus players. The masses were treated to a sit-down meal on the Saturday at ParadisePoker’s expense and those that remained got complimentary access to the casino’s fantastic buffet as Sunday whittled down the field.

The pièce de résistance; local professional Miguel “Miki” Rodriguez taking down the top prize which, after a heads-up deal with compatriot Ricardo Calleja, left him €24,250 richer. Though far from uncommon to feel an air of destiny during a poker game, after being billed as one of a trio of Spain’s top pros going into the tournament, the Rodriguez victory seemed to fit with a plotline that is rarely so predictable once the cards are in the air.

Indeed, the Spanish contingent played a big part in the weekend’s tale thanks in part to home advantage, taking four seats at a final table that spanned the generations as well as the continent. It was only a shame that Jose Roldan, who to describe as a seasoned pro would do him some serious disservice, had so little time - and chips - to show poker’s younger generations just what the old guard is made of.

Other notable nationals included Oscar “La Pua” Blanco and Javier Etaya, who both busted out just shy of the final table when they slipped up with Big Slick. It was Miki who put the beat on the latter, when his AQ wriggled out of a pre-flop predicament with half his stack at risk, and he rarely looked back. Rodriguez continued to take scalps throughout the closing stages, as a hot deck added lethal force to his aggressive style. Matched only for stack size by eventual heads-up rival Calleja, Miki dictated the fast pace – knocking out five of the last nine.

It was merely a continuation of Sunday’s momentum, which had been building from the first deal. Thirty-four players had returned yet collectively they refused to hang around for the bubble, bursting it in quick time, with a little drama to boot. Francois Frejdles believed he was the man to miss the money after his Queens were cruelly rivered by Jacks, but the big Belgian had the last laugh as Danish player Kresten Johansen beat him to the rail by the finest of margins.

Every time progress looked to be blocked by the big stacks and slow blind structure, the appropriate hand arose to re-inject the urgency, and it was still relatively early when the final nine was set.

Having had Danish pro Johnny Jensen make the final table in both London and Prague, ParadisePoker’s faith was again justified in another sponsored player, as Antonio “Tony L” Lemos was sat on the third largest stack at this point. The Portuguese was joined by Lithuanian Dovydas Asanavicius, Zoltan Hegyi of Hungary, Dane Sunny Khlosa, Polish player Wiktor Szuster and Spain’s Miguel Alonso, along with Rodriguez, Calleja and Roldan.

Szuster and Alonso had both qualified online through ParadisePoker’s wide range of satellite events, and the grin filling the latter’s face after succumbing to Miki reflected the glee in an unexpected deep run. Khlosa, Hegyi and Asanavicius were all less satisfied with their exits, but something had to give as the late night began to claim its victims.

The usual mix of short stack play and bad beats preceded the heads-up battle, which despite the deal, proved anything but an uneventful truce. Even when the chips went in, the deck refused to split the pair, as the shorter stack twice won a pot for his tournament life. When the duo split another despite Miki dominating Calleja on the flop, it seemed the ParadisePoker Tour Madrid Trophy would be waiting a while for its new owner.

It was to be the fairytale finish for Rodriguez in the end though, as eventually he broke his amateur opponent and picked up the win. It was a great tournament with a good structure and it feels great to win it,” he said after 9-10 of spades handed him victory. “I hit some cards obviously and everything seemed to go my way.

“This is my local casino; I come here all the time so while obviously it’s great to win anything, anywhere, it’s even better to win at home. I was only all-in for all my chips in one hand during the whole tournament, so that’s great for any player. I was often facing other people’s all-ins but I never had all my chips at risk, which is just about perfect poker for me.

“If we hadn’t made a deal, we could have played heads-up for another four hours,” he smiled, “It’s been a fantastic experience so I was happy to split the money and be named ParadisePoker Tour Madrid champion!”

The final leg of season 1 of the ParadisePoker Tour is Sunny Beach, Bulgaria from July 16th – 18th. Players can win their package now for as little as €1.10.