Conan Brothers Battle Heads-up for WPT DeepStacks High Roller Title in Cannes

June 06, 2017 Matthieu Sustrac

It was Monday morning in Cannes, France, and the WPT DeepStacks High Roller was down to heads-up play the Barrière Croisette Casino. Arthur Conan (20 years old) and younger brother Marius (18 years old) were battling for a $20,282 first prize and bragging rights. Who is the best player in the family?

Arthur, a young internet wizard, took the French live scene by storm in the summer of 2015 when he went deep in a PokerStars event in Lille for almost $50,000. He has since confirmed his talent by reaching $300,000 in live tournament earnings and taking down his first trophy in June 2016 at the High Roller of the WPT National Cannes for $56,072 (87 entries).

He had a chance to claim another title Cannes on Monday, but one very familiar player stood in his way. Younger brother Marius knew his heads-up opponent very well because he plays with him on daily basis. At the ripe age of 18, Marius has plenty of experience online but is a newcomer live. However, the young student did win a side event at an EPT last July during France Poker Series Lille and was eager to continue building his poker resume.

Arthur held a commanding chip lead when Monday's final table began, and then possessed almost all of the chips when amateur player Benjamin Leher left the tournament in third place for $8,252. But Marius Conan knew that jokes and trash talking were coming from his older brother if he didn't put up a fight, and very soon, and after some all-ins preflop, he was back in contention for the win.

After a little less than one hour of heads up, Marius earned rights to tease his older brother after winning the tournament and picking up his second live win along with with $20,282 and trophy.

Among the others competing in this tournament were Giuseppe Zarbo, Ekrem Sanioglu, and Arnaud Enselme, but none were able to find any success. Johan Guilbert, a member of the PMU Poker Team Pro, reached the money, always a good thing before flying to Las Vegas for a month of high-stakes cash games and the World Series of Poker.

Here's a look at the final results of the PMU.fr WPT DeepStacks Cannes High Roller:

Place Player Prize 1 Marius Conan $20,282 2 Arthur Conan $12,221 3 Benjamin Leher $8,252 4 Johan Guilbert $4,551

Photos provided by Matthieu Sustrac