Friday, 8th November 2024 17:09
Home / News / Interviews / EPT Barcelona: Will Thomas Boivin finally give ‘The Shirt’ its EPT debut?

It’s usually right about now that Thomas Boivin starts double checking his suitcase to make sure he has The Shirt with him.

Which shirt? Well, the shirt that is something of a legend among Belgian poker players, of course.

Boivin and Michael Gathy are placed second and fifth, respectively, on the Belgian all time poker money list and have been to numerous final tables in major events. Gathy has four World Series bracelets; Boivin is a former High Roller winner on the EPT. And that’s just the start of it.

A few years ago the pair — as well as countrymen Johann and Terry Schumacher — started wearing a particularly eye-catching shirt if ever one of them made a final table. It has also been loaned out to other players, including Australian bracelet winner Heidi May, if they make it to the final day.

The “Final Table Shirt” now comes with them to every event they play and they’re always ready to get it out as the final stages draw near.

AN EPT DEBUT?

Boivin, who sat in 14th place of the 32 players returning to play Day 5 of the EPT Barcelona Main Event, confirmed this morning that the shirt is indeed in his possession. He has never been to an EPT Main Event final table before, and neither has The Shirt.

But Boivin also confessed that “the” shirt is perhaps not right anymore.

“Actually, there are three,” he says.

Boivin went on to describe the “disco” shirt (“It looks very good under lights”) and the “leopard” shirt, exclusively revealing that he has the leopard print design here in Barcelona.

If he makes it down to the last eight, it’s the leopard that will be coming out to play.

Thomas Boivin wearing “a” shirt, but not “The Shirt”

GOOD FORM

“The Shirt has been to two final tables already this year,” Boivin says. “There was a player in it,” he adds, to avoid confusion. Which player? “Actually, it was me,” he says.

Both those performances came at the Seminole Hard Rock, in Florida, and resulted in one $711,300 outright win, and one $214,370 second place. The Shirt is clearly in good form, but how close to the final table does Boivin need to be to start ironing the shirt?

“It’s never been ironed!” Boivin says. “Or washed! The smell is part of the edge.”

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