2009 PokerStars.com EPT Prague

Day 5 completed

Posted 12-07-2009 00:23 GMT+2

Jan Skampa Wins the 2009 PokerStars.comEPT Prague (€682,000)

My, this has been a very good couple of weeks for Mr. Jan Skampa. Things were already looking rather nice when he took fourth place at last month's EPT Vilamoura to put the 23-year-old student up to third in the all-time Czech money list - but with the even nicer €682,000 he's just picked up here, he's just moved up to number one, to the voluble joy of the mostly local rail.

We saw aggression, but over the three hours of three-way play and the three or four hours of heads-up play that followed, we saw patience too. Young Mr. Skampa has proved himself a versatile and talented player, and fully deserving of the pile of money and the shiny trophy that are now his.

Prague has always been one of the most welcoming and entertaining stops on the EPT tour, and 2009's sojourn here in the Czech Republic has been no exception. As Jan Skampa raises his new EPT trophy in his own home town and the rest of us all begin the long trudge home to our various corners of the world, it's goodbye from us, and it's goodbye from them.

Tags: Jan Skampa.

Eyal Avitan Eliminated in 2nd Place (€454,000)

Skampa raised to 450,000 and Avitan, who'd taken another few small hits, moved in for 4.2 million. Call.

Simple as that.

Skampa:
Avitan: in an awful lot of trouble with

Board:

And with that, we are down to one.

Tags: Eyal Avitan.

Slight Recovery for Avitan

"You can recover!" said Avitan's wife at the rail by way of encouragement after that last one.

So it was that Avitan called a button raise from Skampa and saw a flop which both players checked.

Come the turn Avitan bet out 450,000 and Skampa called; Avitan furthermore bet out 600,000 on the river. Skampa called again - but mucked when Avitan turned over for two pair.

"I told you so," said wifey at the rail.

Current standings:

Skampa - 10.5 million
Avitan - 7 million

Tags: Eyal Avitan, Jan Skampa.

Another One for Skampa

Avitan raised his button and Skampa called to see a flop. Skampa check-called 700,000 and they moved on to see a turn. Skampa now bet out 1.55 million, hushing for a moment the gentle murmur of railers amusing themselves - but Avitan folded, and they continued.

Skampa Starting to Take Control

Eyal Avitan limped into the pot from the button, and Jan Skampa knocked the table for a free flop from the big blind. It came down , and Skampa fired 250,000. Avitan made the call, and the turn was the . Skampa led again, 525,000 this time. Before his chips had even hit the felt, Avitan was right there with another call.

The filled out the board, and Skampa paused a bit longer this time. Eventually he fired a third bullet though, 1 million straight. There was no snap-call this time, but there was a tank-call from Avitan.

Skampa turned over for aces and queens, and Avitan had the same two pair. Unfortunately for him, his was out-kicked, and Skampa takes down the biggest pot in quite some time. He's now up very close to 10 million, putting Avitan down around 7.5 million.

Tags: Eyal Avitan, Jan Skampa.

Let's Play Cards

We're back for more poker. During the break, the yellow T5,000 chips were removed from play, and we have a new chip in play. The gold/brown T100,000 chips are making their first appearance since last season's EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo.

Level 32 started

Posted 12-06-2009 22:47 GMT+2

Breaking Things

That's another tedious level in the books. The two players are taking 10 minutes to recompose.

Skampa Jabs Back Again

The very next hand:

Eyal Avitan raised it up to 430,000 on the button, and Skampa wanted to play for more. He reraised to 1.16 million, and Avitan immediately called.

The flop came down , and Skampa continued out with a small bet of 820,000. Small or not, it was enough; Avitan sent his cards back to the dealer with a quickness.

Tags: Eyal Avitan, Jan Skampa.