€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day 1a Completed
€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day 1a Completed
The first day of the €5,300 Main Event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague wrapped up after ten one-hour levels in the Hilton Prague. A total of 412 entries were made and out of those, 131 found a way to Day 2.
It was Joao Mestre who collected the most chips throughout the day as he ended with a stack of 359,000 from a starting stack of 30,000. Others with a big stack include Yulian Bogdanov (315,000), Cheng Zhao (306,500), and Steve O'Dwyer (251,500).
Ramon Colillas (95,500) and Felix Schneiders (80,500) are waving the flag for the Red Spade brigade. The two PokerStars ambassadors managed both to survive the day. Leo Worthington-Leese collected a little over five starting stacks when he ended Day 1a with 156,500. The Brit had an incredible run at the 2023 EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event where he finished third for €397,450 and he’s looking to repeat his success.
Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count | Day 2 Big Blinds |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Joao Mestre | Portugal | 359,000 | 239 |
2 | Yulian Bogdanov | Bulgaria | 315,000 | 210 |
3 | Cheng Zhao | China | 306,500 | 204 |
4 | Enzo Vito | United Kingdom | 280,000 | 187 |
5 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 251,500 | 168 |
6 | Pawel Krol | Poland | 250,500 | 167 |
7 | Ka Kwan Lau | Spain | 250,000 | 167 |
8 | Marcos Thielke | Spain | 239,500 | 160 |
9 | Gonzalo Veiga | Spain | 237,000 | 158 |
10 | Patrik Jaros | Czech Republic | 209,000 | 139 |
The day started at noon local time with plenty of hopefuls seated when the “shuffle up and deal” was announced. Some of the early faces in the field were Barny Boatman, Julien Sitbon, and Niall Farrell. Boatman managed to survive the day with a stack of 61,500. Sitbon wasn’t as fortunate as he tried his luck later on in the €10,200 Mystery Bounty.
Farrell also wasn’t fortunate enough to make Day 2. With about an hour left in the day he found pocket aces but the runout wasn’t in his favor when Brandon Leetz flopped a set of tens before the chips went in. A clean runout for Leetz followed and Farrell’s efforts weren’t awarded with a bag at the end of play on Day 1a.
Ka Kwan Lau ended the day with a top 10 stack of 250,000. Lau isn’t a stranger to success on the European Poker Tour. Earlier this year at EPT Barcelona, Lau had a deep run in the €5,300 Main Event finishing 31st (€36,100), only to take down the €10,300 EPT High Roller in Barcelona for €910,400 and the trophy a few days later.
The second flight of the EPT Prague Main Event starts on Tuesday, December 12 at noon local time with the same structure as Day 1a. Everyone starts with a fresh 30,000 stack and blinds begin at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Registration is open until Day 2.
Stay tuned for more live coverage of the 2023 EPT Prague Main Event as the PokerNews live reporting team brings you all the action straight from the source.
PokerStars has unveiled the full schedule for the 2024 European Poker Tour (EPT) season, which shows five destinations, including a return to EPT Paris and EPT Cyprus. Both Paris and Cyprus made their EPT debut in 2023, and they return for 2024, much to the delight of the players.
EPT Paris is the first stop of the 2024 European Poker Tour season. It takes place between February 14-25 at a new venue. The stunning Le Palais des Congres has a 120-table capacity, meaning there will be a more extensive schedule for the festival. Cedric Billot, Associate Director for Live Events and Operations, believes the new-look EPT Paris could be one of the largest EPT festivals on record.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Joao Mestre |
359,000
359,000
|
359,000 |
|
||
Yulian Bogdanov |
315,000
235,000
|
235,000 |
Cheng Zhao |
306,500
106,500
|
106,500 |
Enzo Vito |
280,000
99,000
|
99,000 |
Steve O'Dwyer |
251,500
251,500
|
251,500 |
|
||
Pawel Krol |
250,500
250,500
|
250,500 |
Ka Kwan Lau |
250,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
Marcos Thielke |
239,500
141,500
|
141,500 |
Gonzalo Veiga |
237,000
95,800
|
95,800 |
Patrik Jaros |
209,000
209,000
|
209,000 |
Yuto Suzuki |
195,500
500
|
500 |
Brandon Leetz |
184,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
Andreas Berggren |
183,500
35,500
|
35,500 |
Conor Beresford |
176,000
-4,000
|
-4,000 |
Daniel Heredi |
171,000
171,000
|
171,000 |
Marc Foggin |
170,500
170,500
|
170,500 |
Aliaksandr Shylko |
165,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Claudio Di Giacomo |
162,500
42,500
|
42,500 |
Cyril Mira |
161,500
161,500
|
161,500 |
Moritz Dietrich |
160,000
160,000
|
160,000 |
Georgios Kostakis |
159,500
-8,500
|
-8,500 |
Leo Worthington-Leese |
156,500
36,500
|
36,500 |
Firoz Mangroe |
156,000
66,000
|
66,000 |
Juhani Rantala |
154,500
154,500
|
154,500 |
Konstantin Zerdev |
153,000
103,500
|
103,500 |
Play has wrapped up with 131 players bagging for Day 2.
Stay tuned for full field chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Firoz Mangroe opened the button to 2,500 and Yulian Bogdanov defended the big blind.
The flop came 4♦5♣9♦ which Bogdanov checked to Mangroe, who bet 1,700.
Bogdanov called the bet and the dealer flipped the 3♠.
Bogdanov knuckled to Mangroe again, who then elected to bet 6,600.
After a moments thought, Bogdanov tossed his hand into the muck, leaving the pot to Mangroe.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Firoz Mangroe |
90,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
Yulian Bogdanov |
80,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
Felix Schneiders having played the short stack for most of the day jammed all of his chips in 14,200 and found two calls from the sizeable stacks of Eugenio Bastos and Marcos Thielke.
The flop came 2♥9♦4♥ and Thielke bet 17,500 with Bastos making the call.
The turn brought the K♣ and again Thielke bet, this time 32,000 and his big stacked opponent made the fold.
Schneiders at risk turned over K♠K♦ for the turned set of kings and Bastos showed 8♣8♦ and was drawing dead on the river.
The PokerStars Ambassador stayed alive in the main event and his patience all day finally paid off.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Eugenio Bastos |
180,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
Marcos Thielke |
98,000
-37,000
|
-37,000 |
Felix Schneiders |
46,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
Michal Zubeck was in the small blind and he checked the turn 2♠ of the Q♠7♦6♥2♠ board to Stefan Huber in the big blind.
Huber bet 1,500 which Zubeck called.
Zubeck checked again the 8♦ river to Huber who knuckled back.
Zubeck tabled K♥7♠ and he claimed the pot with a pair of sevens while Huber mucked.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Michal Zubeck
|
70,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
Stefan Huber |
70,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
The tournament staff has informed players that they will play four more hands before bagging for the night.
Francesco Gisolfi opened from under the gun and Georgios Kostakis made the call in middle position. Benjamin Millian then slid out a three-bet of 8,000 to his left.
Gisolfi responded by moving all in for around 52,000. Kostakis folded before Millian snap-called.
Benjamin Millian: K♥K♦
Francesco Gisolfi: Q♥Q♦
Millian was delighted to see Gisolfi's queens, and his pocket kings held through the J♠8♦7♦6♣3♣ runout to double up late on Day 1a.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Georgios Kostakis |
168,000
168,000
|
168,000 |
Benjamin Millian |
96,500
66,500
|
66,500 |
Francesco Gisolfi |
9,000
9,000
|
9,000 |