Tsugunari Toma Wins Second High Roller Title in a Week; Wins EPT Prague €10,300 High Roller
A year after finishing runner-up in a €25,000 Single-Day High Roller here at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague, Tsugunari Toma obviously had a goal in mind when returning to the Czech capital this year.
And, after winning a €10,200 Single-Day High Roller earlier in the festival for €135,220, he added victory in the prestigious three-day €10,300 EPT High Roller for a further €523,120.
Runner-up Simon Lofberg came into the day as chip leader, but the Swede would have to settle for second place out of a field of 255 entries and a payday of €352,230
2019 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague €10,300 High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsugunari Toma | Japan | €523,120 | $583,054 |
| 2 | Simon Lofberg | Sweden | €352,230 | $392,585 |
| 3 | Simon Pedersen | Denmark | €248,340 | $276,792 |
| 4 | Matthias Eibinger | Austria | €201,340 | $224,408 |
| 5 | Yunye Lu | China | €159,290 | $177,540 |
| 6 | Gianluca Speranza | Italy | €120,950 | $134,807 |
| 7 | Masato Yokosawa | Japan | €88,300 | $98,417 |
| 8 | Rainer Kempe | Germany | €64,560 | $71,957 |
| 9 | George Wolff | United States | €53,430 | $59,551 |
Final Day Recap
Just 17 players remained heading into the final day, but the two table redraw was reached almost immediately after the elimination of Thi Nguyen. Start-of-day short stack Sam Greenwood was looking for a second High Roller title of his own but would fall next.
Toma himself started as one of the short stacks but would double with jacks through Lofberg's tens early in the day, the man he'd ultimately meet again in heads-up action. Masato Yokosawa's spell at the top of the chip counts was cut short by a resurgent Lofberg, who wasn't afraid of getting involved in pots during a period where the eliminations slowed.
Well-known players Daniel Dvoress and Ludovic Geilich were among those to miss out on a seat at the final table, with Lofberg still in the lead ahead of Matthias Eibinger and Yunye Lu.
Final Table Action
Although Rainer Kempe sent George Wolff to the rail in ninth, it was Kempe who was out next as Lofberg's stack moved to around 3.5 million seven-handed. However, Eibinger was hot on his heels with the elimination of Yokosawa next as the Austrian's class began to show.
Lu then sent Gianluca Speranza to the rail, but it was Eibinger in control, quietly moving above five million in chips with ruthless efficiency. That was until Toma secured a vital double - jacks through tens, just like against Lofberg at the start of the day - and the stacks began to level out.
Fed and watered, the five players returned from their dinner break with Toma now in the lead and in control. Lofberg, who had sat in the middle of the pack, moved back to the front with the elimination of Lu in fifth, while another Simon was preparing a one-two combination to oust arguably the most dangerous player at the table.
First, Simon Pedersen doubled with sevens against king-queen, flopping quads to leave Eibinger drawing all but dead, and he would then make a flush to send Eibinger to the rail in fourth.
There was the briefest discussion of a deal, although it turned out that Lofberg's "trip to the bathroom" was exactly that, and the trio opted to play on.
Rapid-fire Finish
The tournament ended in a flurry. First, short-stack Pedersen three-bet shoved jacks into the ace-eight of Lofberg, but an ace on the flop spelled the end for his tournament.
A four-bet shove from Toma on the very first hand of heads-up set the tone for the heads-up, as on the second hand Toma wasted even less time. Three-bet jamming with ace-eight only for Lofberg to turn up with ace-king.
However, an eight on the flop was all it took to hand Toma the lead, and he dodged both straight and flush outs on both turn and river to secure his second victory in a matter of days.
This concludes the PokerNews coverage of the 2019 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague. Be sure to check out the live updates from all the events covered here, and we look forward to seeing you again at another EPT in 2020!
€10,300 No-Limit Hold'em - Adrian Mateos (€177,500)
€1,100 EPT National - Semen Kravets (€262,309)
€50,000 EPT Super High Roller - Stephen Chidwick (€725,710)
€2,200 EPT National High Roller - Alexandre Reard (€342,810)
€25,000 Single-Day High Roller I - Chin Wei Lim (€378,160)
€25,000 Single-Day High Roller II - Sam Greenwood (€384,968)
€5,300 EPT Main Event - Mikalai Pobal (€1,005,600)
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
