Hands of the Week: Did a Day 1a Blast Off Help Matan Krakow Win EPT Prague?
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The 2025 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague ran from Wednesday, December 3 through Sunday, December 14, 2025, at the Hilton Hotel Prague. PokerNews was on-site throughout, offering live updates from nearly a dozen events.
That included Yulian Bogdanov winning both the €1,650 PS Open Main Event and€10,200 Mystery Bounty, Dominik Panka taking down the €3,250 EPT Mystery Bounty for €204,581, and Mahersh Selvakumaran winning the €10,300 EPT High Roller for €477,400.
During that time, our dedicated live reporters captured hundreds of hands, and we've compiled some of the biggest, best, and most entertaining ones from the €5,300 Main Event for our latest installment of 'Hands of the Week.' As it happened, all of these hands were captured by superstar reporter Frank Visser.
Grieco Blasts Off on Final Hand
On Day 1a of the tournament, it was Level 10 (600/1,200/1,200) and the last hand of the night when Matan Krakow raised to 2,500 in middle position. Teemu Jaatinen flat-called in the hijack before Nicola Grieco squeezed in a three-bet to 14,300 from the big blind.
Krakow called, and Jaatinen followed suit after spending a couple of minutes in the tank. Grieco continued with a tiny bet of 5,000 on the Q♥7♣5♥ flop.
When both opponents called, Grieco switched gears by jamming all in for 60,000 on the A♠ turn. He stood up and walked around as Krakow was debating his options. Eventually, he rejammed, forcing a showdown as Jaatinen instantly mucked his hand.
Nicola Grieco: J♦9♠
Matan Krakow: A♣10♣
Grieco was already drawing dead against the top pair of Krakow. He could do nothing but helplessly look on as the meaningless 3♣ river completed the board.
The huge pot was shipped to Krakow, and Grieco was declared the final elimination of Day 1a. As for Krakow, he went on to win the entire tournament for €778,255.
Runner-Runner Makes It Funner
On Day 4 in Level 21 (10,000/15,000/15,000), Vasyl Pidhrusnyi opened to 30,000 under the gun, and Antonio Sciacca responded with a three-bet to 125,000 in the hijack. Pidhrusnyi clicked it back to 250,000, after which Sciacca moved all in for 745,000.
Pidhrusnyi snap-called with the covering stack, and the cards were tabled.
Antonio Sciacca: A♦K♠
Vasyl Pidhrusnyi: A♠A♣
Sciacca needed running outs to crack the aces of Pidhrusnyi after the 10♣5♥4♦ flop.
A smile appeared on his face as the K♣ turn gave him a glimmer of hope, and he could not believe his eyes as the K♦ river made him trips to best Pidhrusnyi's aces and double up.
Gkatzas Folds King-High Flush, Gets Shown Inferior Hand
Two levels later in Level 23 (10,000/25,000/25,000), Ding Fan raised his J♦J♣ to 50,000 on the button. Dimitrios Gkatzas flat-called K♥Q♦ in the small blind, and Jeffrey Sarwer came along for the ride with K♠7♦ in the big blind.
The trio checked through the Q♥3♥8♥ flop, prompting Sarwer to take the initiative with a bet of 75,000 on the J♥ turn. Fan and Gkatzas both called to the 2♠ river, where the action checked to Fan again.
Fan wagered 200,000 with his top set, sending Gkatzas into the tank. Gkatzas spent a time bank before he concluded the third nuts was no good, and he sent his king-high flush into the muck.
Sarwer's air was quickly passed to the dealer as well. Fan smiled as he tabled his hand for the other players to see, causing an agonized look to form on Gkatzas' face.
O'Driscoll Finds Huge Double as Iaculli Back-Raise Jams
In the next level, the blinds were 15,000/30,000/30,000 when Bora Kurtulus raised to 60,000 under the gun. Gianfranco Iaculli called in the small blind, prompting big blind Conor O'Driscoll to three-bet to 275,000.
Kurtulus folded 6♠6♣, but Iaculli moved all in. O'Driscoll spent some time scouting the outer tables before he called off his stack of 1,305,000, worth over 40 big blinds.
Conor O'Driscoll: A♦K♠ [allin]
Gianfranco Iaculli: K♣J♦
O'Driscoll's ace-high remained best on the 7♣8♠4♦3♣Q♠ runout, doubling him up and placing him among the leaders in the Main Event. Driscoll went on to finish the tournament in sixth place for €206,900.
Kurtulus's King-High Hero Call
In Level 29 (50,000/100,000/100,000) on Day 5 of the tournament, Bora Kurtulus opened his button to 200,000. Krakow was in the big blind and defended.
Kurtulus fired a quick continuation-bet of 100,000 on the 2♠10♥9♥ flop, which Krakow check-called.
The 3♣ then checked through to the 3♠ river. Krakow slid in a bet of 450,000. Kurtulus weighed his options for about ten seconds before he assembled calling chips and slid them in the middle.
Krakow could only table queen-high with Q♠8♥. Kurtulus showed K♠7♣ for an amazing hero call with king-high, and he raked in the pot to increase his lead over the field. Kurtulus went on to finish the tournament in second place for €757,400 after a deal was worked three-handed.
