2010 EPT Berlin Main Event | 2010 PokerStars.net EPT Berlin

03-07-2010 10:35 UTC+2

Seat 6: Nico Behling - 960,000 chips

donpeters

Nico Behling is one of the most successful German “young guns” and a good friend of Team PokerStars Pro Sebastian Ruthenberg. Nico has a lot of live poker experience and has made nearly half a million dollars in live tournaments.

He finished second at EPT Warsaw last season. Online, Behling grinds the short-handed cash games but he also sometimes plays tournaments on PokerStars. Last week, he came third in the PokerStars Sunday Million for $145,000. When he is not playing Poker, Nico likes to watch and play soccer.

Bios courtesy of PokerStars

Tags: Nico Behling

03-07-2010 10:33 UTC+2

Seat 5: Marcel Koller – 3,590,000 chips

donpeters

Marcel Koller is the only player at the EPT Berlin final table who is not a full-time pro. He’s a computer programmer by trade and says he gives his work 100% -- but he’s no slouch when it comes to winning at poker either.

He has been playing the Swiss form of 7-Card Stud -– involving a 36-card deck -- for years but only took up Texas Hold’em four years ago. His best result to date was winning a daily $30,000 tournament on PokerStars for some $8,000 a few months ago. He is being supported in Berlin by a large group of friends that include three-time Swiss champion Daniel Walter.

Bios courtesy of PokerStars

Tags: Marcel Koller

03-07-2010 10:31 UTC+2

Seat 4: Artur “wesylaa” Wasek - 3,530,000 chips

donpeters

Artur Wasek has been playing poker for two years. His biggest online success was coming fifth place in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-up for $37,000. His best live result was winning a tournament in Warsaw for $10,000.

Wasek bought in directly to EPT Berlin, winning his entry fee in cash games at Spielbank Berlin casino across the road on Monday night. This is his fourth EPT, but first cash. He is being supported from home by his wife and six-year-old daughter Susanne.

Bios courtesy of PokerStars

Tags: Artur Wasek

03-07-2010 10:29 UTC+2

Seat 3: Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee - 6,070,000 chips

donpeters

Kevin MacPhee started playing poker with college friends in 2003 after seeing Chris Moneymaker win the Main Event at the WSOP. He collectively made the transition from “Magic: the Gathering” to poker.

At first, they played each other but soon turned their attention to playing online. He’s been a pro for three to four years, but April 2008 was his real breakthrough. He broke the PokerStars TLB record and has amassed over $100,000 profit. He’s been on the road ever since playing live events and has won over $250,000 to date. He continues to shine in online tournaments, consistently near the top of ranking lists with his biggest result being $218,750 for final tabling a $5,000 event.

He’s being supported in Berlin by fellow pros Richard Grace, Jonathan Weekes and Laurence Haughton. His dad got up to watch EPT live at 3am today and will be supporting him from Idaho tomorrow.

Bios courtesy of PokerStars

Tags: Kevin MacPhee

03-07-2010 10:25 UTC+2

Seat 2: Marc Inizan – 3,655,000 chips

donpeters

The young professional took up on poker in 2005 after stumbling upon a WSOP broadcast on late-night French TV. Seeing those 20-somethings winning millions playing cards inspired him to start an online account. Through trial and error, Marc Inizan built up a bankroll, playing sit-n-gos and multi-table tournaments and, helped by his math background, gradually moving up the stakes.

Two years later, he was playing his first big live event in Canada after qualifying online, ending up in 24th place for a $52,000 prize. Since then, Inizan played several live events, and took up playing cash games with great results, while winning several major tournaments online. The Berlin EPT final table will be his best career result to date, following two consecutive final tables - at the Belgian Championships last November and the Antibes Deepstack last week.

Bios courtesy of PokerStars

Tags: Marc Inizan

03-07-2010 10:22 UTC+2

Seat 1: Marko Neumann – 2,185,000

donpeters

PokerStars qualifier

From Recklinghausen, Germany, Marko Neumann has been playing poker for five years; the last three years as a professional. He is a very successful online multi-table tournament and sit-n-go player, but has had a bad run in live events until now -– playing numerous EPTs and two WSOPs without cashing.

He said he has been a bit frustrated by this and EPT Berlin is his first major live tournament since Summer 2009. The final table here is obviously his breakthrough on the live poker circuit and he has good supporters on the rail including his girlfriend Aga.

Bios courtesy of PokerStars

Tags: Marko Neumann