Main Event
Day 5 Started
2010 EPT Prague
Main Event
Day: 5
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2010 EPT Prague
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€2,730,550
Entries
563
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
20,000
It's Final Table Time
Hello and welcome back to the fifth and final day of the EPT Prague Main Event. A grand total of 563 hopeful players parted company with €5,300 in exchange for 30,000 tournament chips and now only the final table of eight still have some in front of them.
We have a real mixed bag of players who have made it to the final stage of this fantastic event. At one end of the spectrum we have Roberto Romanello, a man who is no stranger to large buy-in tournaments and one who has almost $900,000 in live tournament winnings, whilst at the other end we have the extravagant and often over the top Emilliano Bono who has only been playing for three years and treats the game of poker as a hobby.
We are guaranteed to crown a brand new EPT Champion by the end of play today and the odds are it will be an Italian as we have three of them on the final table, four if you count Mr Romanello, but they will be pushed all the way by the likes of French pro Manuel Bevand and the sole surviving Team PokerStars pro, Poland's Marcin Horecki.
Join us at 1200 local time for full and live coverage of the EPT Prague Main Event. There is not going to be a seat redraw, so whem play resume the players will be seated as follows:
Seat 1: Marco Leonzio - 5,075,000
Seat 2: Peter Skripka - 4,010,000
Seat 3: Roberto Romanello - 1,220,000
Seat 4: Roberto Nulli - 745,000
Seat 5: Jan Bendik - 445,000
Seat 6: Emilliano Bono - 1,530,000
Seat 7: Manuel Bevand - 615,000
Seat 8: Marcin Horecki - 3,290,000
Seat 1: Marco Leonzio, 38, Pineto, Italy – 5,075,000 chips
Leonzio, a 38 year old real estate agent from Pineto on the Adriatic Sea, started playing poker when he was young but only switched to Texas Hold’em three years ago. The married father-of-two normally plays cash games - and then uses his winnings to buy into live events. Making the final table in Prague is by far his best result, although he already has two EPT cashes under his belt - 16th place in EPT Vilamoura this season and 118th at EPT San Remo last season. He says that if he wins EPT Prague, he will think about turning pro.
Seat 2: Peter Skripka, 24, St Petersburg, Russia – PokerStars player - 4,010,000
Peter has been playing poker for six years, mostly as a professional and can mainly be found playing MTTs with buy-ins ranging from $200 to $500. The PokerStars player says he’s cashed online for $100,000 and, given the way he’s played here in Prague, that should not come as a surprise. Peter, a keen FC Zenit fan, said: ‘I will try to play some good poker at the final table, not just fold.’ We see that as a major understatement so expect some fireworks from the young Russian.
Seat 3: Roberto Romanello, 34, Swansea, Wales - 1,220,000
Romanello is a well-known figure on the international poker circuit and has played numerous EPTs. His best EPT to date was sixth place at last season’s EPT Copenhagen and he also cashed at EPT Barcelona a few weeks ago – 39th for €15,000. Since turning professional in 2005, Romanello has made nearly $900,000 in live tournament earnings. Like many other players, he took up poker while convalescing from a sports injury and qualified for a WPT in his first two weeks. He also enjoyed a deep run at his first WSOP in 2006 and final tabled the £5,000 WSOP Europe PLO event last year.Romanello, who is currently fifth in the Wales All Time Money List, still helps his family run their chain of up-market Swansea fish-and-chip shops.
Seat 4: Roberto Nulli, 35, Italy - 745,000
Nulli started playing online poker in 2005 and now plays at PokerStars.IT under the name ‘nemo33838’. His best result is a 13th place in the last EPT/UKIPT London for GBP 30.000. He also played in Barcelona but did not made the money. Now he is in the money again. This is his second live tournament final table – he was runner-up in February at a €1500 NLHE Tournament in Portomaso which earned him €17,900. The father of two normally brings his wife to events but she stayed at home with the kids this time. Roberto prefers live cash games and his favorite game is PLO and 2-7 low ball. He also loves to travel and this prize money is guaranteed be used for some more poker and non-poker holidays.
Seat 5: Jan Bendik, 46, Poprad, Slovakia - 445,000
Jan has been playing poker for six years as a hobby. He owns an electricity company in his homeland but has been playing poker more and more over the years. He has very little time for any other hobbies as poker dominates any free time he has. Poker has been a very fruitful for him as he has amassed over $600,000 in tournament winnings leading up to this tournament. This is his first EPT main event cash but he has cashed in three side events before including a first place finish in €1,000 event for €68,860 just three weeks ago at EPT Barcelona. Jan is being supported by some friends here this week.
Seat 6: Emilliano "MiloRomaAA" Bono, 35, Rome, Italy - 1,530,000
Bono started playing poker live in 2007 and online a few months afterwards. Poker is still just a hobby for Bono, who works as a real estate agent, but he is a Pokerstars regular. The married father-of-two won his seat in the EPT Prague Main Event in a live satellite. Bono enjoys playing live and online MTTs. This is by far his best live result to date but he nearly made the final of the IPT Venice Main Event in January, finishing ninth for €9,000. He loves fitness and travel and is excited to make the Prague final.
Seat 7: Manuel Bevand, 34, Paris, France - 615,000
Manuel Bevand played his first EPT in Warsaw in 2007 and has cashed a further six times including 23rd at last season's Grand Final. Prague has been particularly good for Manuel. He finished 19th in Season 5, 22nd last season and now the final – his best live result to date. Originally from Lyon, the 34-year old turned pro in 2006 and has always enjoyed games - from programming video games on the family computer aged eight to becoming a noted computer game designer for a big French studio. Manuel also excelled at the card game “Magic : The Gathering”. After cutting his teeth playing cash games – live and online, Manuel is now focused almost exclusively on multi-table tournaments. He has written an advice manual for aspiring poker professionals and is the founder of the popular “Club Poker Radio” show.
Seat 8: Marcin Horecki, 33, Warsaw, Poland – Team PokerStars Pro - 3,290,000
Born in Poland, Marcin Horecki is a former member of the national alpine skiing team but was forced to quit the sport because of injury. Marcin studied for BA and MA degrees and then worked in corporate finance. He also began playing Magic: The Gathering around this time, a game that would introduce him to the poker tables at PokerStars. In 2006, he came close to making the final table of the €1,000 NLHE event at the Barcelona Open and this gave him the confidence he needed to turn pro. He has a total of six EPT cashes to date including his career-best third place finish at EPT London in Season 5 for £303,439. Marcin joined Team PokerStars Pro during the WSOP in July 2009. He is currently leading the Polish All Time Money List.