Making three tables look like one at a major tournament is always one of the best spectacles in poker. For many players just making an EPT final table is enough of an achievement. Getting there on the other hand takes guts, a firm mind and a sprinkling of luck. The PokerStars.net EPT Prague shaped a final table of eight today and we saw bucket loads of all three.
The player to find the best combination of all three to claim the overall chip lead overnight was Ramzi Jelassi. While there was drama and huge hands playing out all around him, the talented Swede kept out of trouble. The biggest hand he played was the last hand of the day, and it propelled him into the chip lead heading to tomorrow's final table. It also ruined the 40th birthday of Mariusz Klosinski. The Pole six-bet all in with and was quickly called by Jellasi who held . The final board of the day ran to see the kings hold up.
He’ll be flanked by seven others tomorrow and this is how they will line up:
Seat
Name
Chips
1
David Boyaciyan
4,635,000
2
Sergey Kuzminskiy
1,850,000
3
Ramzi Jelassi
5,675,000
4
Ben Warrington
2,200,000
5
Sotirios Koutoupas
3,775,000
6
Mark Herm
1,700,000
7
Aleh Plauski
4,705,000
8
Diego Gomez
1,380,000
Back to the beginning of the day where 21 players had a dream, a dream that would make their Christmas. Roberto Romanello probably dreamed bigger than most. The champion from two years ago was short but if fate was to be on his side he had a chance of breaking all EPT records (first double EPT champion; first to win two EPT Prague titles). It wasn’t to be though as he ran pocket tens into the pocket jacks of Mads Amot.
Iosif Beskrovnyy was big chip leader at the end of days one and two but he couldn’t sustain his position to the end and his final act was losing a race against Dany Parlafes. What can we say about poor Jeff Sarwer? He busted when he four-bet all in with only for Aleh Plauski (the three-bettor) to call with . The damage to Sarwer’s stack had already been done though when he lost with pocket aces deep in an EPT for what must be the fifth time.
Klosinski was having a great birthday until that hand and he certainly had a big present handed to him mid-way through the day’s play. He eliminated Amot in a huge pot where he needed, and received, a two-outer on the river to devastate the young Norwegian. That left Norway’s, and Team PokerStars Pro’s hopes for that matter, in the capable hands of Johnny Lodden. Like Sarwer, Lodden has had many deep runs at EPTs only for his luck to run out at the latter stages. Luck evaded him yet again here in Prague when he ran pocket tens into the pocket aces of David Boyaciyan in a button versus small blind set-up.
Shock pot and shock flop hand of the week easily occurred when Andreas Berggren was eliminated in 11th place. He got entangled in a pre-flop raising war with Plauski and found himself all in with pocket kings versus the ace-deuce of the man from Belarus. He was in great shape to double up until the flop came down containing three deuces giving Plauski quads! Read the full hand here.
Tomorrow is a big day for all these players with an awful lot of life-changing money at stake. Here’s a reminder of what they have the chance of winning:
Position
Prize (EUR)
1
€ 835,000
2
€ 510,000
3
€ 310,000
4
€ 250,000
5
€ 196,000
6
€ 150,000
7
€ 108,400
8
€ 75,000
Join us back here tomorrow from 12:00 PM CET for the much anticipated final table of the last EPT of 2012.
It is all over folks, the EPT Prague main event final table is set. Mariusz Klosinski has just been eliminated and we are down to eight players.
The action folded around to Mariusz Klosinski in the small blind and the tournament's birthday boy raised to 80,000. Ramzi Jelassi was in the big blind and he three-bet to 240,000. Team PokerStars Pro Johnny Lodden commented on the live stream that he believed Jelassi must be strong because he would otherwise have called and used his superior position. How right Lodden wold turn out to be.
Klosinski reached for chips and four-bet to 490,000 only to see Jelassi take back his original bet and replace it with 740,000 worth of chips! Within moments Klosinski had six-bet shoved and Jelassi called.
Jelassi:
Klosinski:
Lodden was right! Jelassi was strong! Klosinski stood from the table as the dealer put out the flop, then the turn and finally the river. And with that Klosinski was eliminated and the final eight players of the EPT Prague main event were set.
The final table is one player away from being set as Jorma Nuutinen has just been eliminated by David Boyaciyan.
It happened Aleh Plauski opened for 80,000 from early position and Nuutinen three-bet shoved for 530,000 from the small blind. David Boyaciyan then called from the big blind and Plauski got out of the way.
Showdown
Nuutinen:
Boyaciyan:
It was a bad spot for Nuutinen, and according to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, he had just a 23.73% chance of winning compared to Boyaciyan's 75.15%.
Nuutinen would watch those odds slowly drop to zero as the board ran out an unexciting . The Finnish player exited in 10th place, which means the final nine players will combine to one table.
Andreas Berggren has been eliminated in a cruel blind-vs-blind confrontation.
A preflop raising war broke out between Berggren and Aleh Plauski that resulted in Berggren being all-in and a 3,676,000 pot being created! Berggren showed and was way in front of the of Plauski — but it would not stay that was for long.
The dealer put out the flop, gifting Plauski quad deuces — the second set of quads we have seen today! The turn and river completed the hand and Berggren headed to rail with an almighty bad beat story to tell his friends.
The last Team PokerStars Pro has been eliminated from the 2012 PokerStars.net EPT Prague Main Event as Johnny Lodden was just eliminated by last year's runner-up, David Boyaciyan.
It happened when Ramzi Jelassi opened for 60,000 from early position and cleared the field all the way to Lodden on the button. He had the short stack at the feature table, and he opted to commit his last 779,000. Boyaciyan was next to act in the small blind and put in a raise, which drove Jelassi from the hand.
Boyaciyan
Lodden
Lodden had a good hand, but he had run into the granddaddy of all hands as Boyaciyan woke up with aces. The flop wasn't all that exciting, but the turn was as it gave Lodden an open-ended straight draw. Much to the dismay of his fans back in Norway, the blanked on the river and Lodden was eliminated from the tournament in 13th place. Meanwhile, Boyaciyan took over the chip lead and is primed to make back-to-back EPT Prague Main Event final tables.
We missed the exact action, though we did hear Sotirios Koutoupas had flatted preflop from the big blind, but we do know that Marco Leonzio was just eliminated after getting his last 590,000 all in holding on a flop. Unfortunately for him, Koutoupas held for top set.
Leonzio was in bad shape, though the turn did give him some hope as either a nine or ace would give him a straight. The dealer burned one last time and put out the , the last card Leonzio would see in the 2012 PokerStars.net EPT Prague Main Event.
Dany Parlafes has just been sent to the rail in 15th place after losing a huge coinflip with Sotirios Koutoupas.
Parlafes was under the gun and he raised to 50,000. To his immediate left was Koutoupas and he three-bet to 125,000. Koutoupas has been playing tightly and his rare three-bet forced folds from everyone at the table except Parlafes who went deep into the tank.
Parlafes stayed in the tank for almost 90 seconds before moving all-in for 958,000. Koutoupas called and put his Romanian opponent at risk.
Koutoupas:
Parlafes:
The flop was safe for Parlafes' queens, as was the turn. The river certainly wasn't safe because it improved Koutoupas to a hand-winning pair of king and eliminated Parlafes.
While Sergio Aido Espina was being eliminated on one of the outer tables, Jose Manuel Nadal Sordo was axed at the other.
We're not sure of the betting, but we do know it was blind-versus-blind and Sordo was all in for his last 200,000 or so from the big with and at risk against Mikhail Petrov, who held in the small blind.
It was a hand reminiscent of Espina's elimination, and like that hand the queens would hit a set as the flop came down . The turn meant Sordo could still win with a king on the river, but it wasn't in the cards as the blanked.
With that, Sordo exited in 16th place and the final 15 players will now combine to the final two tables.
It might be a while before we see Jeff Sarwer on the EPT again. Getting so deep so many times only for the deck to turn against him seems to, understandably, take its toll on the Canadian.
His exit hand came after he four-bet all in for a little less than 500,000 from the big blind after an open to 50,000 from Mark Herm and a 100,000 three-bet from Aleh Plauski. Herm folded but Plauski called.
Roberto Romanello's bid for EPT history has come to an end on just the third hand of the day.
It happened when Mads Amot opened for 42,000 only to have Roberto Romanello, who won this very event two years ago in Season 7, shove from the big blind for 383,000. Amot made the call and Romanello discovered the bad new.
Showdown
Amot:
Romanello:
It was a bad spot for Romanello, and it only got worse on the flop. Amot hit a set and left Romanello drawing to running straight cards. Any hope of that disappeared when the dealer burned and turned the , leaving Romanello drawing dead. The was put out on the river for good measure, and Romanello exited in 21st place.
and was quickly called by Jellasi who held 
. The final board of the day ran 
to see the kings hold up.
only for Aleh Plauski (the three-bettor) to call with 
. The damage to Sarwer’s stack had already been done though when he lost with pocket aces deep in an EPT for what must be the fifth time.
. The Finnish player exited in 10th place, which means the final nine players will combine to one table.
of Plauski — but it would not stay that was for long.
flop, gifting Plauski quad deuces — the second set of quads we have seen today! The 
turn and 
flop wasn't all that exciting, but the 
turn was as it gave Lodden an open-ended straight draw. Much to the dismay of his fans back in Norway, the 
flop. Unfortunately for him, Koutoupas held 
turn did give him some hope as either a nine or ace would give him a straight. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 
flop was safe for Parlafes' queens, as was the 
turn meant Sordo could still win with a king on the river, but it wasn't in the cards as the 
flop. Amot hit a set and left Romanello drawing to running straight cards. Any hope of that disappeared when the dealer burned and turned the 
