€5,300 Main Event Day 1a | 2014 PokerStars.net EPT Vienna

03-23-2014 09:42 UTC+2

The EPT Returns to Vienna for First Time Since Season 7

Chad Holloway

The stunning tournament room inside the Hofburg Palace. Photo courtesy of the EPT.

What stop on the first season of the EPT attracted the most players? You might be surprised to learn that it was the EPT Vienna with 297 players (the next closest was the EPT French Open with 243 players). It was a successful penultimate stop for Season 1, but little did everyone know that the city wouldn’t play host to an EPT again for half a decade.

The EPT returned to Vienna for its seventh season from October 26-31, 2010. The return to the Austrian capital was well received by the players, 587 of who turned out to create a prize pool of €2,935,000. By then the EPT had grown in both size and prestige, but after 20-year-old economics student and Sunday Million winner Michael “mae9690” Eiler captured the €700,000 first-place prize, the stop once again disappeared from the EPT schedule.

That's changed here in Season 10 as Vienna plays host to an EPT for the third time. Today's €5,300 Main Event is part of a 40-event tournament schedule held in conjunction with the Eureka Poker Tour that include mores innovative and fun game variants than any other festival up to date.

“The EPT is all about fun, celebrating the excitement of the game and gathering players together for a good time, and we really wanted to make a splash on our return to Vienna," said Neil Johnson, Head of Live Poker Operations for the EPT. "The EPT is known for game innovation, variety and we pride ourselves on providing game types in tournament format that you simply don’t find at other live events.”

The stunning Hofburg Palace is the venue, and early numbers indicate that it's going to be a smashing success. Day 1a of the Main Event is set to kick off at Noon local time, and then the second starting flight will take place at the same time on Monday. Registration is open until the start of Day 2, so official numbers won't be available until Tuesday.

Action is set to kick off in a few hours time, so be sure to join the PokerNews Live Reporting Team then as we bring you all the latest and greatest from the EPT10 Vienna.

Who will join this prestigious list of EPT Vienna winners? We'll have the answer in a week's time:

Date	Buy-In	Players	Prize Pool	Winner	Prize
March 10-11, 2005	€2,000	297	€594,000	Pascal Perrault	€184,000
October 26-31, 2010	€5,300	587	€2,935,000	Michael Eiler	€700,000

03-23-2014 13:02 UTC+2

A Warm Welcome from the EPT President

Chad Holloway

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

It's no secret that Edgar Stuchly, President of the European Poker Tour, is from Austria. As such, he had a nice welcome message to the players as expressed in the EPT Vienna program. Here's what he had to say:

Welcome to the EPT Vienna Poker Festival.

It's with a special pride that I cut the opening ribbon of this sixth European Poker Tour festival of Season 10. Austria is my home country, and I know that the world-renowned high quality of Austrian hospitality will be extended to both the EPT and you, the players.

The tour has touched down in Vienna twice, in Seasons 1 and 7, the Main Event of which were won by Pascal Perrault and Michael Eiler, but this event is going to be bigger and better than before. Not only are we returning in partnership with the ever-growing Eureka Poker Tour and the Concord Card Casino to put on cash games and 40 tournaments, ranging from €10,300 High Rollers through €220 turbos, but it will all be taking place in the incredible Hofburg Palace. Dating from the 13th Century, the Hofburg Palace will be like nowehere else you've ever played poker.

There are also some incredible places to eat in Vienna, including Steirereck, which is currently in the top ten on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Explore the city. Play poker. Have a great time.

I wish you success and a great time in Vienna.

Tags: Edgar Stuchly

03-23-2014 13:23 UTC+2

The Eureka Poker Tour Continues to Set Records

Chad Holloway

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

Constantly pushing the envelope and setting the bar higher and higher, PokerStars is used to breaking records. They've done it time and time again with their famed Sunday Million tournament, and one week ago the Macau Millions at PokerStars LIVE Macau at the City of Dreams shattered the record for largest poker tournament field in Asia.

The latest record-breaking achievement from PokerStars has just come in the Eureka Poker Tour Vienna Main Event. The second starting flight of that event attracted 975 players and became the largest single starting flight in the tour's history, dating back to March of 2011. That number also pushed the total number of entries in the event up to 1,432 and broke the record for largest Eureka Poker Tour Main Event by 117 players.

Amongst those who played in the event were Team PokerStars Pros Marcel Luske, Eugene Katchalov, Luca Pagano, Maxim Lykov, Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier, Martin Hruby, Luca Pagano, and Michael Keiner.

According to the EPT: "the massive field of 1,432 contained players from 58 different countries which is exactly the same count as in Prague at the previous Eureka stop back in December. Germany had most players here in Vienna with 279 starters (almost 20% of total) while 195 players represented the home country and Romania is in the third place with 84 players, overcoming Russia by three."

That event is now down to the final table. Here's a look at the finalist courtesy of the EPT:

Seat 1: Andreas Freund, 25, Vienna, Austria – 4,515,000

Andreas Freund studies Spanish and Journalism but is a professional Omaha and Hold’em cash game player as well. He started playing poker in 2007 and began playing full time a year later. He bought in directly for the Eureka Poker Tour Main Event and has already beaten his biggest tournament cash from November 2013 when he won a €1,000 event in Seefeld for €17,630.

Seat 2: Robert Malinowski, 49, Poland, PokerStars qualifier - 3,305,000

The oldest player at the final table Robert Malinowski has poker as a hobby, running a business for a job. He enjoys his biggest poker achievement and so does his wife who supports him here in the Hofburg. Robert also likes to read a lot. He made quite impressive come back on day 2 starting the last level with only 12 big blinds and finished with ten times bigger stack.

Seat 3: Markus Stöger, 44, Vienna, Austria – 5,495,000

Markus is a self-employed gastronome and a recreational poker player. He started playing poker in cash games but these days mainly focuses on tournaments. His best result was back in 2010 when won a €250 event in Vienna for €30,600.

Seat 4: Stavros Kalfos, 32, Thessaloniki, Greece, PokerStars Player – 1,050,000

Hailing from Thessaloniki, Stavros Kalfos is a 32 year-old professional poker player. Previously he was one of PokerStars' “Greek Challengers”. Kalfos mostly plays tournaments, both online and live. He has finalled the Sunday Warm-Up four times, winning it twice while live he has cashed in the EPT three times and also chopped the €2,000 side event at EPT San Remo for €90,000 back in 2010.

Seat 5: Bryan Paris, 28, Huntington Beach, USA, PokerStars player - 5,430,000

He still waits for a first 6-figure score in live event but his online results prove that he is very experienced player. Bryan Paris has scored more than $6.6 million online with more than half of it on PokerStars. He needs to finish at least 6th to lock the record live cashout, which came in the WSOP; he has cashed 12 times in the World Series so far. Though tommorow will be his first final table experience in a live tournament.

Seat 6: Erik Scheidt, 26, Rostock, Germany, PokerStars Player - 950,000

Erik Scheidt is a computer specialist and plays poker recreationally. Last year he finished 5th place in the Berlin Cup at EPT Berlin taking home €31,000 – his biggest cash so far. Outside of poker, Scheidt enjoys playing football.

Seat 7: Blazej Przygorzewski, 22, Poznan, Poland, PokerStars qualifier - 5,430,000

Playing only his third live event in a career but the the 22-year old Blazej Przygorzewski knows very well how the glory feels. He is a three time Polish champion in sailing and now he can break through even in poker. Blazej plays poker for three years online with a biggest cash of about $17,000.

Seat 8: Zoltan Gal, 27, Hungary, PokerStars qualifier - 2,245,000

Another great deep run for Zoltan Gal who finished 19th in the Eureka Prague Main Event three months ago. He's playing poker for 5 years, mostly the online high stakes cash game. He calls himself a semi-pro, trying to succeed in live tournaments for two years. This final table appearance is his best so far, surpassing a $27k hit in Las Vegas. He would celebrate the victory with a steak, his favourite meal.

The final table will start at 12.30 p.m. local time, and for the first time the Eureka final table will be live streamed including all players hole cards. It means the broadcast will run with a 45-minute delay. You can also follow the coverage of the Eureka Poker Tour Vienna on the PokerStars blog.

Tags: Eureka Poker Tour

03-23-2014 14:12 UTC+2

Free Segway Rides for EPT Vienna Players

Chad Holloway

Level 1 : 50/100, 0 ante

The PokerStars Segway. Photo courtesy of the EPT.

It's time to segue into another topic...

As part of the EPT Vienna Poker Festival and celebrating 10 years of the EPTs, organizers are offering free segway rides for all players. All they have to do is sign up with the Segway tour guides outside the tournament venue at the Hofburg Palace.

There are four tours a day from until March 27 — which will be EPT Day 4 — with each tour taking in some of the top sights in Vienna. Tours are subject to availability. More info available at the Segway Desk in front of the Hofburg entrance.

03-23-2014 16:58 UTC+2

Vandersmissen Calls with Queens

Webjoker

Level 3 : 100/200, 0 ante

Brazilian poker player Joao Baumgarten opened up the action with a raise to 400 from the hijack. The cutoff folded but Kevin Vandersmissen on the button made it 1,050 for the second time in a row. Both blinds folded and Baumgarten made the call.

on the flop and Baumgarten check called Vandersmissen's 1,200 continuation bet.

Baumgarten made a more agressive move on the turn. First he checked and let Vandersmissen bet 2,600. Baumgarten made it 6,800 to go and Vandersmissen made the call.

The fell on the river and Baumgarten bet out 8,300.

Now it was time for some thinking. Vandersmissen took his time while he counted out his chips. He took 8,300 apart and pondered some more.

Eventually he tossed those chips in and would soon be met by some good news. Baumgarten turned over for the missed flush draw. Vandersmissen tabled and took it down.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kevin Vandersmissen	47,000 17,000	17,000

Tags: Kevin Vandersmissen

03-23-2014 17:47 UTC+2

Ladouceur Puts His Opponent All In

Webjoker

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

Pflanzl Hannes in middle position opened the pot with a raise to 500 and Marc-Andre Ladouceur in the cutoff came along for the ride. The small blind and Olof Haglund in the big blind tossed in a purple 500 chip as well and the dealer got underway dealing a flop.

Both blinds checked to Hannes who made a 1,100 continuation bet. Ladouceur called, the small blind folded and Haglund wanted to see at least one more card and called as well.

It would be just one card as the hit and Haglund check folded to Hannes' 2,100 bet. Ladouceur wasn't so easy to shake off though, the Canadian PokerStars Team Online Pro made the call.

The was everything but a blank. With three hearts, four to a straight, and a bunch of broadway cards out there Hannes checked. Ladouceur shoved a big pile of 5,000 chips forward, putting Hannes all in for his last 7,000 chips.

Hannes shook his head and folded, Ladouceur gathered the chips and stacked them up.

Player	Chips	Progress
Marc-Andre Ladouceur	46,000 12,500	12,500

Tags: Marc Ladouceur Olof Haglund

03-23-2014 17:51 UTC+2

A Look at the History of the EPT Vienna

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

What stop on the first season of the EPT attracted the most players? You might be surprised to learn that it was the EPT Vienna with 297 players (the next closest was the EPT French Open with 243 players).

That first stop, which ran from March 10-11, 2005, resulted in an international final table that included two Americans, two Englishmen, a Swede, Finn, and an Austrian; however, it was Frenchman Pascal Perrault that defeated Andreas Harnemo in heads-up play to capture the €184,000 first-place prize. It was a successful penultimate stop for Season 1, but little did everyone know that the city wouldn’t play host to an EPT again for half a decade.

The EPT returned to Vienna for its seventh season from October 26-31, 2010. The return to the Austrian capital was well received by the players, 587 of who turned out to create a prize pool of €2,935,000. By then the EPT had grown in both size and prestige, so it was no surprise to see some famous faces in the field.

Among those to earn cashes were Nacho Barbero (76th - €8,000), Luke Schwartz (65th - €8,000), Jason Wheeler (54th - €9,500), Angel Guillen (52nd - €9,500), Surinder Sunar (18th - €16,000), and Kirill Zapletin (9th - €44,000).

That season’s final table featured three Germans, a Frenchman, Italian, and Greek, but two players overshadowed them all – the Czech Republic’s Martin Hruby and Canadian Daniel Negreanu. The latter actually flew out Amanda Leatherman and Joe Stapleton to sweat him at the final table, which marked “Stapes’” first EPT experience. Unfortunately they didn’t get to see their man win as Negreanu ultimately finished in fourth place for €175,000.

Hruby did a bit better, but had to settle for runner-up and €470,000 after he fell to one of the aforementioned Germans, 20-year-old economics student and Sunday Million winner Michael “mae9690” Eiler, in heads-up play. In the final hand of that tournament, Eiler, who had a significant chip lead, moved all in for the third hand in a row holding. Hruby called off with the , which was racing against the of Eiler. The flop delivered Eiler a flush, and the turn left Hruby drawing dead. The river made it official, and Eiler took home the €700,000 first-place prize.

The EPT hasn’t been back to Vienna since Season 7, but now it's back. We're currently at the stunning Hofburg Palace, which is playing host to a 40-event tournament schedule that will include more innovative and fun game variants than any other festival up to date.

“The EPT is all about fun, celebrating the excitement of the game and gathering players together for a good time, and we really wanted to make a splash on our return to Vienna," said Neil Johnson, Head of Live Poker Operations for the EPT. "The EPT is known for game innovation, variety and we pride ourselves on providing game types in tournament format that you simply don’t find at other live events.”

The EPT Vienna Festival is in partnership with the Concord Card Casino Group, which operates 13 poker rooms in Austria and has more than 20 years of experience.

03-23-2014 18:08 UTC+2

Set Over Set

Webjoker

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

Robert Schulz opened under the gun and got a caller before action was on Ruben Visser. The Dutch PokerStars EPT London winner over called and got three more interested players. Six way to the flop: .

All the players checked to Visser who bet out 1,600. Mario Adinolfi right next to him made the call and someone in the blinds called as well before action was back on Schulz. The German player announced all in and action was on Ruben after someone else folded. The Dutch pro thought about it for a little bit before announcing all in as well. Adinolfi quickly folded and so did the player in the blinds.

"You have tens?" Schulz asked Visser. Visser had even better than that with and left Schulz with one out as he tabled . The stayed in the deck as the hit the turn and the river.

With the ace of spades on the river Adinolfi looked a bit in pain. That card had clearly helped him would he have stayed in the pot, but that wasn't the case. Ruben Visser is up to wel over 40,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Ruben Visser	42,000 21,000	21,000

Robert Schulz	Busted

Tags: Ruben Visser

03-23-2014 18:12 UTC+2

An Orbit w/ Defending EPT Vienna Champ Michael Eiler

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 100/200, 25 ante

Way back in Season 7, a 20-year-old German economics student and Sunday Million winner by the name of Michael “mae9690” Eiler won the EPT Vienna for €700,000. That was the last time the tour was in town, so that makes Eiler, who is in today's field, the defending EPT Vienna champ.

We decided to spend an entire orbit watching Eiler, who was sitting with right around 16,000 in chips.

Hand #1 (Early Position): An under-the-gun player opened for 500 and Eiler folded.

Hand #2 (Under the Gun): Eiler folded.

Hand #3 (Big Blind): The player in the cutoff opened for 550, the button called, and so did the small blind. Despite the kind odds, Eiler folded his hand.

Hand #4 (Small Blind): Action folded to the button, who raised, and Eiler folded.

Hand #5 (Button): Vitaly Lunkin opened for 500 from early position and Eiler decided to push back with a three-bet to 1,500 from the button. The blinds folded, Lunkin called, and the flop came down . Lunkin check-called a bet of 2,200 and then both players checked the turn.

When the completed the board on the river, Lunkin led out for 4,000 and Eiler thought a long time before making the call. Lunkin tabled the for two pair, and it was good as Eiler mucked his cards and dropped down to 8,300 in the process.

Hand #6 (Cutoff): Eiler opened the action with a raise to 600 only to have Romania's Dan Murariu three-bet to 1,400 from the button. After the blinds both folded, Eiler moved all in and Murariu folded his hand.

Hand #7 (Hijack): A player in middle position opened for 500 and Eiler folded.

Hand #8 (Middle Position): Action folded to Eiler and he did the same.

Eiler didn't mix it up much, and when he did he lost a good portion of his stack. He ended the orbit with about 9,400 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Eiler	9,400 -5,450	-5,450

Tags: Michael Eiler

03-23-2014 19:53 UTC+2

Schulze Outflips Hansen and Blom in First-Ever Live Flipout

Chad Holloway

Level 5 : 150/300, 25 ante

Felix "Flipout" Schulze with Full Tilt Poker Media Ambassador Rebecca McAdam. Photo courtesy of the PokerStars Blog.

This morning, Felix Schulze won a €5,300 EPT Vienna Main Event Seat after winning the first-ever live Flipout tournament, a new format created by Full Tilt Poker. Blom and Hansen were among the big name players to take part. Read more about it by clicking here.

Tags: PokerStars Blog