€5,300 EPT Main Event | 2018 PokerStars EPT Prague

12-18-2018 11:55 UTC+2

Seat 1: Paul Michaelis, 27, Vienna/Austria (10,060,000)

Shirley Ang

Germany's 27-year-old Paul Michaelis is an experienced poker player in both live and online fields. His most significant accomplishment came three years ago when he notched a WSOP bracelet, topping a 639-strong field in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event for $189,818.

That payday remained Michaelis' largest score until his deep run here at EPT Prague where he's guaranteed to set his new career-best result. Michaelis is no stranger to making the headlines in the Czech capital. Last year, he led the PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event for two consecutive days (Day 2 and Day 3) only to settle for a 28th place finish.

Michaelis has now dominated the EPT for two days straight again. Much to his benefit, it's been in the deeper phase with Michaelis able to seize the chip lead ahead of Day 5 as well as ahead of the final day.

Paul Michaelis' Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	101,600	118/436
Day 3	167,000	86/137
Day 4	186,000	42/44
Day 5	5,315,000	1/16
Day 6	10,060,000	1/6

Player	Chips	Progress
Paul Michaelis	10,060,000

Tags: Paul Michaelis

12-18-2018 11:50 UTC+2

Seat 2: Parker "tonkaaaa" Talbot, 27, Mississauga/Canada (3,690,000)

Shirley Ang

One of the most recognizable faces by a broader poker audience, Parker Talbot is both an extremely experienced player and a highly-popular streamer. His channel boasts nearly 100,000 followers on Twitch which ranks him among the most popular poker streamers.

Widely known by his PokerStars screenname "tonkaaaa", the 27-year-old Canadian has had a stellar poker career. His success is mainly related to the online fields with Talbot's total online tournament winnings exceeding $4.2 million. His achievements include two Thursday Thrill titles as well as a Super Tuesday victory.

Talbot started becoming a regular fixture at live events only a few years ago, but his first reported cashes date back to the eighth season of the EPT; his first ever Hendon Mob notch came six years ago in the EPT Berlin Main Event.

Parker Talbot's Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	191,900	19/436
Day 3	773,500	2/137
Day 4	1,690,000	4/44
Day 5	3,250,000	5/16
Day 6	3,690,000	5/6

Player	Chips	Progress
Parker Talbot	3,690,000

Tags: Parker Talbot

12-18-2018 11:45 UTC+2

Seat 3: Alexandr Merzhvinskii, 30, Moscow/Russia (7,545,000 )

Shirley Ang

Alexandr Merzhvinskii already knows how it feels to hoist a coveted PokerStars trophy. He conquered the PokerStars Festival Sochi Main Event back in October 2017, taking home more than $130,000 along with the silverware.

The 30-year-old Muscovite has been treated well in Sochi, with all his major live tournament results emerging from there. That includes his career-biggest prize of $400,000 for a third place in the MILLIONS event, coming just a month before his triumph at the PSF.

Merzhvinskii is also active on the online scene. 2018 has been his breakout year on the virtual felt; Merzhvinskii claimed all of his top three results within the last 12 months.

Alexandr Merzhvinskii's Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	71,200	221/436
Day 3	152,500	90/137
Day 4	1,463,000	6/44
Day 5	1,365,000	11/16
Day 6	7,545,000	2/6

Player	Chips	Progress
Alexandr Merzhvinskii	7,545,000

Tags: Alexandr Merzhvinskii

12-18-2018 11:40 UTC+2

Seat 4: Carlos "poeira4" Branco, 31, Portugal (3,100,000)

Shirley Ang

Carlos Branco is the oldest player at the EPT Prague Final Table at the age of 31, which isn't old at all. Known online as "poeira4", Branco has won the Super Tuesday in 2014 for $107,919, and the Sunday Warm-Up earlier this year for $39,135. And many more online results.

Branco started amassing his reported live tournament results ten years ago in lower stakes tournaments in Portugal. He transitioned into an EPT circuit player with his forte being the side events.

Branco's results include several five-figure scores such as a second place in the EPT12 Prague €2,150 Turbo event (for €47,670) and a first place in the EPT13 Prague €1,100 Hyper Turbo event which earned him €28,900 and the iconic spade-shaped trophy.

Now Branco has once again proved his fine association with the Czech capital, navigating to the biggest final table of his poker career.

Carlos Branco's Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	153,400	43/436
Day 3	510,500	14/137
Day 4	884,000	17/44
Day 5	990,000	14/16
Day 6	3,100,000	6/6

Player	Chips	Progress
Carlos Branco	3,100,000

Tags: Carlos Branco

12-18-2018 11:35 UTC+2

Seat 5: Laurynas "LaurisL91" Levinskas, 27, Lithuania (4,765,000)

Shirley Ang

Lithuania is yet to crown their first EPT Main Event champion, but Laurynas Levinskas might change that for the Baltic country. Levinskas marched through the field at EPT Prague to earn a seat at the six-handed finale. The 27-year-old player has already been at a few truly huge final tables.

He is a former Sunday Million runner-up, playing as "LaurisL91" at PokerStars. Levinskas has amassed nearly $3.5 million in online tournament winnings through his career. His most impressive deep run in a live tournament came four years ago here in Prague when he finished second in the EPT High Roller, banking €412,910. Both of his largest live and online cashes came out of a heads-up loss,

But Levinskas does know how to close things out; he demonstrated that in the PokerStars Championship Macau HK$103,000 event where he outlasted an incredibly skilled final table which featured the likes of Philipp Gruissem, Mikita Badziakouski, and Sam Greenwood.

Laurynas Levinskas' Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	236,300	9/436
Day 3	377,000	35/137
Day 4	523,000	29/44
Day 5	1,900,000	7/16
Day 6	4,765,000	4/6

Player	Chips	Progress
Laurynas Levinskas	4,765,000

Tags: Laurynas Levinskas

12-18-2018 11:30 UTC+2

Seat 6: Artem "FaNjkEEE" Kobylynskyi, 28, Kiev/Ukraine (6,075,000)

Shirley Ang

Artem Kobylynskyi might not be a household name in the live poker arenas, but the 28-year-old Ukrainian pro is a tremendously successful online player. Kobylynskyi has racked up just over $240,000 during his live tournament trips with his top result dating back to 2011.

But it's the virtual felt where Kobylynskyi has been showcasing his talent most of the time. He's notoriously known by his PokerStars moniker "FaNjkEEE" in the Eastern European poker community. A brief look at Kobylynskyi's online résumé reveals tournament cashes of over $4.4 million, including several big final table appearances. His standout result came in the 2017 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP); Kobylynskyi topped Event 31-H: $2,100 for a $284,918 payday.

A former #30-ranked player on the prestigious PocketFives leaderboard, Kobylynskyi has now reached his first final table at an EPT.

Artem Kobylynskyi's Main Event run: