€10,200 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 Completed
€10,200 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 Completed
One of the first Spadie trophies has been awarded during the rescheduled 2021 PokerStars EPT Prague festival at the King's Casino in the Czech capital. None other than PokerStars ambassador Sam Grafton prevailed in Event #1 €10,200 NLHE Bounty High Roller after defeating online poker legend Niklas Astedt in a very short-lived heads-up duel. The tournament attracted 57 entries and the €267,900 cash prize pool was awarded among the top eight finishers.
Grafton was his usual jovial self and the centre of table chat in an atmosphere filled with banter and jokes. The Brit claimed a cash prize worth €80,360 and also racked up several bounties of €5,000 each along the way. On the final table, Grafton knocked out four opponents and was responsible for the final three eliminations to notch up the victory in style.
Place | Winner | Country | Cash Prize (in EUR) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Sam Grafton | United Kingdom | €80,360 |
2 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | €58,130 |
3 | Daewoong Song | South Korea | €37,510 |
4 | Teun Mulder | Netherlands | €28,400 |
5 | Alex Kulev | Bulgaria | €21,970 |
6 | Gab Yong Kim | South Korea | €17,150 |
7 | Alexandros Theologis | Greece | €13,660 |
8 | Zhong Chen | Netherlands | €10,720 |
The last player to leave empty handed was another well-known High Roller regular from the live and online poker scene. Andras Nemeth came up short in a flip against South Korea's Daewoong Song to miss out on a cash prize. For Song, the tournament ended with a respectable third place finish after he dominated the action throughout the day. Fellow South Korean player Gab Yong Kim was also in the mix and finished in sixth place, surrounded by familiar faces of the high stakes circuit.
Day 2 recommenced with 25 players still in contention and Pavel Binar was the only one to take advantage of the late registration prior to the start. However, the Czech was unable to turn his second entry into any payday and departed without any cash or bounty prize. Many other notables suffered the same fate including Patrick Leonard, Stephen Chidwick, Adrian Mateos, Timothy Adams, and Thomas Muehloecker.
Among the contenders were also two well-known Brazilian online grinders in Pedro Garagnani and Rodrigo Seiji but neither of them reached the money stages. The same also applied for Yuri Dzivielevski as well, who sent his €5,000 bounty chip over to eventual champion Grafton.
While the action was fast-paced most of the day, the money bubble was a tense affair. Andras Nemeth failed in numerous attempts to score bounty prizes in the tournament but survived multiple times when he was the player at risk. Eventually, his luck ran out in a big flip.
More than one hour passed without any elimination in the money before the floodgates then opened. Within just over an hour, the field went from eight to a winner as Grafton went on a hot streak to seal the victory. And as the Brit conceded to fourth place finisher Teun Mulder in table chat, that was just the first High Roller battle and many more will follow during one of the most popular live poker stops on European soil.
The PokerNews live reporting team will provide exclusive updates across several marquee events during the festival including the €50,000 Super High Roller and the €5,300 Main Event.
The first two hands of heads-up play saw the chips traded back and fourth while Niklas Astedt then lost a small chunk in the third hand. Fast forward another few seconds to the fourth hand of heads-up play, Sam Grafton opened to 200,000 on the button. Astedt pushed for 1.4 million and Grafton instantly called.
Niklas Astedt:
Sam Grafton:
The pocket pair held on the board and Astedt had to settle for a cash prize of €58,130 and the bounties he had earned previously. For PokerStars ambassador Grafton, the victory comes with €80,360 in cash, several bounties and the Spadie trophy.
A recap of today's action is to follow.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Sam Grafton |
5,700,000
1,580,000
|
1,580,000 |
Niklas Astedt | Busted |
Daewoong Song raised from the button, Sam Grafton jammed from the big blind and Song called immediately.
Daewoong Song:
Sam Grafton:
Song had the lead and he would maintain that lead through the flop which came but not through the turn as the came off to pair Grafton. The river was the and Song's run was over in third place.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Sam Grafton |
4,120,000
615,000
|
615,000 |
Daewoong Song | Busted |
Level: 23
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 80,000
The last three players have been sent on a 15-minute break. Initially, they were slated to head into a longer dinner break but already agreed on skipping it with four contenders still in the mix.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Sam Grafton |
3,505,000
-145,000
|
-145,000 |
Niklas Astedt |
1,625,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
Daewoong Song |
570,000
195,000
|
195,000 |
Sam Grafton raised to 120,000 on the button and was called by Niklas Astedt in the big blind. The flop was checked by Astedt and he then called a bet worth 85,000 by Grafton. Both ended up checking through the turn and river for Astedt to announce an ace.
The Swede tabled the and Grafton mucked.
One hand later, Daewoong Song was at risk for 375,000 with the and had to settle with a chop as Grafton's was as strong on the runout.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Sam Grafton |
3,650,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
Niklas Astedt |
1,580,000
-40,000
|
-40,000 |
Daewoong Song |
375,000
-175,000
|
-175,000 |
From the button Daewoong Song raised and Sam Grafton defended his big blind.
The flop came . Grafton check-called a bet of 125,000. The turn was the . Grafton led for 100,000 and Song raised to 300,000 after using a time extension. Grafton called.
The river came the . Grafton checked, as did Song and Grafton tabled the for the straight to win the large pot.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Sam Grafton |
3,600,000
590,000
|
590,000 |
Niklas Astedt |
1,620,000
370,000
|
370,000 |
Daewoong Song |
550,000
-850,000
|
-850,000 |
Shortly after winning a small showdown pot against Niklas Astedt, Sam Grafton pushed all-in from the small blind. Teun Mulder was the only remaining opponent in the big blind and held the far shortest stack among the final four contenders. The Dutchman called all-in to create the following showdown.
Teun Mulder:
Sam Grafton:
The flop gave Grafton a flush draw to go with his two live cards. He missed on the turn but got there with the river. Mulder's run ended in 4th place for €28,400 in cash prizes.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Sam Grafton |
3,010,000
560,000
|
560,000 |
Daewoong Song |
1,400,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
Niklas Astedt |
1,250,000
80,000
|
80,000 |
Teun Mulder | Busted |
Niklas Astedt raised under the gun, Alex Kulev jammed from the small blind and Astedt called.
Alex Kulev:
Niklas Astedt:
Astedt had the lead but not for long as the flop came the to pair the jack and send Kulev into the lead. But the turn was the to give Astedt trip sevens. The river was the to end the run for Kulev in fifth place after having staved off elimination so many times before.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Niklas Astedt |
1,170,000
210,000
|
210,000 |
Alex Kulev | Busted | |
|