2023 PokerStars EPT Prague

€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2023 PokerStars EPT Prague

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k10
Prize
€1,030,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€6,101,300
Entries
1,285
Level Info
Level
38
Blinds
400,000 / 800,000
Ante
800,000
Players Info - Day 1a
Entries
412
Players Left
131

Joao Mestre Leads Day 1a as Yulian Bogdanov and Steve O’Dwyer Bag Big

Level 10 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Joao Mestre
Joao Mestre

The first day of the €5,300 Main Event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague wrapped up after ten one-hour levels in the Hilton Prague. A total of 412 entries were made and out of those, 131 found a way to Day 2.

It was Joao Mestre who collected the most chips throughout the day as he ended with a stack of 359,000 from a starting stack of 30,000. Others with a big stack include Yulian Bogdanov (315,000), Cheng Zhao (306,500), and Steve O'Dwyer (251,500).

Ramon Colillas
Ramon Colillas

Ramon Colillas (95,500) and Felix Schneiders (80,500) are waving the flag for the Red Spade brigade. The two PokerStars ambassadors managed both to survive the day. Leo Worthington-Leese collected a little over five starting stacks when he ended Day 1a with 156,500. The Brit had an incredible run at the 2023 EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event where he finished third for €397,450 and he’s looking to repeat his success.

Day 1a Top Ten Chip Counts

RankNameCountryChip CountDay 2 Big Blinds
1Joao MestrePortugal359,000239
2Yulian BogdanovBulgaria315,000210
3Cheng ZhaoChina306,500204
4Enzo VitoUnited Kingdom280,000187
5Steve O'DwyerIreland251,500168
6Pawel KrolPoland250,500167
7Ka Kwan LauSpain250,000167
8Marcos ThielkeSpain239,500160
9Gonzalo VeigaSpain237,000158
10Patrik JarosCzech Republic209,000139

Day 1a action

The day started at noon local time with plenty of hopefuls seated when the “shuffle up and deal” was announced. Some of the early faces in the field were Barny Boatman, Julien Sitbon, and Niall Farrell. Boatman managed to survive the day with a stack of 61,500. Sitbon wasn’t as fortunate as he tried his luck later on in the €10,200 Mystery Bounty.

Farrell also wasn’t fortunate enough to make Day 2. With about an hour left in the day he found pocket aces but the runout wasn’t in his favor when Brandon Leetz flopped a set of tens before the chips went in. A clean runout for Leetz followed and Farrell’s efforts weren’t awarded with a bag at the end of play on Day 1a.

Niall Farrell
Niall Farrell

Ka Kwan Lau ended the day with a top 10 stack of 250,000. Lau isn’t a stranger to success on the European Poker Tour. Earlier this year at EPT Barcelona, Lau had a deep run in the €5,300 Main Event finishing 31st (€36,100), only to take down the €10,300 EPT High Roller in Barcelona for €910,400 and the trophy a few days later.

The second flight of the EPT Prague Main Event starts on Tuesday, December 12 at noon local time with the same structure as Day 1a. Everyone starts with a fresh 30,000 stack and blinds begin at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Registration is open until Day 2.

Stay tuned for more live coverage of the 2023 EPT Prague Main Event as the PokerNews live reporting team brings you all the action straight from the source.

Tags: Barny BoatmanBrandon LeetzCheng ZhaoFelix SchneidersHilton PragueJoao MestreKa Kwan LauLeo Worthington-LeeseNiall FarrellRamon ColillasSteve O'DwyerYulian Bogdanov