After Tero Laurila and Alexis Andre checked from the blinds on a flop of 8♣3♥5♠, Lucjan Jankowski bet 3,000 from the cutoff. Laurila check-raised to 12,000 from the small blind and Andre went deep into the tank in the big blind.
After doing some inventory and thinking for around a minute, Andre shoved for roughly 38,000. Jankowski and Laurila instantly folded and Andre pulled in the pot.
Mengshi Tian open-raised from middle position and Paolo Fantini three-bet to 6,500 from the next seat, which Tian called.
Both players checked it back on the A♥K♣8♠ flop. The turn was the 3♠ and Tian led out for 5,100. Fantini then raised to 14,000 and Tian folded to give him the pot.
Pierre Calamusa raised to 2,400 from middle position and Mengshi Tian three-bet to 8,400 from the big blind, which Calamusa called.
The flop came J♣8♣6♥ and Tian bet 5,600. Calamusa called and action went to the turn, which fell the 7♥. Tian bet 30,000 and Calamusa moved all in. Tian folded with less than 40,000 behind and Calamusa scooped in the pot.
Yoash Trokman moved all in for late position with a stack of around 20,000 and Keith Johnson looked down at his cards and said, "That will do," before making the call with the bigger stack.
Yoash Trokman: 8♥2♦
Keith Johnson: A♦K♦
Trokman didn't want to bag with a small stack and so had shoved any two cards. The board ran out 2♥10♦9♥7♥10♣ and Trokman paired his deuce on the flop, making two pair with the tens on board.
"You better have me covered," said Johnson, "because I'm not coming back here with 1,000 chips."
Johnson then bagged 500 chips and the tournament concluded.
The 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague rolled on today with Day 1a of the prestigious €5,300 Main Event, marking the final Main Event of the year on the circuit.
A total of 466 entrants took their seats inside the elegant Hilton Prague, reflecting a more than ten percent increase over last year’s Day 1a turnout of 412 entries.
Only 146 players managed to survive the day and bag chips for Day 2. Leading the pack is Italy’s Gianfranco Iaculli, who amassed an impressive stack of 294,000. Hot on his heels is France’s Christian Alilovic, finishing the day in second place with 272,000 chips, while Denmark’s Mikkel Nielsen rounds out the top three with 244,000.
Notably, the top ten chip counts are represented by players from ten different countries, highlighting the truly international field at this year’s EPT Prague.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Gianfranco Iaculli
Italy
294,000
196
2
Christian Alilovic
France
272,000
181
3
Mikkel Nielsen
Denmark
244,000
163
4
Elvis Petcu
Romania
223,000
149
5
Alexander Sokolovsky
Serbia
222,500
148
6
Gab Yong Kim
South Korea
203,000
135
7
Alen Sabic
Bosnia and Herzegovina
202,500
135
8
Karl Sandoff
Sweden
201,500
134
9
Max Neugebauer
Austria
189,000
126
10
Vanessa Kade
Canada
188,000
125
Vanessa Kade once again finds herself in familiar territory — among the chip leaders in a major poker tournament. Kade boasts four EPT cashes, three of which were achieved during this series in Prague. A highlight of her career was winning the PokerStars Sunday Million 15th Anniversary event in March 2021, where she outlasted nearly 70,000 entries to claim a record-breaking prize of $1,514,920 — the largest ever awarded in the tournament's history.
Kade slowly built her stack throughout the day and eliminated Leo Worthington-Leese in the penultimate level with pocket queens to secure one of the top stacks in the room.
South Korea’s Gab Yong Kim capped off a solid Day 1a by bagging an impressive 203,000 chips. Kim, currently ranked third on South Korea's all-time money list with over $3 million in live tournament earnings, has built a reputation as one of the country’s top poker talents. Known for his deep runs on the international circuit, he’s well-positioned to make another strong showing as the tournament heads into Day 2.
Both Barny Boatman and Derk Van Luijk won't be back for more in the Main Event as they both dusted off their permitted two bullets over the course of the day. Kerryjane Craigie, the aforementioned Worthington-Leese, Leo Margets, Felix Schneiders, Padraig O'Neill, and Conor Beresford all went through one bullet and will undoubtedly be back for more when Day 1b gets underway.
Jon Kyte
Some notables to make it through include Max Neugebauer (189,000), Brandon Sheils (134,000), Grzegorz Glowny (124,000), Jon Kyte (75,000), and Morten Klein (56,500) just to name a few.
Remaining Schedule
Date
Day
Time
Blind Levels
December 10
Day 1b
12 p.m.
60 minutes
December 11
Day 2
12 p.m.
90 minutes
December 12
Day 3
12 p.m.
90 minutes
December 13
Day 4
12 p.m.
90 minutes
December 14
Day 5
12 p.m.
90 minutes
December 15
Day 6
12:30 p.m.
90 minutes
Day 1b, the final opportunity for players to secure a stack for Day 2, takes place on Tuesday, December 10. Survivors from both flights will merge on Wednesday, December 11, when Day 2 begins, and late registration officially closes.
Be sure to keep your eyes glued to PokerNews as the live reporting team continue to bring you coverage straight from the tournament floor.
