Danut Chisu raised to 100,000 from the hijack and Paul Runcan three-bet to 350,000 from the button. After the blinds folded, Chisu called.
The two players checked a board of 10♥5♦6♠2♥9♦ all the way to river before Runcan put out a bet of 400,000. Chisu thought it over for a few moments before making the call.
Runcan turned over A♠K♠ for just ace-high, which was good for the pot as Chisu mucked an ace-high with an inferior kicker holding A♣Q♦.
Barak Oz made it 105,000 to go from the hijack and Siegfried Kapeller called out of the small blind.
On the 9♦5♠8♣ flop, both players checked to the 8♥ turn where Kapeller led out for a big bet of 350,00. Oz called.
A 4♣ fell on the river and again Kapeller kept with the theme of big bets and fired out 1,400,000. Oz threw in a timebank, followed by another, before he eventually laid his hand down.
The Christmas wish for all 1,458 entries in the record-breaking 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague €5,300 Main Event was to earn their seat on the final table. Now, that wish is in touching distance for the 16 players who return on Day 5, each vying to get their hands on the prestigious EPT trophy and life-changing €1,146,500 top prize.
Romania’s Paul Runcan leads the charge when play resumes at noon local time inside the luxurious Hilton Prague. Runcan bagged a stack of 5,040,000, thanks to a an immaculate Day 4 performance. He holds a narrow lead over Belarus’ Siarhei Alontsau who comes in second in chips with a stack of 4,745,000. Sweden’s Anton Bergstrom rounds out the top three with 4,570,000 chips.
Day 5 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Paul Runcan
Romania
5,040,000
101
2
Siarhei Alontsau
Belarus
4,745,000
95
3
Anton Bergstrom
Sweden
4,570,000
91
4
Siegfried Kapeller
Austria
4,440,000
89
5
Barak Oz
Israel
4,000,000
80
6
Pedro Marques
Portugal
3,970,000
79
7
Tjenno Eskes
Netherlands
3,160,000
63
8
Danut Chisu
Romania
2,900,000
58
9
Georgios Vrakas
Greece
1,760,000
35
10
Alexander Sokolovsky
Serbia
1,500,000
30
11
Jaehyung Park
South Korea
1,490,000
30
12
Umberto Ruggeri
Italy
1,440,000
29
13
Vidar Oie
Norway
1,305,000
26
14
Joshua McSwiney
Australia
1,280,000
26
15
Sylwia Studniarz
Poland
1,160,000
23
16
Dimitrios Gkatzas
Greece
990,000
20
Portugal’s Pedro Marques sits comfortably in sixth position with 3,970,000 chips. With over $4.7 million in live tournament earnings, Marques is no stranger to playing under the lights for enormous sums of money. His impressive resume includes a career-best score of $1,251,000, which came less than two years ago, two EPT titles, and a fifth-place finish at the EPT Barcelona Main Event in 2018. As he sets his sights on the final day, Marques is undoubtedly one to watch.
Sylwia Studniarz
Sylwia Studniarz of Poland has the chance to make history at EPT Prague. Despite sitting near the bottom of the pack with a stack of 1,160,000, she is the last woman standing and could become only the fifth female EPT Main Event winner.
The day begins with 47 minutes remaining in Level 26 with blinds of 25,000/50,000 and a big blind ante 50,000. The plan today is to thin the field down to the final six players. The 16 returning today have secured a payday of at least €47,250, but a seat at the final table will guarantee them €137,900.
2024 EPT Prague Main Event Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
1
€1,146,500
2
€716,950
3
€512,100
4
€393,950
5
€303,000
6
€233,050
7
€179,250
8
€137,900
9
€106,050
10-11
€81,600
12-13
€68,050
14-15
€56,700
16
€47,250
Stay tuned throughout the day as PokerNews provides all the live updates as this record field plays down to a final table.
