Seat 1: Dimitrios Gkatzas, 39, Thessaloniki, Greece (3,075,000)
After finishing 14th in the EPT Prague Main Event last year, Greece’s Dimitrios Gkatzas has managed to go even further this time around, reaching the first major final of his career.
Having played poker for around 15 years, he says he is mainly a PLO player, but seems to find his two-card mojo in this venue. “In hold’em, I usually only play small tournaments, but the Czech Republic has been good to me!” he says.
Just a few months ago, he secured his biggest ever payday, narrowly missing out on the deepest stages of the WSOP-E Main Event in Rozvadov. But he’s already beaten that score here in Prague, and becomes the first Greek player to an EPT final since Symeon Alexandridis, also here in Prague, in 2022. It’s been 11 years since the first and only Greek EPT winner: Sotirios Koutoupas, in Deauville in 2014.
“I feel very good and focused,” Gkatzas says as he aims to follow in those footsteps.
Final table bios courtesy of Jan Kores/PokerStars
Career statistics
Career earnings: $479,344
EPT cashes: 1
Best result: 14th, 2024 EPT Prague
Tournament progression
Day 1: 105,000 (85/255, 1B)
Day 2: 112,000 (106/163)
Day 3: 440,000 (34/45)
Day 4: 3,060,000 (5/16)
Day 5: 3,075,000 (4/7)
Event highlights
Gkatzas had most of his chips in the middle on Day 4 as Roman Stoica was all in for 1,070,000. It was a classic flip, Stoica’s queens against Gkatzas’ ace-king, and Gkatzas ended up with trips to win the pot and send Stoica to the rail.
Gkatzas also won a flip on Day 5, his ace-queen hitting top pair on the flop to beat Tobias Peters’ two nines and send Peters out in 11th place.