Heads-up to a flop of 2♠K♠10♠ in a single-raised pot, Yulian Bogdanov checked from the small blind, and Igor Tsoi bet 1,100 from the button. Bogdanov called.
The two players checked the A♥ turn, leading to the J♥ river. Bogdanov bet 10,800, and Tsoi called.
Bogdanov turned over Q♠7♠ for a flopped flush to win the hand.
Julien Sitbon and Marius Gierse were heads up on the 4♥K♦7♦A♠ turn. Julien Sitbon checked under the gun, after which Gierse added 10,000 to the pot of 12,500 with a bet.
Sitbon thought for a while before moving all in, and Gierse quickly called for 23,500 in total.
Marius Gierse: A♣7♣
Julien Sitbon: K♥Q♠
"Wow," Sitbon exclaimed as the K♣ river brought him one of his two outs in the deck. The chips were carefully counted as Sitbon played only a few big blinds more, after which Gierse said his goodbyes.
"At least I didn't punt it off," Gierse consoled himself as he headed to the exit.
With 6,000 in the middle, Mahmoud Bedoui bet 1,500 from the hijack on the 9♦7♥8♥ flop. Cutoff Michael Rocco responded with a raise to 4,500, calling when Bedoui put him all in for about 25,000.
Michael Rocco: J♦J♣
Mahmoud Bedoui: 9♣6♣
Bedoui's top pair became trips on the 9♥ turn, taking a big lead. Rocco did not improve on the 5♣ river, but Bedoui made a straight, and Rocco complimented his opponent's hand before heading to the exit.
The action erupted three-way on a 5♦Q♠K♣10♣ turn. With only a small amount in the pot and after some previous action, Simone Andrian reraised all in on the button.
Artus Gimenez had already vacated the pot under the gun, but big blind Sylwia Studniarz was deep in the tank with a stack of about 20,000. Eventually, she shrugged and called for her tournament life.
Sylwia Studniarz: K♠Q♥
Simone Andrian: J♥9♥
Studniarz pushed her chips forward as the 5♣ river didn't change either player's hand. The dealer counted the chips and pushed them toward Andrian.
When Studniarz asked for clarification, the dealer informed her that Andrian had the covering stack.
"But I won," a perplexed Studniarz replied.
Studniarz buried her head in her hands when the table informed her Andrian had a straight before she dejectedly left the tournament area after busting her second bullet.
From the small blind, Raymond Wheatley moved his last 13,000 chips into a pot of 35,000 on the completed board of 10♦J♥6♦6♥J♣.
Valentino Konakchiev looked him up in the hijack with the covering stack. Wheatley revealed K♠K♥, and Konakchiev could not beat the Cowboys as he only briefly showed his cards before they disappeared into the muck.
Wheatley doubled up to two starting stacks, leaving Konakchiev with about 18 big blinds.
Drazen Hadur opened to 500 from middle position, and Roger Sandsmark called from the cutoff before Padraig O'Neill three-bet to 2,700 from the button. Roland Rokita four-bet to 5,500 from the big blind, and action folded back to O'Neill who called.
The two players checked the 10♣7♣J♣ flop, leading to the 9♠ turn. Rokita bet 4,000 and O'Neill called.
Rokita bet enough to put O'Neill all-in on the 4♦ river. O'Neill, who had 12,700 left, went into the tank for a couple of minutes before folding, conceding the pot to Rokita.
Lars Kamphues had opened under the gun when Viliyan Petleshkov three-bet to 1,000 in the hijack. It folded back to Kamphues, who four-bet to 3,000. Petleshkov called, and the 3♥J♣4♦ flop was spread.
Kamphues continued his aggression with bets of 2,000 on the flop and 6,800 on the 4♠ turn that Petleshkov called. The 8♥ river saw the German regular complete his triple barrel by moving all in.
Petleshkov's 16,500 remaining chips were covered by Kamphues, and he decided to preserve them by mucking his cards and giving up on the pot.
Three-way to the J♣3♥6♠5♥ turn, it checked to Mariusz Klabisch under the gun, who bet 1,600. Ferdinando D'Alessio called in the small blind before Marcello Miniucchi bumped it up to 7,500 in the big blind.
Klabisch and D'Alessio both called to the 5♣ river, where Miniucchi sized up to 11,000 after another check by D'Alessio. Klabisch quickly called, while D'Alessio folded.
Miniucchi opened A♠A♥ for aces and fives. A frustrated Klabisch flung his Q♦Q♣ across the table after discovering his overpair was no good.
He got up and walked away from the tournament area to take a breather before returning to his seat and continuing his Main Event.
The renowned European Poker Tour €5,300 Main Event Day 1b kicks off today at 12 p.m. here at the Hilton Hotel Prague. With Day 1a setting a lively pace, Day 1b is expected to draw another strong turnout, as players take their shot at claiming a coveted EPT title.
Yesterday saw 409 runners, with just 124 making it through to bag up for Day 2. Fabian Bartuschk locked up the chip lead, taking through a 274,000 stack. Today we will find out if anyone can catch him at the top of the counts and steal the spotlight going into Day 2.
Day 1a Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Fabian Bartuschk
Germany
274,000
228
2
Enrico Camosci
Italy
266,000
222
3
Vitezslav Cech
Czechia
249,500
208
4
Diogo Vieira
Portugal
248,500
207
5
Matan Krakow
Israel
211,500
176
6
Daan Mulders
Netherlands
201,500
168
7
Ermanno Di Nicola
Italy
200,500
167
8
David Docherty
United Kingdom
194,000
162
9
Patrik Jaros
Czechia
194,000
162
10
Georgios Tsouloftas
Cyprus
190,500
159
Some familiar faces include Maria Lampropulos (184,500), who managed to steadily build her stack throughout the day. Joining her was 2025 EPT Malta Main Event champion Tomasz Brzezinski (161,000) and 2025 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event champion Aleksandr Shevliakov (153,000), both on the hunt for another 2025 EPT title before the year comes to a close.
Aleksandr Shevliakov
For those choosing to take their seat during today's Day 1b, they will follow the same format as yesterday’s Day 1a, starting out with 30,000 chips.
The blinds begin at 100/100 with a 100 big blind ante. Ten 60-minute levels are scheduled, providing plenty of time for action as players aim to join those already advancing to Day 2. There will be a 15-minute break after every two levels, with a 60-minute dinner break following Level 6 (approximately 6:30 p.m. local time).
Day 1b Structure
Level
Duration
Small Blind
Big Blind
Big Blind Ante
1
60 min
100
100
100
2
60 min
100
200
200
15 min break
3
60 min
100
300
300
4
60 min
200
400
400
15 min break
5
60 min
200
500
500
6
60 min
300
600
600
60 min dinner break
7
60 min
400
800
800
8
60 min
500
1,000
1,000
20 min break
9
60 min
600
1,200
1,200
10
60 min
600
1,200
1,200
Late registration is open throughout the day, so the field is expected to fill up right until the start of Day 2, and players are allowed only one re-entry into the tournament.
Stay with PokerNews as we follow all the key action on the floor across the next week, right up until a winner is crowned.
