From early position, Thomas Mjeldheim pushed all in for 13,400, a slight overbet into a pot of about 11,000. Saar Wilf stretched and sighed at the board.
"This is not a good card for me," he mused.
Mjeldheim smiled, but he wasn't smiling a few minutes later when Wilf slid some calling chips in. That's because Mjeldheim had for a missed draw. Wilf showed for tens up and Mjeldheim took his leave.
Marti Roca de Torres, pictured at a different event.
Winning one big tournament is hard enough, but Marti Roca de Torres was able to do that when he came out of nowhere — he had about $30,000 in live cashes — to win WSOP Europe Main Event last month for €1,115,207.
Now, Roca de Torres is back in action here at PokerStars Championship Prague, having showed up early for the €5,300 Main Event. The Spaniard hopes to make it to two majors in a row and establish himself as one of the breakout stars of 2017 on the felt.
Christian ZetzscheJasper Meijer van Putten - EPT Prague 2016 Main Event Winner
At noon local time Prague will once again be the place to be for all poker enthusiasts in Europe, as Day 1a of the 2017 PokerStars Championship Prague €5,300 Main Event kicks off at the stunning Hilton Hotel Prague. The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) has previously visited "the City of a Hundred Spires" since 2007 and it is the 11th consecutive year that the PokerStars branded live tour finishes off the year in the Czech Republic.
The flagship tournament of the 43-event strong festival comes with a price tag of €5,300 and all players receive 30,000 in chips. Each Day 1 will play a total of eight levels of 75 minutes each with breaks every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break at the end of level six. Action concludes around midnight local time and the registration remains open until the cards are back in the air for Day 2.
Day 1 Level Structure
Level
Duration
Small Blind
Big Blind
Ante
1
75 minutes
50
100
-
2
75 minutes
75
150
-
Break
20 minutes
3
75 minutes
100
200
25
4
75 minutes
150
300
50
Break
20 minutes
5
75 minutes
200
400
50
6
75 minutes
250
500
75
Dinner Break
75 minutes
7
75 minutes
300
600
100
8
75 minutes
400
800
100
It is the seventh PokerStars Championship Main Event since the rebranding and previous winners include Christian Harder, Kenneth Smaron, Elliot Smith, Raffaele Sorrentino, Pavel Shirshikov and Sebastian Sorensson. Sorrentino almost became the first player to claim two titles in the very first year and finished third in Barcelona after cutting a three-way deal with Sorensson.
2017 PokerStars Championship Main Events at a Glance
PSC Stop
Buy In
Entries
Prize Pool
Champion
Prize
Prize (USD)
Bahamas
$5,300
738
$3,376,712
Christian Harder
$429,664
$429,664
Panama
$5,300
366
$1,775,100
Kenneth Smaron
$293,860
$293,860
Macau
HKD42,400
536
HKD20,796,800
Elliot Smith
HK$2,877,500
$370,245
Monte-Carlo
€5,300
727
€3,525,950
Raffaele Sorrentino
€466,714
$508,281
Sochi
RUB318,000
387
RUB150,000,000
Pavel Shirshikov
RUB29,100,000
$514,893
Barcelona
€5,300
1,682
€8,157,700
Sebastian Sorensson
€987,043
$1,160,285
Back in December 2016 it was Jasper Meijer van Putten that lifted the last EPT Main Event trophy here in Prague after emerging on top out of a field of 1,192 entries, taking home the lion's share of the €5,781,200 prize pool for a career-best score of €699,300. The Dutchman has extended his unbeaten run without being eliminated from a tournament in Prague to nine days in a row after topping a field of 49 entries in Event #2 €10,300 Single Re-Entry. Along with the second PokerStars trophy at the Hilton Hotel, van Putten added further €150,000 to his poker bankroll and will be back to defend his Main Event title in the upcoming days with the confidence at an all-time high.
The €50,000 Super High Roller will play down to a winner later today as well as Timothy Adams holds a commanding lead over Adrian Mateos and Mikita Badziakouski, while Georgios Vrakas leads the final eight in the 2,117-strong PokerStars National Championship €1,100 Main Event. Other finalists include Marco Regonaschi, Yan Shing Tsang and Ludovic Geilich.
The PokerNews live reporting team will provide updates from the following events in Prague:
Dates
Event
Live Updates?
Dec. 10-12
€50,000 PokerStars Championship Super High Roller
No, feature style content
Dec. 12-18
€5,300 PokerStars Championship Main Event
Yes
Dec. 13
€25,500 PokerStars Championship Single-Day High Roller I
Yes
Dec. 14
€25,500 PokerStars Championship Single-Day High Roller II
board.
for a missed draw. Wilf showed 
for tens up and Mjeldheim took his leave.
