PokerStars EPT Prague: Everything You Need to Know
The European Poker Tour continues its ninth season this weekend with one of the most popular stops on the schedule��Prague, Czech Republic. The EPT Prague began back on December 5 at the Hilton Prague Hotel, but the climax kicks off on Sunday, December 9 with the �5,000 + �300 Main Event.
The Hilton Prague, which opened in 1998 and is open daily from 2 p.m. to 6 a.m., will house the tournament in the Casino Atrium where players will be able to use both Euros and the Czech crown on the property. In addition, they'll be treated to free drinks, a buffet, and great casino games such as American Roulette, Poker Black Jack, Pontoon, Punto Banco, slot machines, and poker cash games of all levels.
While most people will be spending their time inside the casino, including the PokerNews Live Reporting Team, the host city is not to be overlooked. Every December for the past six years, players have flocked to Prague to take their shot at poker glory. The political, cultural and economical center of the country, Prague not only boasts great poker action but also 600 years of startling architecture including a castle, cathedral, museums, galleries, and famed Yuletide markets complete with hot wine stalls and gingerbread. In other words, there��s no better time for a great poker tournament than near the holidays.
In preparation for the Main Event, which will run for an entire week, we thought we��d take a quick look back at the event��s winners:
EPT Prague Season 8 Final Table
In 2011, the EPT Prague drew 722 players, the largest in its history, and created a prize pool of �720,000. Interestingly, the final table was represented by seven different countries��Germany, Netherlands, United States, Ukraine, Spain, Denmark and France��and saw Deutschland��s Martin Finger begin the day with more than 25% of the chips in play. He was soon responsible for the elimination of Andreas Wiese in seventh place, and took care of American Ari Engel in sixth just a few hands later.
It took just four hours, but eventually the 21-year-old Business Science student and Supernova Elite on PokerStars made it down to heads-up play against Holland's David Boyaciyan. The pair made a chip chop and left �100,000 on the table along with the title, which obviously meant a lot to both competitors as they played a marathon heads-up match.
On what would be the final hand, Boyaciyan raised to 380,000 on the button and Finger pushed back with a three-bet to 875,000. Boyaciyan four-bet to two million, Finger moved all in, and Boyaciyan called.
Showdown
Finger: A?K?
Boyaciyan: 10?10?
It was a classic race, but not after the flop came down K?K?6? and Boyaciyan fell behind to Finger's trip kings. The Q? on the turn changed nothing, and neither did the 9? river. Boyaciyan finished in second-place and earned a consolation prize of �535,000; meanwhile, Finger became the EPT Prague champion.
For more on the EPT Prague Season 8, revisit our Live Reporting Blog.
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Number of Payouts | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| �5,000 + �300 | 772 | �3,501,700 | 104 | December 5-10, 2011 |
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Martin Finger | Germany | �720,000 |
| 2nd | David Boyaciyan | Netherlands | �535,000 |
| 3rd | Nicolas Levi | France | �270,000 |
| 4th | Guillen Usero | Spain | �205,000 |
| 5th | Denys Drobyna | Ukraine | �160,000 |
| 6th | Ari Engel | United States | �125,000 |
| 7th | Andreas Wiese | Germany | �90,000 |
| 8th | Mats Wissing | Denmark | �66,700 |
EPT Prague Season 7 Final Table
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Number of Payouts | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| �5,000 + �300 | 563 | �2,730,550 | 80 | December 13-18, 2010 |
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Roberto Romanello | United Kingdom | �640,000 |
| 2nd | Emiliano Bono | Italy | �435,000 |
| 3rd | Marcin Horecki | Poland | �247,000 |
| 4th | Peter Skripka | Russia | �163,000 |
| 5th | Marco Leonzio | Italy | �130,000 |
| 6th | Jan Bendik | Slovakia | �100,000 |
| 7th | Manuel Bevand | France | �71,000 |
| 8th | Roberto Nulli | Italy | �54,500 |
For more on the EPT Prague Season 7, revisit our Live Reporting Blog.
EPT Prague Season 6 Final Table
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Number of Payouts | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| �5,000 + �250 | 586 | �2,930,000 | 80 | December 1-6, 2009 |
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jan Skampa | Czech Republic | �682,000 |
| 2nd | Eyal Avitan | Israel | �454,000 |
| 3rd | Stefan Mattsson | Sweden | �255,000 |
| 4th | Anthony Roux | France | �171,000 |
| 5th | Larry Ryan | Republic of Ireland | �135,000 |
| 6th | Luca Pagano | Italy | �100,000 |
| 7th | Gustav Ekerot | Sweden | �71,000 |
| 8th | Sven Eichelbaum | Germany | �55,500 |
For more on the EPT Prague Season 6, revisit our Live Reporting Blog.
EPT Prague Season 5 Final Table
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Number of Payouts | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| �5,000 | 569 | �2,764,500 | 56 | December 9-13, 2008 |
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Salvatore Bonavena | Italy | �774,000 |
| 2nd | Massimo Di Cicco | Italy | �445,000 |
| 3rd | Andrew Chen | Canada | �257,000 |
| 4th | Alexiou Konstantinos | Greece | �199,000 |
| 5th | Francesco Cirianni | Italy | �166,000 |
| 6th | Fredrik Nygard | Finland | �130,000 |
| 7th | [Removed:197] | Germany | �99,500 |
| 8th | Raul Mestre | Spain | �71,800 |
For more on the EPT Prague Season 5, revisit our Live Reporting Blog.
EPT Prague Season 4 Final Table
| Buy-in | Entrants | Prize Pool | Number of Payouts | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| �4,700 | 555 | �2,530,240 | 56 | December 10-14, 2007 |
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Arnaud Mattern | France | �708,400 |
| 2nd | Gino Alacqua | Italy | �407,300 |
| 3rd | Kristian Kj?ndal | Norway | �235,300 |
| 4th | Juha Lauttamus | Finland | �182,200 |
| 5th | Markus Golser | Austria | �151,800 |
| 6th | Nedzib Suman | Sweden | �119,000 |
| 7th | Dag Palovic | Slovakia | �93,600 |
| 8th | Mikael Norinder | Sweden | �63,200 |
For more on the EPT Prague Season 4, revisit our Live Reporting Blog.
Also, here's a look at the Season 9 Player of the Year race headed into the EPT Prague:
EPT 9 Player of the Year
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikalai Pobal | 1,320 |
| 2 | Ilari Sahamies | 1,300 |
| 3 | Ludovic Lacay | 1,000 |
| 4 | Jan Bendik | 945 |
| 5 | Joni Jouhkimainen | 900 |
| 5 | Slavan Popov | 900 |
| 7 | Keven Stammen | 860 |
| 8 | Jason Lavallee | 850 |
| 9 | Anaras Alekberovas | 840 |
| 10 | Dan Smith | 825 |
Follow our live updates from the EPT Prague in our live reporting section.
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