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Day 4 of the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Season 9 Prague Main Event began with 55 players. Less than three levels later, the field had dwindled down to 21, and leading the remaining players is Ben Warrington. He bagged 2.618 million chips, and only one other player, David Boyaciyan, bagged more than two million chips.
The day began with a flurry of bust outs, and there was a massive hand between Jorma Nuutinen, Luca Giovannone, and Jason Helder. Giovannone open-shoved his last 65,000 from under the gun with the blinds at 5,000/10,000/1,000, Helder called in the hijack seat, and Nuutinen three-bet to 122,000 from the cutoff. Helder moved all in for effectively 564,000, and Nuutinen called to put himself at risk.
Giovannone: 
Helder: 
Nuutinen: 
Nuutinen held as the board ran out 
, eliminating Giovannone and crippling Herm.
Herm bowed out a few hands later when he called a three-bet shove from Radu Catoiu. Herm’s 
was slightly ahead of Catoui’s 
, but the board ran out 
.
Towards the end of the first level of Day 4, Johnny Lodden was the recipient of a rather large gift. Lodden opened to 20,000 from the cutoff seat, Robert Kokoska three-bet to 48,000 on the button, and Lodden made the call. The flop was 
, Lodden checked, and Kokoska continued for 40,000. Lodden min-raised to 80,000, Kokoska moved all in for around 400,000, and Lodden tank-called.
Kokoska: 
Lodden: 
Lodden held as the turn and river came 
, 
respectively, rocketing his stack to 1.275 million chips.
Level 21 was certainly kind to Mariusz Klosinski. The Polish gentleman won three key hands, and saw his stack increase from 300,000 to 1.3 million. After crippling Marian Kulifaj with two kings, he had him at risk holding . Kulifaj was behind with , and didn’t catch up as the board ran out 
. A few hands later, with the blinds at 6,000/12,000/2,000, Rami Hajiyev open-shoved 175,000 from the cutoff seat. Dominik Paus re-shoved for 441,000 on the button, and Klosinski immediately re-shoved from the small blind. The big blind released, and the hands were opened:
Klosinski:
Paus:
Hajiyev: 
The board ran out 
, and both Hajiyev and Paus were eliminated.
Chris Brammer, who entered Day 4 third in chips, also busted during the second level of play. In the Brit’s final hand he three-bet shoved on the button with 
, and Sergio Aido Espina, the original raiser, snapped him off with 
. The kings held as the board came 
, and Brammer hit the rail.
A few minutes later at an adjacent table, Fabrice Soulier got frisky and five-bet all in with 
. Mark Herm quickly called with , and Soulier snatched the lead when the flop came 
. The turn () and the river () were both hearts however, and Herm made the nuts. Soulier was out, while Herm’s stack shot up to over 1.4 million chips.
In the following level, we saw the biggest pot of the tournament thus far. With the blinds at 8,000/16,000/2,000, Ben Warrington opened to 35,000 on the button. Lodden three-bet to 68,000 from the small blind, and Warrington made the call. The dealer fanned 
, and Lodden led out for 65,000. Warrington raised to 130,000, Lodden re-raised to 215,000, and Warrington clicked it back, re-raising to 360,000. Lodden tank-shoved for 1.18 million effective, and Warrington snapped it off.
Lodden:
Warrington: 
The turn and river came 
, respectively, and Warrington vaulted into the chip lead where he never looked back.
After the eliminations of Catoiu and Denis Pisarev, the field was reduced to 24 players. It was decided by the tournament directors during the day to play until 21 players remained rather than 24, so play resumed with Level 23 in order to eliminate three more players.
The 24th-place finisher was Italian Enrico Tau. Tau entered the day with just over six big blinds, and on his final hand he was all in and at risk with . Dutchman David Boyaciyan had him at risk with , and held as the board ran out 
.
Manuel Bevand, who made an impressive hero call on Day 3 and flopped the nuts to double on the last hand of Level 22, was the penultimate elimination on Day 4. Bevand six-bet shoved for 700,000 over a five-bet from Boyaciyan, and Boyaciyan snapped it off with . Bevand was trailing with , and was eliminated as the board ran out 
.
The final player eliminated on Day 4 was Australian Nicholas Galtos. Galtos open-shoved his last 198,000 from under the gun with the blinds at 10,000/20,000/3,000, and Sergey Kuzminskiy called in the cutoff.
Galtos:
Kuzminskiy:
The board came 
, and Galtos was out.
The final 21 players will return for Day 5 at 12:00 CEST on Friday. Roberto Romanello, who finished the day with 341,000 chips, is looking to become a two-time champion in Prague. Boyaciyan final tabled this event last year, and will be looking to make a return trip.
Join us then for up-to-the-minute updates. Unitl then, good night from the Czech Republic!
.
