Welcome back to the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Season 9 Prague Main Event. What began five days ago with a record 864 players is now down to the final 21. Everyone left in the field is guaranteed a �25,000 payday, but everyone is intent on tripling that by making the final table here today. If they do, they��ll earn at least �75,000 and be in contention for the �835,000 first-place prize.
The man best positioned to make the final table is chip leader Ben Warrington, who bagged up 2.618 million on Day 4, much of it courtesy of a fortunate double against Team PokerStars Pro Johnny Lodden. Close behind is David Boyaciyan, who you might know as last year��s runner-up. Boyaciyan��s consecutive deep runs is already impressive, but making back-to-back final tables would certainly be a tremendous accomplishment.
Another keen storyline to keep an eye on is that of the UK��s Roberto Romanello, who won the EPT7 Prague two years ago for �640,000. Romanello is not only looking to become the first ever repeat EPT champion, but also to capture the same title for the second time in three years. With that said, Romanello has his work cutout for himself as he begins the day on the short stack with 341,000.
Other players in contention include the aforementioned Lodden, Mark Herm, Jeff Sarwer, Mads Amot and Ramzi Jelassi. Who will be the next to add their name to the prestigious list? We won��t find out the answer today, but we��ll narrow it down to the final eight as play will continue until the final table is set.
EPT Prague Champions
| Season | Entrants | Prizepool (EUR) | Winner | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 555 | �2,530,240 | Arnaud Mattern | �708,400 |
| 5 | 570 | �2,764,500 | Salvatore Bonavena | �774,000 |
| 6 | 586 | �2,842,100 | Jan Skampa | �682,000 |
| 7 | 563 | �2,730,550 | Roberto Romanello | �640,000 |
| 8 | 722 | �3,501,700 | Martin Finger | �720,000 |
| 9 | 864 | �4,190,400 | ??? | �835,000 |
The final 21 players will return for Day 5 at 12:00 CEST, which is less than an hour from now. Join us then as we bring you all the latest and greatest from the richest tournament in Czech Republic history.