$10,300 EPT High Roller
Day 3 Completed
2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
$10,300 EPT High Roller
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus
Buy-in
$10,300
Prize Pool
$4,423,200
Entries
456
Level
30
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
24
Players Left
1
Level 30
: Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
A staggering 456 high rollers came out to compete in the $10,300 EPT High Roller at the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Cyprus, but in the end, one man stood head and shoulders above the rest. Ryan Mandara dominated the final table, clinching the $709,285 top prize after making a heads-up deal with Poland’s Sebastian Malec.
Inside the luxurious Merit Royal Diamond Hotel Casino & Spa, Mandara added the stunning PokerStars trophy to his collection in dazzling fashion. Mandara cruised through the final table, dispatching six of his eight opponents with ruthless efficiency. He sealed the deal in rapid style, taking just three swift hands to dispatch Malec heads up, cementing his victory in record time.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Mandara | United Kingdom | $709,285* |
| 2 | Sebastian Malec | Poland | $697,115* |
| 3 | Jelle Moene | Netherlands | $386,200 |
| 4 | Stoyan Madanzhiev | Bulgaria | $297,000 |
| 5 | Lev Margolin | Israel | $228,500 |
| 6 | Adrian Cazacu | Romania | $175,800 |
| 7 | Daniel Myers | United Kingdom | $135,200 |
| 8 | Niklas Astedt | Sweden | $110,900 |
| 9 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | $92,400 |
*denotes heads-up deal
Winner's Reaction
"I'm good, a bit in shock still," said Mandara in an exclusive interview with PokerNews.
When asked about the early stages of the tournament, he shared, "Day 1, I went down to 20,000 straight away, but managed to bag 75,000. Then Day 2, I was just groveling and grinding and managed to bag 375,000. Today, I just ran super good."
Asked whether the money at stake influenced his decisions, Mandara replied, "I try not to make it affect decisions, but sometimes it does. I try my best not to let it affect me." With a career-best score already locked up, Mandara ended up more than doubling his previous best score from six years ago in Dublin.
Mandara had also finished 12th in the EPT High Roller in Barcelona earlier this year, and he loves the tournament structure. "So off to Prague to defend my crown, maybe," he said.
PokerNews informed Mandara that he had broken into the top 100 on the UK's all-time money list.
"My target was to make $1,000,000, which I did in Barcelona, and now it's almost doubled!" While he’s hit his goal, it seems likely Mandara will have his sights set on even more trophies.
Final Day's Action
At the start of Day 3, only 24 hopefuls remained in the hunt for the title, led by Steve O'Dwyer. Diogo Coelho, Shankui Li, and Andras Nemeth held second, third, and fourth in chips, respectively, but none of them managed to reach the final table.
Coelho's downfall began when his kings clashed with Malec’s aces for most of his stack, followed by his queen-jack failing to improve against Manuel Fritz's ace-deuce. Nemeth’s journey ended in 18th after running into Niklas Astedt's slow-played aces during Level 25. Li, meanwhile, was eliminated in 12th after his ace-king failed to outrun Malec's pocket kings.
Also falling short of the final table was Juan Pardo, whose pocket sixes didn't hold against Daniel Myers’ pocket aces, sending him out in 11th. The dreaded bubble spot went to Fritz, whose ace-nine was outdrawn by Jelle Moene’s king-queen, with Moene completing a flush to seal Fritz's fate in tenth place.
When the final table began, Malec sat atop the leaderboard with 5,200,000 chips—nearly a quarter of all chips in play. However, his dominance was quickly challenged when he found himself in a classic coin flip against Stoyan Madanzhiev. The chips went in preflop, with Madanzhiev’s pocket eights holding firm against Malec’s ace-queen, bringing the two much closer in terms of stack size.
O'Dwyer’s stack began to dwindle, and with around eight big blinds left, he pushed all in with pocket sixes. Unfortunately, he ran into Mandara’s pocket eights, which sent the Irishman to the rail as the first casualty of the final table.
Mandara’s momentum continued when he picked up pocket aces and called a four-bet shove from Astedt, who held pocket jacks. A clean runout sent Astedt packing, while Mandara was contesting for the chip lead.
Myers was the next to fall after losing a three-way all in with pocket deuces against Moene's ace-queen and Madanzhiev's ace-jack. A jack on the flop seemed poised to give Madanzhiev the double knockout, but a queen on the river saved Moene and kept him in the game, which also left Myers on the rail.
Adrian Cazacu, who had been nursing a short stack throughout the final table, managed to ladder up the payouts before eventually falling to Mandara. Cazacu three-bet shoved with ace-king, only to be quickly called by Mandara's pocket eights. An eight on the flop all but sealed Cazacu’s fate, sending him home in sixth place.
Lev Margolin stayed under the radar while the others clashed, but eventually, with just five big blinds remaining, he moved all in with ace-ten, and was called by Malec's ten-nine. Although Margolin was a big favorite, Malec hit a straight on the turn, which reduced the field to four players.
Madanzhiev never really recovered from the hand he lost earlier against Moene, and with around eight big blinds he three-bet shoved ace-seven and ran straight into the ace-king of Mandara. No help arrived on the board and just like that, they were down to three.
The average stack was more than sixty big blinds when three-handed play started, and it was Malec who held over half the chips in play. Moene was the short stack, but still had around thirty big blinds.
However, those thirty big blinds soon evaporated from Moene's stack when he called a four-bet shove with ace-jack, and found himself up against the pocket kings of Mandara. No help from the board meant Moene took the first of the podium positions.
Before heads-up play commenced, Malec and Mandara swiftly agreed to an ICM deal, securing a guaranteed payout for each while leaving $32,500 and the coveted PokerStars Spadie trophy on the table to play for.
Just as the players and spectators were prepared for a lengthy heads-up battle, it was over before anybody could blink. In the second hand after the restart, Malec check-jammed the river with second pair and was called by Mandara, who had top pair. With just a few big blinds remaining, it was all over in the third hand as Mandara's pocket tens held against Malec's king-nine, which saw him clinch the title.
The next EPT event will take place in Prague, December 4 - 15. See you there!
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Sebastian Malec shoved from the button for his last few big blinds, and Ryan Mandara snap-called from the big blind .
Sebastian Malec: K?9? 
Ryan Mandara: 10?10?
Just like that, Mandara was a huge favorite to bag the title and was a clean runout away from a huge victory. The flop of 8?6?3? kept the pocket tens of Mandara well in the lead. An 8? dropped on the turn, and Malec didn't improve on the 4? river.
A great effort from the 2016 EPT Main Event champion, who had to settle for second.
* denotes a heads-up deal
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
22,800,000
265,000
|
265,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 30
: Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
In the first hand of heads-up play, Sebastian Malec opened to 350,000 and Ryan Mandara defended the big blind.
On the A?8?6? flop, Mandara check-called a bet of 250,000 from Malec.
The 10? turn was checked through, as was the K? river. Mandara showed K?5? for the rivered pair of kings, and took the pot.
In the next hand, Mandara opened to 300,000, and Malec three-bet to 1,400,000. After some thought, Mandara called.
On the K?Q?2? flop, Malec continued with a bet of 600,000. Mandara called.
The 5? rolled off on the turn, and Malec slowed down, checking to his opponent. Mandara fired out a bet of 1,150,000, and Malec called.
The 5? river completed the board. Malec check-jammed to 7,425,000 over Mandara's bet of 1,850,000, and Mandara made a relatively quick call.
Mandara tabled K?7? for top pair kings, which was good versus Malec's A?Q? for second pair queens. Mandara now has one hand on the trophy.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
22,535,000
11,935,000
|
11,935,000 |
|
|
365,000
-11,835,000
|
-11,835,000 |
|
|
||
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Play has started again in the $10,300 EPT High Roller. Due to a deal having been struck, the blind levels are now 30 minutes in length.
Level 30
: Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
It's official. After its return in 2023 following a 12-year hiatus, PokerStars has confirmed that The Big Game on Tour is back again this year, with more episodes to be filmed at the NAPT Las Vegas festival.
Ten episodes of the show were filmed last year, with the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Maria Ho, Lex Veldhuis and Sam Grafton all taking part. The show features a lucky Loose Cannon who receives $50,000 and has to survive 150 hands playing $50/$100 with a table of poker pros, ambassadors, and celebrities.
PokerNews spoke with Big Game on Tour judge and commentator James Hartigan ahead of the show's return, and he says he's thrilled the show is back.
Level 30
: Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Players are taking a 45-minute dinner break and will return at 8:30 p.m.
Level 30
: Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
A deal has been struck between Sebastian Malec and Ryan Mandara. The details are below. There will also be $32,500 and the trophy set aside for the eventual champion.
| Player | Prize |
|---|---|
| Sebastian Malec | $697,115 |
| Ryan Mandara | $676,785 |
Level 30
: Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Play has paused while the two remaining players discuss a deal.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
12,200,000
-900,000
|
-900,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
10,600,000 | |
Level 30
: Blinds 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Ryan Mandara raised to 260,000 on the button and Jelle Moene three-bet to 950,000 out of the small blind. After the big blind folded, Mandara four-bet shoved for Moene's remaining 2,800,000. Moene called.
Jelle Moene: A?J?
Ryan Mandara: K?K?
Moene needed to find an ace or the tournament would be down to heads up. The board ran out Q?2?5?6?7? which meant Mandara's kings held up and Moene was out in third.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
10,600,000
4,600,000
|
4,600,000 |
|
Busted |