Martin Tsvetanov Takes Commanding Lead into Eureka Main Event Final Day; Jack Sinclair Seeks Second Final Table
Only 137 players returned to Hilton Prague today to compete in Day 3 of the €1,100 Eureka Main Event at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague, and when the dust settled on an enthralling day of poker, only 14 players remain standing for the final day, all with their eyes firmly set on the first-place prize of €517,730.
They are led by Martin Tsvetanov of Bulgaria (28,650,000), who won a huge flip against Jack Sinclair towards the end of the day to propel him to the top of the counts, and never looked back. He is closely followed by Ricardo Caridade (22,900,000) of Portugal, while Gerald Karlic (19,425,000) of Austria completes the podium places.
This would seem to be the biggest spot of Tsvetanov's career thus far, with a career best score of $47,367, which would be usurped by a place at the final table here.
Caridade has career winnings of $402,114, and clearly enjoys EPT Prague, his biggest score being a fourth place in the €10,300 High Roller in 2022.
Karlic appears to be the most experienced of the top three, with winnings of almost $2,000,000 and 11 live tournament victories to his name, including a triumph at EPT Barcelona in 2013 in a €1,100 event.
With over $5,500,000 in live winnings, Sinclair is also an obvious threat, and will be aiming for his second Eureka Prague Main Event final table in three years, having finished fourth in 2022.
End of Day 3 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Tsvetanov | Bulgaria | 28,650,000 | 95 |
| 2 | Ricardo Caridade | Portgual | 22,900,000 | 76 |
| 3 | Gerald Karlic | Austria | 19,425,000 | 64 |
| 4 | Jack Sinclair | United Kingdom | 13,900,000 | 46 |
| 5 | Alexantr Spatharis | Greece | 9,400,000 | 31 |
| 6 | Mikkel Nielsen | Denmark | 8,050,000 | 26 |
| 7 | Konstantinos Nanos | Greece | 6,300,000 | 21 |
| 8 | Theodoros Ampelikiotis | Greece | 5,575,000 | 18 |
| 9 | Martijn Kiers | Netherlands | 5,555,000 | 18 |
| 10 | Magnus Persson | Sweden | 5,350,000 | 17 |
| 11 | Matthew Micallef | Malta | 5,250,000 | 17 |
| 12 | Andris Rasins | Latvia | 4,675,000 | 15 |
| 13 | Ryan Plant | United Kingdom | 4,300,000 | 14 |
| 14 | Manuel Roca | Andorra | 2,750,000 | 9 |
Day 3 Action
All Day 3 players had guaranteed a cash of €5,500, and the knockouts were rapid at the start of the day, among them Benjamin Spragg's 17-minute stay. Spragg's fellow PokerStars Ambassador Simon Wiciak also departed before the first break in 118th.
Martin Kabrhel was the chip leader coming into the day, and he had a strong start, still being among the chip leaders at the first break. However, his run ultimately finished in 36th shortly after he ran a bluff into two pair.
Birger Larsen had cause to celebrate early after doubling up twice and he did so wildly, but he also departed the scene before dinner break.
Controversy erupted in a hand between Bartosz Piesiewicz and Martijn Kiers, who were seated in the one and eight seats, when Piesiewicz called an all in thinking it was for the 800,000 Kiers had slid out in front of him, when it was in fact for much more. Piesiewicz didn't want to go through with the call, but was pleased he was forced to when Kiers was revealed to be bluffing. Kiers recovered well and is still in the mix.
Notable names such as Adrian Cazacu, Felix Vu, Andrej Desset and Ladislao Dalfo all departed before the final three tables were reached, Desset in particular getting unlucky.
At this stage, Karlic came to the fore, while Mykhailo Demydenko won a huge pot against Miki Vea Garcia to move towards the top of the standings.
Sinclair flopped quads in a hand that eliminated Vaclav Drbal, getting maximum value in a brutal cooler. The triple up propelled Sinclair to the top of the counts and he stayed there for the remainder of the day, also busting Tim van Kemenade in a flip. However, the poker gods were not shining on Sinclair in the aforementioned hand with Tsvetanov, which shifted the tournament chip lead from the Brit to his opponent.
In a frantic last couple of levels, Maor Zaharagi, Michael Sklenicka and Demydenko all exited to set the stage for the final day.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €517,730 | 9 | €48,530 |
| 2 | €327,390 | 10-11 | €37,250 |
| 3 | €233,860 | 12-13 | €31,030 |
| 4 | €179,890 | 14 | €25,850 |
| 5 | €138,370 | ||
| 6 | €106,440 | ||
| 7 | €81,860 | ||
| 8 | €62,960 |
The players will return to Hilton Prague at noon December 9 to 60-minute levels at Level 34, with blinds of 150,000/300,000, with a 300,000 big blind ante. Play will continue until a champion is crowned. It seems set to be a cracking day of poker, so be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews to see who takes the title.