Last Time Out at EPT Prague: Looking Back at 2018
Table Of Contents
The Prague leg of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) is one of the most eagerly anticipated stops on the live poker circuit. Beautiful surroundings, an amazing nightlife, and a party atmosphere with it being so close to the holiday season make for a truly special experience.
PokerNews has been ever-present at the EPT Prague festivals and last year was amazing with huge tournaments creating champions who bagged incredible sums of money. In case you missed it, here’s how EPT Prague went down last season.
2018 EPT Prague Events Covered by PokerNews
| Event | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em | Akin Tuna | €125,330 |
| €1,100 EPT National | Boris Mondrus | €382,750 |
| €50,000 EPT Super High Roller | Matthias Eibinger | €653,000 |
| €2,200 EPT National High Roller | Yaniv Peretz | €340,700 |
| €5,300 EPT Main Event | Paul Michaelis | €840,000 |
| €25,000 Single-Day High Roller I | Thomas Boivin | €375,520 |
| €10,300 Pot-Limit Omaha | Alexander Norden | €93,300 |
| €25,000 Single-Day High Roller II | Corentin Ropert | €277,560 |
| €10,300 EPT High Roller | Henrick Hecklen | €503,700 |
Akin Tuna proved he was no fish when he topped a modest field of 38 entries in a €10,300 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. Tuna, who hails from Turkey, banked €125,330 ($142,365) for his impressive victory.
It was a win that gave Tuna the bankroll to play in bigger events and in July 2019, Tuna won the $10,400 Bellagio Cup XV in Las Vegas for $430,003. he now finds himself second in Turkey’s all-time money listings.
Israel’s Boris Mondrus (pictured) returned home with €382,750 ($436,335) after he emerged victoriously from the €1,100 EPT National Prague event.
The €1,100 buy-on may have been at the lower end of the scale compared to other events taking place, but the 2,486 entries were up there with the biggest. The Israeli defeated local player Ondrej Lon heads-up for the title to secure his huge prize.
Eibinger Wins Big; Defeat O'Dwyer in the €50K Super High Roller
It was the €50,000 Super High Roller that was the first big buy-in tournament we covered at last year’s EPT Prague stop and what an event it was.
Matthias Eibinger was the tournament’s champion, after he topped a star-studded field of 40 entries to lock up €653,000; he defeated Hungarian superstar Andras Nemeth heads-up for the title.
Eibinger is a phenomenal talent and has gone onto even bigger and better things since his win at 2018 EPT Prague, including eight six-figure prizes. Watch out for him in the PokerNews updates this year.
Latvia’s Yaniv Peretz had some impressive results on his resume before traveling to the Czech Republic in December 2018. Peretz was one of 954 entries in the €2,200 EPT National High Roller and was the last player standing once the dust had settled.
Peretz locked horns with France’s Sonny Franco heads-up for the title before brushing him aside to scoop a career-best €340,700. It was a result that saw Peretz climb to second-place in Latvia’s all-time money listings.
Main Event Ends in Three-Way Chop
The biggest prize of the festival was awarded to the 2018 EPT Prague Main Event champion Paul Michaelis. The German pro was part of a three-handed deal with third-place finisher Alexandr Merzhvinskii and runner-up Artem Kobylynskyi.
Michaelis padded his bankroll with a cool €840,000 and to EPT Prague Main Event trophy, adding his name to an already impressive list of champions crowned in the Czech Republic.
Belgium’s Thomas Boivin won the €25,000 Single-Day High Roller for €375,520 when he came out on top of a stellar field of 46 entries. The Belgian fought hard for his victory and found himself heads-up with high roller specialist Steve O’Dwyer for the title.
O’Dwyer is accustomed to walking away with the lion’s share of the prize pool when he navigates his way to the finale, but had to make do with the €259,550 consolation prize on this occasion. Both Boivin and O’Dwyer will likely be vying for more titles at this upcoming edition of EPT Prague.
Career-Best Scores
We also reported on the €10,300 Pot-Limit Omaha event. The field may have only been 26 entries deep but don’t let that detract from the skill Alexander Norden needed to walk away with the biggest share of the spoils.
Norden banked €93,300, the largest score of the Swede’s career to date.
Our coverage started winding down with the €25,000 Single-Day High Roller II that saw 34 players create an €816,340 prize pool. Corentin Ropert of France took it down for €277,560, his one and only six-figure haul from a live poker tournament.
Finally, we finished with the €10,300 EPT High Roller that saw 259 entries outlasted by Denmark’s Henrik Hecklen.
Hecklen was made to fight hard for his €503,700 prize as he and Ole Schemion battled one-on-one for almost three hours before the Dane came out on top.
2019 EPT Prague Events Covered by PokerNews
- €10,300 No-Limit Hold'em 8-handed: Dec. 6-7
- €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em EPT National: Dec. 7-11
- €50,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super High Roller: Dec. 9-11
- €2,200 No-Limit Hold'em EPT National High Roller: Dec. 10-11
- €5,300 No-Limit Hold'em EPT Prague Main Event: Dec. 11-17
- €25,000-No Limit Hold'em Single Day I: Dec. 12
- €25,000-No Limit Hold'em Single Day II: Dec. 14
- €10,000 No-Limit Hold'em EPT Prague High Roller: Dec. 15-17
PokerNews will be back on the tournament floor throughout the 2019 EPT Prague festival beinging you coverage of seven gargantuan events. Be sure to bookmark our live reporting pages so you do not miss any of the action. It’s is going to be incredible.
The Stars Group is a majority shareholder in iBus Media
