Unstoppable Santerne Completes Hat-trick of High Roller Titles at EPT Prague

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Dec 12, 2024 3 min read

Winning the first €20,000 High Roller of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague was already an impressive way to kick off the festival. Securing the €50,000 EPT Super High Roller title three days later was an even bigger feat. But claiming victory in the €25,000 Super High Roller Second Chance to lift a third High Roller trophy in a single week?! That seemed almost impossible.

Yet, that’s precisely what Thomas Santerne achieved, as he was crowned the winner of Event #43 at Hilton Prague, earning €131,250. The field was small, with just 11 entries generating a prize pool of €213,750, but Santerne still had to overcome some of the world’s best players.

The lineup included stars like Niklas Astedt, Steve O’Dwyer, Teun Mulder, as well as Martin Kabrhel who secured a cash finish in third place for €52,000. Santerne’s final challenge came against EPT Monte-Carlo champion Derk van Luijk, who took the second-place prize of €78,000.

€25,000 Super High Roller Second Chance Results

Winner's Reaction

“Has anyone ever won three trophies in a single EPT festival?” Santerne wondered moments after his tournament victory. He might be the first to achieve this feat, or, if others have done it before, he now joins a very exclusive group. With three trophies, he’ll likely need to pay for extra baggage on his way back to France—or perhaps choose his favorite to bring along. “The €50,000 trophy is much more prestigious,” he admitted, “but a trophy is a trophy!”

“The tournament went very well right from the start,” he explained. “I quickly built a solid stack and even had the honor of eliminating Martin Kabrhel. The heads-up went smoothly, and the key hand was ace-king versus ace-six offsuit.”

Day 2's Action

Only seven players returned for Day 2, joined at 12:30 by Martin Kabrhel and Simone Andrian, bringing the total number of entries to 11.

Among the nine remaining players, Niklas Astedt started as the shortest stack but quickly found an opportunity to double up. Unfortunately for him, he ran into a better flush draw that turned into a nut flush for Teun Mulder, making Astedt the first elimination of the day.

Shortly after the payouts were confirmed, Thomas Santerne had better fortune, doubling through Mulder. The same fate awaited EPT Monte Carlo winner Derk van Luijk, who doubled his stack with pocket aces. Meanwhile, Steve O’Dwyer moved all in multiple times without getting called. However, when Ladev eventually called with a flush draw against O’Dwyer’s top pair, the flush hit, sending the Irishman to the rail.

Thanks to that pot, Ladev held one of the top stacks, but not for long. A hero call against his ace-high left him short-stacked. Moments later, Ladev played a crucial flip for his tournament life, but Van Luijk rivered top pair to end Ladev’s run.

Andrian was the next to exit after losing a classic confrontation of ace-king versus Santerne’s queens, which propelled Santerne past the 1,000,000-chip mark. Despite doubling up Kabrhel, Santerne maintained his stack until the first break.

After the restart, it was Teun Mulder who found himself at risk, but his two pair couldn’t compete against Kabrhel’s set. Only one more elimination was needed to reach the money, and the shortest stack, Viacheslav Buldygin, pushed all in with a pair. Unfortunately for him, Santerne made a runner-runner full house, making Buldygin the tournament’s bubble boy.

Now in the money, Kabrhel seemed relieved and was on track to double up with trips against Santerne’s aces. However, Santerne rivered a full house, ending Kabrhel’s hopes and putting the Frenchman in the lead for his third heads-up of the festival.

In the final showdown, Van Luijk doubled up to briefly take the chip lead, but Santerne struck back, doubling with ace-king. With just 10 blinds left, Van Luijk doubled once, but ultimately fell to Santerne’s eight-six, which paired up and secured the Frenchman yet another trophy for his collection.

• Tags Thomas Santerne EPTPrague24
• Related Players Thomas Santerne