Umberto Ruggeri is an Italian poker player with more than $1 million in live cashes. He is best known for his deep runs in the 2023 & 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague Main Event.
Ruggeri's first recorded cash came in 2019 in Malta, but he had to wait for his first five-figure payout until he notched a 91st-place finish in the 2023 EPT Barcelona Main Event. Four months later, Ruggeri was back under the EPT lights in the Czech capital. Ruggeri's third-place run in the record-breaking Main Event netted him a career-launching €459,240 payout.
Six more five-figure EPT cashes followed as Ruggeri began a string of impressive results, with highlights being bronze and silver medals in €2,100 NLH 6-Max events at 2024 EPT Paris & Monte Carlo festivals. Ruggeri's 2024 rounded out with another eye-catching run in the EPT Prague Main Event, recording an 11th-place performance which yielded a $86,237 windfall.
Ruggeri's 2025 kicked off in the best possible way: a Main Event victory at the Merit Poker Western Series. The tournament featured a $3,300 buy-in, and the Italian overcame a record-breaking field of 791.
"I play poker for life, and I want to continue," said Ruggeri as he collected his $377,500 prize.