2008 PokerStars.com EPT - Prague

€5,250 Championship Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info

2008 PokerStars.com EPT - Prague

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
87
Prize
€774,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€5,000
Entries
570
Level Info
Level
29
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
8,000

€5,250 Championship Main Event

Day 4 Completed

And That's a Christmas Wrap

Salvation for the winner! Salvatore Bonavena is EPT Prague Champion
Salvation for the winner! Salvatore Bonavena is EPT Prague Champion
So it's all over and an historic day for Italian poker, as they claim their very first-ever EPT title with Salvatore Bonavena becoming the recipient of the second EPT Prague title and €774,000 for his first-place finish defeating 569 other players.

It's no fluke either, as he had won €100,000 at an event in Venice a few weeks ago, though he still declares himself to be just an amateur player.

And well done to Massimo Di Cicco, who put in an amazing laddering performance and took the chip lead briefly while heads up.

From all of us here in Prague, thanks for tuning in for the last EPT of the year. The next place the tour heads is a slight detour from Europe, across the Atlantic to the Atlantis Casino in the Bahamas for the PCA.

Good night and good luck!

Salvatore Bonavena Wins the PokerStars.com EPT Prague (€774,000)

Salvatore Bonavena, 2008 EPT Prague Champion
Salvatore Bonavena, 2008 EPT Prague Champion
Congratulations to Italy's Salvatore Bonavena for a magnificent achievement.

1st Salvatore Bonavena -- €774,000
2nd Massimo Di Cicco -- €445,000
3rd Andrew Alan Chen -- €257,000
4th Alexiou Konstantinos -- €199,000
5th Francesco Cirianni -- €166,000
6th Fredrik Nygard -- €130,000
7th [Removed:197] -- €99,500
8th Raul Mestre -- €71,800

Tags: Salvatore Bonavena

Massimo Di Cicco Eliminated in 2nd Place (€445,000)

Massimo Di Cicco - 2nd place
Massimo Di Cicco - 2nd place
And it's all over! Massimo Di Cicco raised it up preflop and Salvatore Bonavena flat-called. On the {8-Hearts}{3-Hearts}{2-Hearts} flop, Di Cicco wasted no time in announcing he was all-in, and without too much hesitation, Bonavena called.

As the crowd closed in, all eyes were on the felt, patiently awaiting the hole cards to be revealed. "He was bluffing!" exclaimed the commentary team as Di Cicco showed {A-Diamonds}{4-Spades} for ace high and the gutshot draw. Bonavena, meanwhile, tabled {8-Diamonds}{7-Diamonds} for top pair.

The {6-Clubs} turn was close, but no cigar, and with Di Cicco in search of a five or an ace on the river, the {J-Spades} missed by a country mile and sealed the deal for the start-of-day chip leader... Bonavena is the 2008 EPT Prague champion and the first-ever Italian EPT champion.

An emotional moment for all involved, but especially the winner who quickly draped himself in the white, red and green of his home nation.

Tags: Massimo Di CiccoSalvatore Bonavena

Saved by the River

With the board reading {J-Hearts}{2-Clubs}{Q-Spades}{K-Hearts}, Massimo Di Cicco check-called a bet of 200,000 before checking down the {6-Clubs} river. Amazingly, Di Cicco's {10-Diamonds}{5-Hearts} was ahead on the turn, but Salvatore Bonavena's {8-Spades}{6-Hearts} got there on the end.