Six Remain in €1,100 EPT National Prague; Kravets Leads, Nedelcu, Meijer van Putten in the Hunt for €375,000
Day 3 of the €1,100 EPT National Prague at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague has concluded with just six out of a field of 2,452 remaining. Each of them is already guaranteed €70,265 for their efforts when they'll return on Wednesday, December 11 at noon local time. They'll be playing for the lion's share of the €2,353,920 prize pool with the €375,000 top prize as the biggest slice up for grabs.
Russia's Semen Kravets bagged as the overnight chip leader with 18,325,000 in chips, followed by Romanian pro Narcis Nedelcu (13,975,000). EPT13 Prague champ Jasper Meijer van Putten, who held a monster chip lead throughout the day, sits in third place after a late-night slump bumped him down the leaderboard (13,100,000). The final table is rounded out by Yin Liu (11,300,000), Jussi Mattila (11,125,000), and Gregory Telman (5,675,000).
While Meijer van Putten, with more than $1.5M in lifetime winnings, is the biggest name at the final table, the others are certainly no slouches. Kravets already tasted EPT success along the way, coming off a fourth-place finish in a €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em event at the EPT Barcelona worth €34,070. It was Krevets' biggest cash up till today, and he'll walk away with at least double of that on Wednesday.
Those that follow the European circuit closely will notice two familiar regulars in Nedelcu and Mattila among the final six. Nedelcu, with over $400K in lifetime winnings, will crush his personal best either in this tournament. Mattila, supported by Ilari 'Ziigmund' Sahamies and Patrik Antonius at times, will also set a new career-high with the €70,265 guaranteed for each finalist.
The final six emerged from a field of 32 that came back at noon on Day 3 of this event. Pierre Calamusa (31st - €8,735), Alexandre Viard (22nd - €12,525), Jakub Oliva (18th - €14,875), Micha Hoedemaker (14th - €19,585), and Grzegorz Wyraz (8th - €38,770) were among those that busted out on the penultimate day.
€1,100 EPT National Prague Final Table Seating & Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Narcis Nedelcu | Romania | 13,975,000 | 47 |
| 2 | Yin Liu | China | 11,300,000 | 38 |
| 3 | Jasper Meijer van Putten | Netherlands | 13,100,000 | 44 |
| 4 | Jussi Mattila | Finland | 11,125,000 | 37 |
| 5 | Semen Kravets | Russia | 18,325,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Gregory Telman | Israel | 5,675,000 | 19 |
Meijer van Putten Tumbles from Massive Lead
While Kravets bagged the overall lead at the end of the night, it was Meijer van Putten who was the center of attention throughout the day. During the first levels of the day, the Dutchman seemingly could do no wrong, winning every showdown and all-in along the way whether ahead or behind. At the final table, at one point Meijer van Putten even held 45% of the chips before a series of lost hands sent him tumbling down the leaderboard.
It was a lost coinflip against Narcis Nedelcu — his first lost showdown six hours into the day — that started the Dutchman's descent, who was unable to win any showdown from that point onwards. Meijer van Putten's lead evaporated in the span of just one level, even dropping far below the average stack at some point. A big hand against Kravets, where Meijer van Putten paid off Kravets' two pair, shifted the momentum and the chip lead over to the Russian.
Meijer van Putten was able to halt the slide in the final hand of the night, eliminating Rafael Alkhouri with ace-ten against ace-king. The rundown was nothing short of brutal for the Swede: while the flop brought a king, the turn and river were both tens to see Meijer van Putten come out ahead in dramatic fashion and end the day on a high note. He'll be challenging for another EPT title from an above-average stack when all players return on Wednesday at noon.
€1,100 EPT National Prague Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €375,000 | $414,728 | ||
| 2 | €200,820 | $222,095 | ||
| 3 | €136,525 | $150,988 | ||
| 4 | €104,395 | $115,455 | ||
| 5 | €87,095 | $96,322 | ||
| 6 | €70,265 | $77,709 | ||
| 7 | Rafael Alkhouri | Sweden | €53,670 | $59,356 |
| 8 | Grzegorz Wyraz | Poland | €38,770 | $42,877 |
| 9 | Patrick El Kallas | Jordan | €29,540 | $32,669 |
The final day of the €1,100 EPT National Prague will kick off on Wednesday at noon local time with over 13 minutes left in level 34, with blinds at 150,000/300,000. The PokerNews live reporting team will be right back on the floor to cover all the action, so make sure to check back regularly!