One of the final events of the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague has wrapped, with Pablo Silva defeating Sweden's Mounir Tajiou heads up to claim the €10,200 NL Hold'em II title. The tournament attracted a total of 46 entries, with only the top six sharing a prize pool of €446,200.
"It feels good, it was an amazing tournament - my last one in the series," Silva said following the win. The Brazilian didn't have it all his own way on Day 2 but managed to take it down for only his second tournament win of his poker career.
Final Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pablo Silva | Brazil | €153,900 |
| 2 | Mounir Tajiou | Sweden | €100,400 |
| 3 | Sirzat Hissou | Germany | €69,200 |
| 4 | Andras Nemeth | Hungary | €51,300 |
| 5 | Kazuyuki Tanemura | Japan | €40,200 |
| 6 | Thomas Eychenne | France | €31,200 |
Day 2 Action
Silva's day started promisingly, busting out Jan-Eric Schwippert early on. However, the eventual winner wasn't among the chip leaders at that point in the day. Hungary's Andras Nemeth was the one setting the pace, knocking out several opponents on Day 2 including EPT Champion Steve O'Dwyer.
Silva didn't see it all go his way, losing a three-way pot with ace-king a couple hours into the day. However, he was deeply involved in the hand that burst the money bubble, which could be seen as the turning point in his tournament's trajectory. He scooped a three-way pot with kings to not only knock out Jean-Vincent Lehut, but also take him over two million in chips - nearly half of all that were in play.
Thomas Eychenne was first to go in the money, as he busted in sixth place (€31,200). Nemeth then beat out Silva to win a large pot and eliminate Kazuyuki Tanemura (€40,200) in the same hand.
Then it was Nemeth's turn to hit the rail (€51,300) with Silva sending him there in an interesting hand. Nemeth had a royal flush draw on the turn, but he missed and saw the Brazilian river a set of fours to eliminate the Hungarian in fourth place (€51,300).
A short while later it was down to two, with Sirzat Hissou busting in third (€69,200). The German ran into Tajiou's set of aces while holding two pair.
Heads-Up Play
Unlike the previous final table action, it was a far more tense affair during the heads-up phase, with both players exchanging the chip lead before Silva eventually took it down. The Brazilian flopped trip treys and called when Tajiou got it all in with two pair. The board ran out favorably and Tajiou was eliminated in second place (€100,400).
After finishing in second place in the €25,000 High Roller at EPT Barcelona this past summer, Silva took down his first ever EPT title at the Hilton Prague for €153,900.
"It was tough because I didn't have a huge stack [at the start of the final table], but things went well for me. When I doubled up on the bubble I was confident," Silva commented when asked whether he believed he would win as he reached the final table. He went on to say his plans for 2024 were simply to "keep playing and keep up the grind."
This concludes live coverage from the PokerNews team for the €10,200 No-Limit Hold'em event. Stay tuned for similar up-to-date coverage of the remaining events of the series.
