Marius Kudzmanas raised to 5,500 from middle position, Aliaksandr Shylko three-bet to 16,500 on the button and Tsz Him Chang cold called in the small blind. Kudzmanas folded.
The 7♠8♠J♥ flop checked through to the Q♥ on the turn. Chan took the lead for 21,000 and Shylko made the call.
The river landed the Q♣ and Chan bet again, this time for approximately 80,000. Shylko snap-folded.
Eric Tsai opened to 4,500 from under the gun, then Patrik Jaros and his bottle of wine three-bet to 15,000 from early position. All the other players folded to Tsai, who went all-in for 76,500. Jaros went into the tank, used two time banks but eventually folded, revealing the A♠.
On the next hand, Jaros opened to 4,000 from under the gun. When it was his turn to play, Maximilian Silz three-bet to 8,000, and was called by Tsai in the big blind. But then, Jaros shoved with the biggest stack of the table. Silly called with his last 76,000 chips, while Tsai folded.
Maximilian Silz: A♠9♠
Patrik Jaros: K♣6♦
Silz seemed disillusioned when Jaros hit a pair on a 5♣4♦10♣6♠Q♥ board. "If I play a straddle tournament, I have to play aggressive" said Jaros while Silz was walking again.
Jelle Moene opened to 4,000 from the button, Marcelo Bonanata three-bet to 12,000 from the small blind and Moene made the call.
Bonanata continued for 15,000 on the 5♦5♣Q♣ flop. Moene called.
The 4♣ slowed down Bonanata, who check-called a bet of 14,000 from Moene.
The K♣ river checked to a showdown. Bonanata announced flush as he sheepishly tabled J♥8♣. Moene smerked as he mucked his cards, showing the 5♠, for flopped trips, as he did so.
Sam Grafton opened to 3,500 from under the gun, Ersin Sancak, to Grafton's direct left, three-bet to 9,500 and Grafton called.
Grafton checked at the sight of the J♥8♥5♣ flop. Sancak bet out 10,500 and Grafton check-raised to 23,000. Sancak moved all in for approximately 78,000 and Grafton called.
Ersin Sancak: Q♥Q♣
Sam Grafton: A♦J♦
The 3♥ and 7♥ runout ensured Sancak's double up, leaving Grafton with just 7,000.
Hand Two:
The very next hand, Robin Berggren opened to 3,500 from the hijack and Grafton defended off his short stack in the big blind, leaving himself just 2,000 behind.
Grafton checked and then called off his last 2,000 on the A♥10♠K♣ flop.
Sam Grafton: J♦5♣
Robin Berggren: K♦9♦
The A♠ and 9♣ runout didn't improve Grafton and he made his departure.
Eduardo Lopes Pereira raised to 3,000 from middle position, Linus Hjulstroem called in the small blind and Juan Pardo three-bet to 12,000 from the big blind. Pereira moved all in, Hjulstroem got out of the way and Pardo called.
Eduardo Lopes Pereira: A♠Q♦
Juan Pardo: K♠K♦
The board ran out K♥3♠3♥10♣A♣. Pereira hit his ace on the river, but it changed nothing as Pardo's flopped full house had him dead on the turn.
Late registration closed when Day 2 started, with 30 new players jumping in. Thanks to these new entries, a total of 240 entrants were recorded in the 2023 €10,300 EPT High Roller, generating a prize pool of €2,328,000.
Once these numbers were known, payouts were announced by the tournament director. 31 players will be in the money, winning a minimum cash prize of €20,000. But tomorrow, on Day 3, one of them will take the first-place prize of €491,950.
Mathieu Selides raised to 3,500 from the hijack, Aliaksandr Shylko three-bet to 10,000 from the cutoff and Selides fout-bet jammed for Shylko's effective stack size of 53,000. Shylko snap-called.
Aliaksandr Shylko: A♥K♠
Mathieu Selides: A♠Q♥
The board ran out 3♣A♦10♣8♦10♥; both players paired their ace, but Shylko's kicker played and he doubled up.
The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague continues today with Day 2 of the €10,000 EPT High Roller. Over 10 levels of play on the opening day, 210 entries took their seats to battle over the felt, generating a prize pool that currently stands at €2,075,800.
At the end of the night, 86 players bagged and tagged at the Hilton Prague and will be returning for the Day 2 restart at 12:30 p.m. local time. With late registration still open until the start of play today, that number is only expected to grow.
By the end of the proceedings, it was Juan Pardo who claimed the title of chip leader having accumulated 380,000 over the 10 hours of play. But Pardo will have to combat some big names in this star-studded field, including EPT regulars Thomas Eychenne and Antoine Labat who were the only other players to eclipse to 300,000 chip mark. Interestingly, they will all be seated next to each other at Table 14 when the day begins.
Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
Place
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Juan Pardo
Spain
380,000
253
2
Thomas Eychenne
France
327,500
218
3
Antoine Labat
France
302,000
201
4
Tsz Him Chan
Hong Kong
269,500
180
5
Niklas Astedt
Sweden
268,000
179
6
Salih Atac
Switzerland
257,500
172
7
Marcelo Bonanata
Argentina
246,000
164
8
Viktor Jensen
Sweden
242,500
162
9
Andrii Derzhypilskyi
Ukraine
219,500
146
10
Tarmo Tammel
Estonia
215,500
144
Antoine Labat
Play will resume today, December 16, on Level 11 with blinds of 1,000/1,500 with a 1,500 big blind ante. Players will receive one additional time bank card at the start of the day. The bubble will burst today when approximately 15% of the field has been reached. The final prize pool and payouts will be announces once late registration has closed.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for the coverage of this event from the moment cards are in the air until a winner is crowned on the December 17.
