$5,300 EPT Main Event | 2024 PokerStars EPT Cyprus

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10-20-2024 09:25 UTC+2

Seat 4 - Georgios Tsouloftas, 34, Limassol, Cyprus (2,255,000)

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David Salituro

Georgios Tsouloftas is flying the flag for his native country at the final table. “Cyprus is my home and this resort even more,” he said.

Tsouloftas first cashed here in 2017 and won the Merit Mediterrean Poker Cup in June 2022 for $264,065. He also finished in fourth place in the Irish Open in March, and was third in the Colossus event at the WSOP Europe in Rozvadov last month.

Tsouloftas finished in 24th in the massive Eureka Main Event field earlier this series but is making his first-ever EPT Main Event cash here. Fifth place or better would surpass his previous best result and move him past $1.5 million in live earnings.

Career Record

EPT cashes: None
Best EPT result: None
Career earnings: $1,228,105

Tournament Progression

Day 1: 43,500 (206/260, 1B)
Day 2: 620,000 (7/144)
Day 3: 755,000 (25/45)
Day 4: 7,970,000 (1/16)
Day 5: 2,255,000 (6/6)

Event Highlights

Tsouloftas scored two massive eliminations at the end of Day 4 to seize the chip lead.

First, Tsouloftas was on the button and called a raise of 100,000 from Lander Lijo. Lijo bet 80,000 on the K♠7♣7♦ flop and Tsouloftas called. The turn was the 2♠ and Lijo bet another 225,000. Tsouloftas again called to the 2♥ river as Lijo bet 680,000, representing most of his remaining stack. Tsouloftas then moved all in and Lijo called with two aces, but Tsouloftas had 7♠6♠ for a full house to send Lijo to the rail.

Tsouloftas then picked up kings and three-bet to 300,000 on the button. Chakib Mhiri moved all in for 1,600,000 with two tens and Tsouloftas called to eliminate him in 18th place.

Tags: Georgios Tsouloftas

10-20-2024 09:25 UTC+2

Seat 3 - Oliver Weis, 32, Grenzach-Wyhlen, Germany (18,505,000)

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David Salituro

The player everyone is looking up at to start the final table is no stranger to the pressure of playing for high stakes.

Oliver Weis began playing poker when he was 18 and is a regular in high-stakes games under the name “Sk2ll_m0dR” on PokerStars. In February, he won the EPT Paris High Roller for €970,200. He would become just the seventh player in EPT history to win both a high roller and Main Event, and only the second to do so in the same year after Dominik Panka in 2014.

That high roller victory was just part of what has already been a successful year on the felt for Weis. In May, he finished in 10th place in the Mediterranean Poker Party Main Event held in this same room. He also placed fourth in the $10,000 Super Turbo at the WSOP this summer, and made a run to 51st place at EPT Barcelona in September. He already had more than $2.1 million in live earnings prior to the Main Event.

“I’m feeling pretty good. It would be amazing to cap the year off with another win. Last year was not so good, so hopefully, I can reach the ultimate goal of winning an EPT Main Event,” Weis said after play yesterday.

Career Record

EPT cashes: 1
Best EPT result: 51st, 2024 EPT Barcelona
Career earnings: $2,124,254

Tournament Progression

Day 1: 112,500 (62/260, 1B)
Day 2: 715,000 (3/144)
Day 3: 720,000 (26/45)
Day 4: 4,540,000 (2/16)
Day 5: 18,505,000 (1/6)

Event Highlights

Weis was on the fortunate end of a number of big pots on Day 5 to seize a massive chip lead going to the final table. First, he bluffed Georgios Tsouloftas off top pair in a four-bet pot to take the chip lead.

Weis then picked off Damir Zhugralin in a pot worth more than 5,000,000 as Zhugralin could only show a pair of tens. Weis had rivered a flush to win the pot and eliminate Zhugralin in 10th place as the nine-handed final table was set.

At the final table, Weis woke up with two queens after Andrea Dato had shoved for 2,730,000 with two jacks. Weis held on to win the pot and send last year's runner-up to the rail in seventh place as he approached 20,000,000.

Tags: Oliver Weis

10-20-2024 09:25 UTC+2

Seat 2 - Bobby James, 34, Watford, United Kingdom (5,215,000)

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David Salituro

Bobby James had an unlikely start to his poker career. He first learned to count cards in blackjack, but was quickly caught and banned from the tables. He saw people playing poker in the casino and decided to try his hand at a new game.

James has been grinding online tournaments for years and estimates he’s played more than 30,000 on PokerStars alone. He’s twice made the final table of the Sunday Million, finishing in fifth and ninth.

James was already having a successful EPT Cyprus stop before the Main Event. He won the $1,000 8-Game earlier this series and finished in 12th place in the Eureka High Roller for $24,880, his best live score. He’s already guaranteed to surpass all his previous career winnings combined.

Cyprus is only James’ second-ever EPT Main Event, having first played in Barcelona earlier this year.

Career Results

EPT cashes: None
Best EPT results: None
Career earnings: $121,415

Tournament Progression

Day 1: 120,000 (55/260, 1B)
Day 2: 360,000 (36/144)
Day 3: 2,605,000 (1/45)
Day 4: 1,215,000 (13/16)
Day 5: 5,215,000 (3/6)

Event Highlights

James' ride to the top of the chip counts after Day 3 began when he, Akin Tuna, and Santhosh Suvarna went three-handed to a flop of A♦Q♦J♣. Suvarna bet 45,000 from the big blind and both opponents called to the 3♣ turn. Tuna then led out for 265,000 and Suvarna and James both called. Tuna bet 310,000 on the 2♣ river and Suvarna folded, but James snap-called for his last 246,000 and showed A♣Q♣ for the rivered nut flush. Tuna was left stunned holding K♣10♣, having not only flopped the nut straight but rivered a king-high flush as James doubled up in what was the biggest pot of the tournament to that point.

James picked up aces against Maksim Rogov's kings in another big pot on Day 3, but a pivotal moment came in a hand that he did not win. He was the one with kings against the aces of Marta Miquel Munoz but managed to avoid losing all of his chips by checking back on the river. "I knew it. When she raised preflop, I knew she had aces," James said.

James got his revenge on Munoz on Day 5 when Munoz moved all in for 1,810,000 with ace-queen. James woke up with kings to send Munoz to the rail in 15th place and continue his journey that led to the final table.

Tags: Bobby James

10-20-2024 09:24 UTC+2

Seat 1 - Mikhail Shalamov, 37, from Russia, resides in Ljubljana, Slovenia (6,050,000)

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David Salituro

Mikhail Shalamov picked up the game around 2008 when a friend took a trip to the United States and introduced it upon returning to Russia. He received a $50 sign-up bonus from an online site and never looked back from there as he became a prominent online grinder.

Playing under the name “innerpsy” online, Shalamov first rose to prominence in November 2009 when he set the world record by playing 40,000 online hands in a 24-hour span. “It was one of the toughest things I have ever accomplished, but I am proud I managed it,” he told PokerStars at the time. He became a successful poker streamer and joined Team PokerStars Online in 2011. He’s still a prolific streamer and has nearly 90,000 subscribers to his Twitch channel.

Shalamov’s first EPT cash came all the way back in 2010 at Monte Carlo. His previous best result was 45th place at Barcelona in 2016. He’s already locked up his best career score, while a fifth place or better showing today would be worth more than all his previous live results combined.

Career Record

EPT cashes: 3
Best EPT result: 45th, 2016 EPT Barcelona
Career earnings: $229,652

Tournament Progression

Day 1: 181,000 (15/144, 1A)
Day 2: 269,000 (61/144)
Day 3: 1,040,000 (15/45)
Day 4: 2,600,000 (5/16)
Day 5: 6,050,000 (2/6)

Event Highlights

Shamalov first moved past 2,000,000 on Day 4 when he played a four-bet pot against Kirill Shcherbakov. Shamalov bet 175,000 on the flop and another 300,000 on the turn with just king-high. He eventually hit a pair of jacks on the river and checked it down to win a big pot.

Later on Day 4, Shalamov went heads-up with Ivan Zabiiakin on a flop of J♠9♣3♣. Shalamov bet 110,000 from the big blind and Zabiiakin called in the small blind. Shalamov bet 275,000 on the K♥ turn and Zabiiakin again called. The 5♣ fell on the river and Shalamov moved all in. Zabiiakin called for 1,000,000 with K♦J♦ for two pair, but Shalamov had 8♣6♣ for a flush to win the pot and send Zabiiakin to the rail as Shalamov momentarily seized the tournament chip lead.

Shalamov ended Day 5 by taking a big pot off Georgios Tsouloftas when he shoved the river for 2,740,000 with a full house. Tsouloftas got rid of trip tens and Shalamov took the pot to climb up past 6,000,000 to end the night.

Tags: Mikhail Shalamov

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