Mariusz Golinski Leads Final 14 of the €10,300 EPT High Roller
Tomorrow, a player will be crowned as the 2024 European Poker Tour Main Event champion, taking home €1,146,500. Meanwhile, another battle will rage at the Hilton Prague with the conclusion of the €10,300 EPT High Roller and its €573,500 first-place prize.
This event attracted a total of 289 entrants, generating a prize pool of €2,803,300. Out of this field, only 14 players remained at the end of the day. They are led by Mariusz Golinski, who emerged as the chip leader with 2,525,000 chips despite a day dominated by Artsiom Lasouski (1,800,000) and Anton Wigg (1,200,000). In between them, Christian Pedersen (1,805,000) and Espen Jorstad (1,210,000) also bagged big stacks.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip count | Big blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mariusz Golinski | Poland | 2,525,000 | 101 |
| 2 | Christian Pedersen | Denmark | 1,805,000 | 72 |
| 3 | Artsiom Lasouski | Belarus | 1,800,000 | 72 |
| 4 | Espen Jorstad | Norway | 1,210,000 | 48 |
| 5 | Anton Wigg | Sweden | 1,200,000 | 48 |
| 6 | Vojtech Ruzicka | Czech republic | 1,200,000 | 48 |
| 7 | Patrik Jaros | Czech republic | 1,100,000 | 44 |
| 8 | Laszlo Molnar | Hungary | 1,090,000 | 44 |
| 9 | Maksim Vaskresenski | Belarus | 645,000 | 26 |
| 10 | Nichan Khorchidian | Lebanon | 445,000 | 18 |
| 11 | Renji Mao | China | 380,000 | 15 |
| 12 | Bruno Bernardino | Portugal | 375,000 | 15 |
| 13 | Arsenii Karmatckii | Russian Federation | 370,000 | 15 |
| 14 | David Boyaciyan | Netherlands | 265,000 | 11 |
Patrik Jaros advances to Day 3 with 1,100,000 chips, despite being just one card away from elimination shortly before the day concluded. Renji Mao pulled off an even more remarkable feat when he was all in and at risk just two places from the bubble. Like Jaros, Mao hit a fortunate river, staged an impressive comeback, and managed to bag 380,000 chips.
EPT champion Arsenii Karmatckii ended the day with a similar stack (370,000), but he is not the shortest in chips. That position belongs to David Boyaciyan, who started the day as chip leader but now sits at 265,000 — just 11 big blinds.
Day 2 Action
The 93 players who qualified after Day 1 were joined by 34 Day 2 entries, bringing the total to 289 entrants in this €10,300 EPT High Roller.
Despite qualifying for Day 2, the tournament quickly ended for PokerStars Team Pro Parker Talbot, Leo Margets, Steve O’Dwyer, and Thomas Santerne, who will have to find another event to pursue a fourth title during the festival. Meanwhile, Day 1 chip leader David Boyaciyan remained on top of the chip count by the first break, but Artsiom Lasouski steadily closed the gap, thanks to a double knockout early in the day.
Simone Andrian wasn’t as fortunate, losing a flip to Arsenii Karmatckii and being eliminated. Daniel Koloszar made his way to the exit shortly afterward, along with High Roller players Enrico Camosci, Niklas Astedt, and former EPT High Roller champion Ka Kwan Lau.
As the bubble pressure began to mount, Anton Wigg doubled up with aces against kings, catapulting himself to the top of the chip counts and maintaining a leading position until the final level of the day. The same goes for Artsiom Lasouski who eliminated Daniel Rezaei shortly after the dinner break, just three places shy of the money.
Meanwhile, Raul Gallego lost with a full house against a superior full house, then Ermanno Di Nicola met his end in a more traditional fashion, becoming the 2024 EPT High Roller bubble boy.
Once the bubble burst, a flurry of all-ins and calls across multiple tables ensued, and it took just an hour to whittle the field from 39 players to the final three tables. Along the way, several notable names exited the tournament, including Julien Sitbon (34th - €19,000), Davidi Kitai (33rd - €19,000), Markkos Ladev (29th - €21,800), and Jon Kyte (26th - €25,100).
After the last break, Wigg became the first player to reach 2,000,000 chips thanks to a fortunate river against Michael Sklenicka (20th - €33,200). His stack then grew to 2,300,000 after he eliminated Mats Ullereng (19th - €33,200). However, Artsiom Lasouski soon caught up, as did Mariusz Golinski, who sent Simon Mattsson to the rail.
In this battle of big stacks, Lasouski could have had the final say by eliminating Robert Heidorn in 15th place (€43,900), making the German the last player eliminated for the day. However, he was beaten to the punch by Golinski and his 2,525,000-chip stack.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €573,500 | 8 | €80,200 |
| 2 | €358,400 | 9 | €66,800 |
| 3 | €256,000 | 10-11 | €58,100 |
| 4 | €196,900 | 12-13 | €50,500 |
| 5 | €151,500 | 14 | €43,900 |
| 6 | €116,500 | ||
| 7 | €96,200 |
The final 14 players have locked up €43,900, but Sunday they’ll compete for the first-place prize of €573,500. Plays resumes at noon local time in Level 23, featuring blinds of 10,000/25,000 with a 25,000 big blind ante.
Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates straight from the tournament floor until a winner is crowned!