Paul Tedeschi Leads Final Nine in Mixed Game Main Event
Ante: 2,000
Bring in: 3,000
Limits: 10,000/20,000
NLH/PLO: 2,000/5,000/5,000 (7-2 BBA: 7,000)
With just a few days left on the 2024 European Poker Tour Prague schedule, mixed-game enthusiasts from across the globe turned out in force for the inaugural €2,200 EPT Mixed Game Main Event. An additional 34 entries made their way to the Hilton Prague for Day 2, brining the total number of entries up to 83 and generating a €159,360 prize pool.
After a shortened Day 2 as a result of a long money bubble, Paul Tedeschi emerged as the chip leader of the final nine players with a stack worth 869,000. Tedeschi benefitted from a late-night surge by eliminating both Tobias Leknes and Thomas Berg leading up to the money bubble. Tedeschi was then able to put his big stack to good use on the bubble with well-timed aggression en route to bagging the chip lead.
Tedeschi is arguably the most accomplished player remaining, with over $3,000,000 in live-tournament earnings and four EPT titles to his name — two of which came from mixed-game events last year.
Tedeschi's next-closest competitor is Jeremy Trojand, who managed to bag up 755,000 by the end of the day. Trojand has yet to win an EPT title and will be looking to best his fourth-place finish from the € 5,200 Pot Limit Omaha event just a few days ago for €52,100.
Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count | Day 3 Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Tedeschi | France | 869,000 | 36 |
| 2 | Jeremy Trojand | Germany | 755,000 | 31 |
| 3 | Ali Abdulzahra | United Kingdom | 705,000 | 29 |
| 4 | Patrick Bueno | France | 626,000 | 26 |
| 5 | Lee Horton | United Kingdom | 464,000 | 19 |
| 6 | Dario Alioto | Italy | 296,000 | 12 |
| 7 | Alexander Freund | Austria | 232,000 | 10 |
| 8 | Sami Bechahed | France | 94,000 | 4 |
| 9 | Tobias Hausen | Germany | 80,000 | 3 |
Day 2 Action
Day 1 chip leader Thomas Berg looked to continue his dominance from the get-go and managed to maintain his chip lead with some big hands, which included making a well-disguised flush against Itay Kimhi in Seven Card Stud.
Meanwhile, a steady slew of eliminations saw several players bow out before dinner break, including Frank Visser, Mark Rubbathan, John Lukacs, and PokerStars ambassador Parker Talbot, who was unable to gain any momentum after max late-registering.
Following dinner, the last-standing PokerStars ambassador, Georgina James, took her leave after busting in a hand of Razz.
Not long after, Berg ran into a rough patch that saw his stack dwindle over the course of several hands, including one in Stud Hi-Lo wherein Berg got scooped by Ali Abdulzahra. Berg busted shortly after the hand and the money bubble followed closely.
The bubble proved to be a lengthy affair that lasted nearly two levels and dozens of hands. Lee Horton, Sami Bechahed, Nicolas Bokowski, and Emmanouil Chalkiotis all managed to double during hand-for-hand play, much to the dismay of Kimhi, who became the unfortunate bubble boy after making a stand in 2-7 Triple Draw and losing out to Dario Alioto's seven.
Bokowski and Chalkiotis followed Kimhi out the door shortly after in 11th and 10th place respectively before play was called for the night a level early due to the prolonged bubble.
Day 3 will take place on Saturday, December 14 and play down until a winner. The action will resume on Level 16, which features 6,000/12,000 blinds with a 3,000 ante and betting limits of 12,000/24,000.
With the trophy and €44,884 first-place prize now within sight, the action is sure to be fierce as players compete to become the first EPT Mixed Game Champion. Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action until the next champion has been crowned!