Seat 2: Paul Runcan, 33, Romania, lives in Nottingham, UK – 18,025,000
What a ride for Romanian player Paul Runcan in this EPT Main Event Prague 2024. The 33-year-old took the lead once the field was down to 3 tables and stayed on top of chip counts ever since. He started the day chip leading the 16 players left and will now start the 6-handed play with a huge stack of 18,025,000 chips.
Runcan has been having a breakout year on the live scene. All of his top five scores – all five-figure – came in 2024. Now he's guaranteed to achieve another milestone with a six-figure minimum payout. The Romanian player made his debut playing low-stakes poker in England almost ten years ago, mainly in Nottingham where he lives. His first significant results in the European scene arrived on a side event at EPT Paris this year and his first five-figure win then in Monte-Carlo with two 10th places in FPS High Roller and EPT Mystery Bounty.
Now a regular on the European circuit, Runcan is travelling around France, Italy, and other European stops. With only $270,000 live poker earnings so far, Runcan will at least double his total in career and he is a serious contender for the title.