Who Will Reach the Final Six in the 2019 EPT Prague Main Event?
The third-biggest European Poker Tour Main Event in Prague has seen a field of 1,154 entries in the 2019 PokerStars EPT Prague €5,300 EPT Main Event cut down to the final 12 hopefuls over the two starting days and three tournament days that followed. On the penultimate day, which kicks off at noon local time in the Atrium Casino at the Hilton Prague, that number will be cut into half as Day 5 is slated to play down to the final six.
Leading the last dozen contenders for the stunning top prize of €1,005,600 is Hungarian poker pro Norbert Szecsi with 6,715,000 and he will aim to finish one spot higher than fellow countryman Marton Czuczor, who came up short of the glory during the last stop at Casino Barcelona in August 2019. Szecsi already has two WSOP bracelets to his name and more than $3.1 million in cashes on the live circuit, and dominated the late action on Day 4 to take over the lead.
Tomas Paiva (4,405,000) and Luke Marsh (4,380,000) are within one big blind from each other and Gaby Livshitz sits in fourth place with 3,925,000, while German poker pro Dietrich Fast has also bagged up a top five stack of 3,650,000 after a late surge in the previous evening. South Korea's Gab Yong Kim has returned to Prague after a two-year hiatus in Europe and reached the penultimate day with a healthy stack of 3,050,000.
There are also two former EPT champions still in the mix to make history and become the second two-time champion of the popular live event circuit in Mikalai Pobal (2,780,000) and Dominik Panka (1,070,000).
Ricardo Da Rocha sits in the middle of the pack with 2,830,000 and there are three shorter stacks in Laurent Michot (830,000), Czech cash game specialist Vlastimil Pustina (460,000) and Erdal Gulseven (400,000). The trio at the bottom of the leaderboard will be under immediate pressure with 1:05:10 left at blinds of 20,000/40,000 and a big blind ante of 40,000.
EPT Prague Main Event Day 5 Seat Draw
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Counts | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Gaby Livshitz | Israel | 3,925,000 | 98 |
| 1 | 2 | Norbert Szecsi | Hungary | 6,715,000 | 168 |
| 1 | 3 | Vlastimil Pustina | Czech Republic | 460,000 | 12 |
| 1 | 4 | Erdal Gulseven | Turkey | 400,000 | 10 |
| 1 | 5 | Dietrich Fast | Germany | 3,650,000 | 91 |
| 1 | 7 | Dominik Panka | Poland | 1,070,000 | 27 |
| 2 | 1 | Ricardo Da Rocha | Brazil | 2,830,000 | 71 |
| 2 | 2 | Laurent Michot | France | 830,000 | 21 |
| 2 | 4 | Luke Marsh | United Kingdom | 4,380,000 | 110 |
| 2 | 5 | Gab Yong Kim | South Korea | 3,050,000 | 76 |
| 2 | 6 | Tomas Paiva | Portugal | 4,405,000 | 110 |
| 2 | 8 | Mikalai Pobal | Belarus | 2,780,000 | 70 |
The remaining 12 players are all guaranteed €55,690 and the action kicks off at noon local time. All PokerNews updates will be published in line with the 30-minute delay of the live stream action with hole cards displayed on the PokerStars YouTube, Facebook and Twitch channels.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (in EUR) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,005,600 | $1,118,277 |
| 2 | €598,880 | $665,985 |
| 3 | €421,450 | $468,673 |
| 4 | €316,780 | $352,275 |
| 5 | €241,230 | $268,260 |
| 6 | €177,420 | $197,300 |
| 7 | €134,610 | $149,693 |
| 8 | €96,100 | $106,868 |
| 9 | €74,770 | $83,148 |
| 10-11 | €62,070 | $69,025 |
| 12 | €55,690 | $61,930 |
to keep Szecsi ahead.
to not change things and neither did the 
on the river as Pustina was sent to the rail as the first elimination of the day in twelfth place for €55,690.
. Erdal Gulseven called on the button with 
with Dominik Panka defending his big blind with 
.
, it was checked to Gulseven who shoved for 310,000. Panka quickly folded and Szecsi called.
which didn't help Gulseven and neither did the 
as Gulseven was sent to the payout desk in eleventh place for €62,070.
. Dominik Panka put almost his whole stack in from the small blind with 
for Ricardo Da Rocha to fold his big blind and Szecsi to fold too.
to give him a gutshot to a Broadway.
and Gab Yong Kim three-bet out of the small blind for 315,000. Chip leader Norbert Szecsi four-bet out of the big blind to 825,000 and Livshitz quickly got out of the way.
flop gave Szecsi a flush draw to improve to 11 outs. Nothing changed with a blank 
turn but the 
The flop came 
.
and Luke Marsh opted to check with 
. The blinds folded and so did Livshitz. Pobal called. The flop came 
appeared on the river and Pobal checked, Szecsi used one time bank extension and bet 1,500,000 into a pot of just 870,000. Pobal used three time banks and folded the best hand.
on the turn. Pobal bet 80,000 and Fast check-raised to 800,000 and left 200,000 behind. Pobal shoved and Fast called.