€5,300 EPT Prague Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2022 PokerStars EPT Prague
€5,300 EPT Prague Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2022 PokerStars EPT Prague
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€6,144,950
Entries
1,267
Level
33
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
30
Players Left
9
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The nine-handed final table of the record-breaking 2022 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague €5,300 Main Event is set and two tournament days remain to crown a winner at the Hilton Hotel Prague. Out of a field of 1,267 entries, Jordan Saccucci will be the man to beat in pursuit of a first-time EPT Main Event title as the biggest slice of the €6,144,950 prize pool remains up for grabs.
It won't be an easy ride for the Canadian despite having 9,560,000 (159 big blinds) to his name, as he faces tough competition from all over the world. Japan's Jun Obara sits in second place with 6,240,000 closely followed by Petar Kalev (5,845,000). Luigi D'Alterio is in the middle of the pack with 4,730,000 with several contenders then sitting closely bunched together.
Paul-Adrian Covaciu (2,770,000) and former WSOP Main Event finalist Antoine Saout (2,740,000) are separated by fewer than one big blind. Javier Gomez Zapatero was in a prime position prior to the dinner break but had to settle for 2,585,000 after conceding two double-ups.
Things looked very dire for PokerStars ambassador Parker Talbot as he was the far shortest stack on the final two tables. However, the Canadian doubled three times and advanced with 1,810,000 to enter the nine-handed final table as second-shortest stack ahead of Istvan Pilhofer (1,530,000).
2022 EPT Prague €5,300 Main Event Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petar Kalev | Bulgaria | 5,845,000 | 97 |
| 2 | Jordan Saccucci | Canada | 9,560,000 | 159 |
| 3 | Javier Gomez Zapatero | Spain | 2,585,000 | 43 |
| 4 | Luigi D'Alterio | Italy | 4,730,000 | 79 |
| 5 | Paul-Adrian Covaciu | Romania | 2,770,000 | 46 |
| 6 | Parker Talbot | Canada | 1,810,000 | 30 |
| 7 | Antoine Saout | France | 2,740,000 | 46 |
| 8 | Istvan Pilhofer | Hungary | 1,530,000 | 26 |
| 9 | Jun Obara | Japan | 6,240,000 | 104 |
All nine finalists have €97,450 locked up for the efforts and will aim to make it through one more day to stay in contention for the €1,054,500 top prize and golden EPT Main Event trophy. There are 64:54 minutes remaining in level 27 at blinds of 30,000/60,000 and a big blind ante of 60,000. The penultimate tournament day is scheduled to recommence at noon local time on Saturday, December 17, 2022, and the live stream on the PokerStars YouTube and Twitch channels will run on a security delay of 30 minutes.
Action of the Day
Only 30 players returned to their seats at noon and the first level of the day already saw six hopes crushed in quick succession with several short stacks among them. The elimination of Ondrej Drozd on the feature table vaulted Javier Gomez Zapatero to the top spot when his pocket kings held versus pocket queens. Henri Juutilainen never recovered from a massive blow on the outer tables and missed out on the final three tables while Vitezslav Cech also missed out on the subsequent pay jump.
Among the next batch of notable casualties were the two online legends Conor Beresford and Simon Mattsson, as well as Yannick Cardot. A suited king for Beresford was not enough against the suited ace of Fabrice Bigot and the Brit jumped into the €10,300 High Roller after. For Cardot, the attempt to surpass his 8th place finish from the 2022 EPT Monte-Carlo ended in 22nd place when he ran ace-king into aces while Mattsson's pocket sevens were cracked by the pocket sixes of Ionut-Flavius Voinea.
The eliminations kept pouring in prior to the dinner break, on which just 10 players remained. Timothy Adams was among those to run out of chips when queen-ten was no match to the pocket jacks of Gomez Zapatero. Portugal's Rui Milhomens saw his hopes vanish despite having flopped a set of queens as Jordan Saccucci rivered a set of aces when the chips went into the middle.
Paulius Vaitiekunas was flipped out by Luigi D'Alterio before Maksim Shornikau and Laurent Cessy succumbed to their short stacks. What followed was the biggest pot of the tournament to date. Istvan Pilhofer somehow raise-folded pocket queens and would have flopped a set while the run of Benjamin Lebor came to a crashing end with kings against the aces of the red-hot running Saccucci.
In a battle of the Romanians, Voinea then flopped top pair in a three-bet pot only for Paul-Adrian Covaciu to reveal pocket kings for the top set. Last but not least, Fabrice Bigot was dominated with tens versus jacks and Petar Kalev came out on top to reduce the field to the final ten contenders.
When the action resumed after the dinner break, D'Alterio doubled twice in quick succession through Gomez Zapatero and it was then WSOP Online bracelet winner Simon Lofberg who became the final casualty of the evening. The Swede put his hopes on ace-ten but lost a classic race to the pocket eights of Kalev.
With more than one hour remaining and an average of more than 70 big blinds, Day 5 at the Hilton Hotel Prague won't be a brief affair. The PokerNews live reporting team will be back then to provide all the key hands according to the security delay on the live stream table.
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The final nine players have bagged up for the night and will return at noon local time to try and get one step closer to victory. A recap of today's action is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
9,560,000 | |
|
||
|
6,240,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
5,845,000 | |
|
4,730,000
-120,000
|
-120,000 |
|
2,770,000
-30,000
|
-30,000 |
|
2,740,000 | |
|
2,585,000
160,000
|
160,000 |
|
||
|
1,810,000
-515,000
|
-515,000 |
|
||
|
1,530,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Petar Kalev opened to 140,000 in the cutoff. Simon Lofberg moved all in for 1,435,000 from the small blind. In the big blind, Jordan Saccucci woke up with the 
, used a time bank, and decided to fold. Kalev made the call to head to a race with Kalev at risk.
Simon Lofberg: 
Petar Kalev: 
The flop was 
and the eights stayed in the lead. The turn card came the 
, so only five outs were left to keep Lofberg in the game. The river was none of them, the 
, thus Lofberg was eliminated on the final table bubble.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,560,000
-120,000
|
-120,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
5,845,000
1,525,000
|
1,525,000 |
|
Busted | |
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Jun Obara raised to 120,000 on the button and was called by Javier Gomez Zapatero in the big blind. The 
flop was checked and Gomez Zapatero bet the turn for 110,000, earning a call from Obara.
On the 
river, Gomez Zapatero checked and Obara bet 565,000 to win the pot uncontested.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,225,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
|
|
2,425,000
-255,000
|
-255,000 |
|
|
||
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Petar Kalev 
opened to 125,000 on the button and found a customer in Simon Lofberg 
.
On the 
flop, Kalev checked. Lofberg bet 100,000, and Kalev made the call.
The turn brought the 
, and Lofberg checked again. Kalev fired again, bumping the price to 350,000. Lofberg decided to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,320,000
280,000
|
280,000 |
|
|
1,440,000
-160,000
|
-160,000 |
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Luigi D'Alterio limped in from the small blind and Antoine Saout raised to 240,000 in the big blind. D'Alterio called and the flop came 
. D'Alterio quickly checked and then folded to the bet of 180,000 from Saout.
On the next hand, Paul-Adrian Covaciu raised to 120,000 from under the gun and picked up the blinds and antes.
Following that, Jun Obara limped in the small blind and Covaciu checked his option. The flop came 
and both players checked to the 
on the turn. Obara led out witha bet of 90,000 and Covaciu laid his hand down.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,950,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
4,850,000
-1,090,000
|
-1,090,000 |
|
|
2,800,000
-50,000
|
-50,000 |
|
|
2,740,000
210,000
|
210,000 |
|
|
2,680,000
-255,000
|
-255,000 |
|
|
||
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Jordan Saccucci opened to 125,000 on the button. Petar Kalev 
made the call in the big blind.
The flop came out 
. Saccucci continued for 120,000, and Kalev made the call.
On the turn, Kalev check-folded to a bet of 160,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,680,000
630,000
|
630,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,040,000
-240,000
|
-240,000 |
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Paul-Adrian Covaciu raised to 120,000 and was called by Jun Obara in the big blind. The 
flop went check, check, and that led to the 
on the turn. Obara now made it 135,000 to go and Covaciu called.
Both checked again the 
river and Obara revealed the 
for king-high with a busted gutshot. Covaciu claimed the pot with the 
for a pair of deuces.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,700,000
-320,000
|
-320,000 |
|
|
2,850,000
-90,000
|
-90,000 |
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Ionut-Flavius Voinea opened to 120,000 on the button and Javier Gomez Zapatero three-bet to 460,000 in the small blind. Luigi D'Alterio four-bet shoved all in for 2,380,000 in the big blind. Voinea quickly folded and Gomez Zapatero called just as fast.
Luigi D'Alterio: 
Javier Gomez Zapatero: 
D'Alterio had the good once again with the better of the two pocket pairs. The flop made him feel good about his chances but the on the turn provided a sweat. The river was the and D'Alterio held for back-to-back doubles.
"Good dinner?" his Italian rail joked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,940,000 | |
|
|
2,935,000 | |
|
|
||