€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day 5 Completed
2024 PokerStars EPT Prague
€5,300 EPT Main Event
Day: 5
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 5
2024 PokerStars EPT Prague
Buy-in
€5,300
Prize Pool
€7,071,300
Entries
1,458
Level
36
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
16
Players Left
6
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
As the dust settles on the penultimate day of the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague €5,300 Main Event, only six players remain from the record-breaking field of 1,458 entries. With nearly €7 million in the prize pool, the remaining contenders are just one step away from claiming the prestigious EPT trophy and the life-changing €1,146,500 first-place prize.
The journey to the final table was anything but easy, as the largest Main Event field in EPT Prague’s history saw the best and brightest fall by the wayside over the past five thrilling days. For the surviving six, the stakes are higher than ever, with each now guaranteed at least €233,050, but all with their sights set on the ultimate payday. The stage is set for an epic finale as one of poker’s most coveted titles hangs in the balance.
After a drama-filled day on the felt inside the Hilton Prague, Paul Runcan began as the chip leader and maintained his dominance throughout, finishing with an impressive 18,025,000 chips. His stack is nearly double that of his closest rival, Pedro Marques, who will return with 9,225,000 chips as the final table approaches its conclusion.
Final Table Seat Draw & Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Siarhei Alontsau | Belarus | 3,150,000 | 21 |
| 2 | Paul Runcan | Romania | 18,025,000 | 120 |
| 3 | Anton Bergstrom | Sweden | 6,725,000 | 45 |
| 4 | Pedro Marques | Portugal | 9,225,000 | 62 |
| 5 | Barak Oz | Israel | 4,500,000 | 30 |
| 6 | Jaehyung Park | South Korea | 2,100,000 | 14 |
Runcan, who has already secured his career-best score with this final table finish, delivered a masterclass performance, leveraging his big stack to dominate the action and secure the chip lead. The Romanian player previously made an EPT final table in a Deepstack event at EPT Paris earlier this year, where he finished ninth. This time, however, Runcan aims to close out the tournament from the opposite end of the standings—and with the chip lead firmly in his grasp, he is in prime position to do just that.
Marques is a seasoned EPT veteran with no fewer than ten final table appearances to his name, including two victories that have brought in nearly €500,000. Currently ranked second on Portugal's all-time money list, Marques has consistently proven his skill on the big stage. It's no surprise that he once again finds himself on the brink of capturing another major title.
Anton Bergstrom is a name that may already resonate with EPT enthusiasts, and he now has the chance to make history as the first-ever player to win three EPT Main Event titles. While his previous victories came in online Main Events in 2020 and 2021, earning him a combined total of nearly $1,400,000, this fascinating detail only came to light today. Until now, Bergstrom had kept those monumental achievements a secret, adding an intriguing twist to his story as he aims to claim his first live Main Event trophy and cement his place in EPT history.
Not going down without a fight is Barak Oz, who ended the day with 4,500,000 chips. Oz's stack fluctuated wildly throughout Day 5, but with 30 big blinds at his disposal heading into the final day, he remains a formidable contender. Joining him in the fight are Siarhei Alontsau (3,150,000) and Jaehyung Park (2,100,000), both looking to mount comebacks. Park, in particular, showed his resilience on Day 5, successfully spinning up his stack multiple times to stay in contention.
Day 5 Action
Sixteen hopefuls returned to the felt with Runcan leading the way after a dominant Day 4 performance. With just 47 minutes left in Level 26, the atmosphere was cautious as players eased into the day, avoiding early drama.
But when Level 27 arrived, the action finally exploded, thinning the field by five players before the level concluded, with Runcan further solidifying his lead.
The first to exit was Joshua McSwiney, whose ace-jack fell short against Marques' ace-queen. Next, Georgios Vrakas seemed destined for a double-up after his king-ten connected with a ten on the flop against Runcan’s ace-queen. However, a timely ace on the turn continued Runcan’s streak of good fortune, sending Vrakas to the rail.
Dimitrios Gkatzas (14th) lost a flip, while the always-entertaining Sylwia Studniarz bowed out in 13th after she turned pocket fives into a bluff, only to run into Danut Chisu's rivered full house.
Finally, the elimination of Alexander Sokolovsky in 12th capped off an action-packed level. Once again, Runcan reigned supreme, building his stack to over eight million chips.
Umberto Ruggeri was the next to fall after becoming short-stacked. He looked poised for a crucial double-up with pocket jacks against Tjenno Eskes' queen-jack. However, poker’s cruel nature revealed itself once again as Eskes spiked a gutshot straight on the turn, dashing Ruggeri’s hopes and bringing his tournament run to an abrupt end.
The final table bubble was a tense and drawn-out affair, with several players cycling through the short-stack position as the larger stacks maintained their dominance. Ultimately, it was Vidar Oie who fell just shy of the final nine. Oie flopped top pair, but his kicker couldn’t compete with Oz’s stronger hand, sealing his fate and completing the lineup for the finale.
As the final table began, Runcan held a commanding lead with nearly twelve million chips — close to a third of the chips in play. Eskes sat in second place with just over seven million, while Siegfried Kapeller, Chisu, and Park faced an uphill battle, each starting with fewer than twenty big blinds.
Kapeller was at risk in one of the first few hands when he called all-in with pocket jacks and had to compete with the pocket kings of Alontsau. It looked to be the end for Kapeller, especially after a dry flop that gave him no extra equity. However, a jack on the turn brought him back from the brink of elimination and back into contention.
Chisu found himself as the new short stack and couldn’t climb out of last place. His final hand saw him shove with ace-six, only to be called by Oz's pocket eights. A clean board sealed his fate, making Chisu the first elimination of the final table.
An insane hand then played out with the chip leader Runcan and Kapeller, which resulted in probably the bluff of the tournament. Kapeller had turned a flush with six-trey and check-raised the turn, which Runcan called to a board-pairing river. The pot had close to four million chips in the middle when Kapeller bet half of his stack on the river, and Runcan instantly moved all in with just trey-deuce. Kapeller took his time and elected to fold, and Runcan showed the bluff, which was the beginning of the end for Kapeller.
Just moments later, Kapeller got his twelve big blinds into the middle with ace-queen, and was put at risk by Marques' pocket nines. A nine on the flop all but sealed the deal for Kapeller, and just like that, he was out in eighth.
Seven-handed play saw the action slow considerably as players tightened up, wary of the escalating pay jumps. The breakthrough came when Eskes decided to make his stand with ace-six, only to be called by Runcan holding king-ten. In what has become a familiar sight, Runcan hit the nut straight on the flop, sealing Eskes' fate. The Dutchman’s elimination in seventh place brought an eventful Day 5 to a close, leaving the final six time to regroup and prepare for the finale.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €1,146,500 | ||
| 2 | €716,950 | ||
| 3 | €512,100 | ||
| 4 | €393,950 | ||
| 5 | €303,000 | ||
| 6 | €233,050 | ||
| 7 | Tjenno Eskes | Netherlands | €179,250 |
| 8 | Siegfried Kapeller | Austria | €137,900 |
| 9 | Danut Chisu | Romania | €106,050 |
The stage is set for an epic conclusion as the final six players return on Sunday, December 15, at 12:30 p.m. to battle it out for the title. With just under 30 minutes remaining in Level 26 (100,000/150,000 with a 150,000 big blind ante), every decision will carry immense weight as the field plays down to a champion.
Coverage will run on a 30-minute delay to align with the .
Don’t miss a second of the action—join PokerNews tomorrow for comprehensive updates as we crown the new EPT Prague Main Event champion!
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
The remaining six players have bagged up their chips and will return to play down to a winner tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Stay tuned for a full recap of today's action.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
18,025,000 | |
|
||
|
9,225,000
-300,000
|
-300,000 |
|
||
|
6,725,000
-5,000
|
-5,000 |
|
||
|
4,500,000 | |
|
3,150,000
-400,000
|
-400,000 |
|
2,100,000
-700,000
|
-700,000 |
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
After it folded to Tjenno Eskes in the small blind, he called and Paul Runcan raised to 475,000 from the big blind. Eskes check-shoved for 3,050,000 and after thinking for a few moments, Runcan made the call to put Eskes at risk.
Tjenno Eskes: A♠6♠ 
Paul Runcan: K♣10♣
Eskes was ahead with ace-high and just had to fade an unfortunate runout to double-up and remain in the tournament.
However, the dealer put out a flop of J♣9♥Q♥ to give Runcan the nuts and leave Eskes needing running cards to win. The 9♦ came on the turn to cement Eskes' elimination from the tournament, as an inconsequential A♦ appeared on the river.
Eskes headed to the rail in seventh as the remaining six players had secured their spots on Day 6 of the 2024 EPT Prague Main Event.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
18,025,000
3,345,000
|
3,345,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
When it folded to Pedro Marques in the cutoff he shoved with a stack that covered the remaining players left to act. Barak Oz was the first to get through, and after Oz looked at his cards, he called for his remaining 2,050,000. The rest of the table folded and the cards were revealed.
Barak Oz: A♠J♠
Pedro Marques: 4♦4♣
If Oz were to lose this flip, he would be the seventh-place finisher and the remaining six players would bag up and return tomorrow for the final day of the Main Event
The flop came down Q♠6♠5♦ which gave Oz a flush draw to go with his overcards. The 3♥ turn didn't help Oz, but the K♠ dropped on the river to give him a flush, and Oz doubled up through Marques.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
9,525,000
-1,355,000
|
-1,355,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,500,000
2,050,000
|
2,050,000 |
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,680,000
-220,000
|
-220,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
10,880,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
6,730,000
-100,000
|
-100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,550,000
-100,000
|
-100,000 |
|
|
2,800,000
-400,000
|
-400,000 |
|
|
2,650,000
-400,000
|
-400,000 |
|
|
2,450,000
-100,000
|
-100,000 |
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Paul Runcan raised to 225,000 from the small blind with A♦J♣ and Anton Bergstrom defended out of the big blind holding 8♥5♥.
The flop came down 9♠10♦7♥ and Runcan decided to check-call a bet of 425,000 from Bergstrom.
The 2♣ dropped on the turn and Runcan check-folded to a bet of 1,125,000 from Bergstrom.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,900,000
-780,000
|
-780,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
6,830,000
1,500,000
|
1,500,000 |
|
|
||
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Tjenno Eskes opened to 300,000 from under the gun with only Siarhei Alontsau calling out of the big blind.
The 7♥8♠3♦ flop checked through for the 6♦ to land on the turn. The action went check-check again and the dealer put out the 2♠ river. Both players again checked and Alontsau tabled J♦9♦ for jack-high. Eskes had that beat with A♥K♦, and the pot was pushed to Eskes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,650,000
-850,000
|
-850,000 |
|
|
3,050,000
450,000
|
450,000 |
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Paul Runcan raised to 300,000 from the cutoff with only Barak Oz defending from the big blind.
Oz decided to check the 10♦7♣2♠ flop and Runcan bet 150,000. Oz called.
A Q♦ hit the turn and Oz check-called a bet of 225,000 from Runcan.
The 3♥ river checked through and Oz took down the pot with a set of deuces holding 2♦2♣. Runcan had J♠3♠ for a rivered pair of threes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
15,680,000
-670,000
|
-670,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,550,000
1,070,000
|
1,070,000 |
Level 31
: Blinds 100,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Paul Runcan called from the small blind and Anton Bergstrom checked out of he big blind.
The A♣9♥3♦ flop checked through for the K♦ to come on the turn. The action checked again and the 4♦ fell on the river. Runcan checked and Bergstrom bet 200,000. Runcan called and Bergstrom showed 5♥5♦ for just a pair of fives. It won him the pot as Runcan mucked J♥8♦ for jack-high.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
16,350,000
-350,000
|
-350,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
5,330,000
330,000
|
330,000 |
|
|
||