Today is the day! On the fifth day of the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Prague Main Event 22 will be cut down to eight. Eight players will face off on the final table tomorrow, 14 will fall today.
Yesterday we started out with 61 players and Ludovic Lacay in the lead. The Frenchman couldn't do anything right the entire day and fell in a disappointing 33rd place (€18,400) after, amongst others, running kings into aces and top pair top kicker into two pair.
Others did live up to the highest of expectations. Ole Schemion showed the world one more time this year what great a player he is. With an unparalleled demeanor and table presence he made everyone at the table not to mess with him. A check raise here, three and five bet there and a constant pressure on all opponents he made sure respect was shown.
One player however, wasn't all that impressed. The respect must be there from Max Silver but fear not so much. The UKIPT champion who successfully transitioned to the big league played many pots with the German and came on top in most cases. The cooler against Lacay helped as well, but what made Max Silver the chip leader was above all incredible craftsmanship.
At 12:00 CET the tournament will commence with Level 25 (15,000/30,000/3,000). You can follow the action right here on PokerNews.com, both in writing and on the live stream page where PokerStars is again showing every hand of the feature table.
German player Lasell King battled it out with Ole Schemion on the feature table all day yesterday. Sometimes he lost, sometimes he came out on top, but every time it was interesting to see the dynamic between the two of them.
All those battles and struggles just ended today with a bad beat as bad as they come. King got it in pre flop with jacks versus Ori Hasson's his pocket eights. "He just flopped him dead" someone on the rail said, talking about Hasson who flopped quad eights.
The deep run halted, King is not getting that €889,000 Christmas bonus and will have to settle for €29,600.
The shorties keep on falling, now it was Romain Chauvassagne who was getting eliminated.
Chauvassagne just moved to his new table and found Ole Schemion right next to him. Schemion is a pain to have on your left at any stage, but since Chauvassagne was short it wasn't that big of a problem.
Well, it became a problem anyway as Schemion called the all in from the big blind. Chauvassagne had shoved the small blind with his and was getting looked up by Schemion's . The board never gave Chauvassagne any hope and he as soon on his way to the pay out desk: .
One name that keeps popping up here at the EPT Prague is Skrill – which isn’t a player, but rather an online payment solutions company that aims to evolve “the way people pay and get paid globally.” Skrill is branded throughout the venue and also have a booth where players can sign up for their popular "Last Longer Competition."
The Skrill Last Longer competition will be held at each stop on this season’s EPT, of which they’re an official sponsor. The promotion is simple – players sign up for the promotion either online (preregistration is available) or at the Skrill booth (which will be present at each stop); don a Skrill patch; and then aim to be the last man or woman standing. The last player remaining will then receive their buy-in back via their Skrill account.
Today, just three players remained in the competition including Tapio Vihakas, Dimitri Holdeew, and Tamer Kamel. You already know Kamel has been eliminated, which means either Vihakas or Holdeew will emerge as the last man standing. Rest assured we'll be keeping an eye on the race and bring you a post once a winner has been determined.
Meanwhile, the company’s website provides a bit more information on Skrill, which rebranded from Moneybookers back in 2010:
“Skrill has been moving money digitally since 2001. We offer online payment solutions for businesses and consumers, allowing them to pay and get paid globally. Over 36 million account holders already trust Skrill. Our customers can send and receive money worldwide in 200 countries and 40 currencies, securely and at low cost, without revealing their personal financial details. Your business will benefit from our worldwide payment network with over 100 payment options. Whether through a simple one-step integration or a fully-tailored payment solution. Whoever you are, however you like to pay or get paid, trust Skrill to make your online payments simpler, faster and safer.”
Headquartered in London, Skrill is looking to make their presence known in the poker world with a commitment to customer satisfaction through innovation and service. Not only that, they’re looking to be more than just a company by becoming a trusted and respected member of the poker community.
From middle position Tapio Vihakas raised to 60,000 and one seat along Ole Schemion smooth called. On the flop Vihakas bet 65,000 and Schemion tossed the calling chips in with a decent amount of height on them. The fell on the turn, Vihakas checked, Schemion bet 125,000 and Vihakas check-raised all in for 731,000 total. The German requested a count, but halfway through the dealer counting down the stack he called.
Vihakas:
Schemion:
The Finn had a combo draw but missed all his outs on the river and shook hands with his opponents as he left the table.
Dimitri Holdeew’s amazing Prague run has come to an end as he’s just been knocked out of the EPT Main Event. It folded to the Eureka Poker Tour Main Event winner in the small blind and he moved all in for his final 660,000 with . In the big blind Stephen Chidwick took a peak at his cards, then announced call and rolled over .
The gave Chidwick the lead but Holdeew had plenty of outs. He had even more after the hit the turn, but he missed them all on the river. Chidiwick, who is now up to around 3,400,000 got some revenge as Holdeew had eliminated him in third place in the Eureka Poker Tour Main Event.
The biggest pot of the tournament so far just played out on the feature table.
The confrontation started with Track who made it 86,000 from the button. Ori Hasson in the small blind three bet to 265,000 and the big blind folded. Action back on Track who four bet to 600,000. Hasson wasn't done just yet and shoved all in. Track called and slammed down his on the table. Track was up against and the biggest coinflip of their lives was at hand.
on the board, nothing worrying for Track yet. on the turn, still no problems. on the river - the biggest pot going to Germany. Hasson is down to just a couple of blinds.
Down to just over 20 big blinds Andrew Chen three-bet all in for 804,000 from the cut-off over the top of Georgios Sotiropoulos’s under-the-gun open. After getting confirmation on Chen’s stack, Sotiropoulos made the call.
Chen:
Sotiropoulos:
The flop looked to have ended the hand there and then, but the turn card gave Chen some river outs. But, the was not one of them and we lose him in 13th place. After that hand Sotiropoulos is up to 3,800,000.
Hasson was short and had no other option than to push under the gun with . His next door neighbor Ka Kwan Lau asked for a count, and eventually made the call. The other players didn't fall for the trap set up bij Lau, they all folded. Lau showed and was the massive favorite.
The flop wasn't all that bad for Hasson and the on the turn even made him so more outs. The on the river was a blank though and Hasson left the tournament. That one huge flip with Track costed him in the end, Hasson eliminated in 12th place.
There is no let-up in the pace of eliminations and this time it’s Erwann Pecheux who’s seen his deep run end just short of the final table.
In his exit hand Stephen Chidwick opened to 90,000 from the cut-off, Pecheux shoved for 900,000 from the small blind and Chidwick called it off.
Pecheux:
Chidwick:
The board saw Chidwick outdraw Pecheux and we’re now down to 10 players. With one more elimination the players will gather round the feature table for the unofficial final table.
and was getting looked up by Schemion's 
. The board never gave Chauvassagne any hope and he as soon on his way to the pay out desk: 
.
flop Vihakas bet 65,000 and Schemion tossed the calling chips in with a decent amount of height on them. The 
fell on the turn, Vihakas checked, Schemion bet 125,000 and Vihakas check-raised all in for 731,000 total. The German requested a count, but halfway through the dealer counting down the stack he called.
river and shook hands with his opponents as he left the table.
. In the big blind Stephen Chidwick took a peak at his cards, then announced call and rolled over 
gave Chidwick the lead but Holdeew had plenty of outs. He had even more after the 
river. Chidiwick, who is now up to around 3,400,000 got some revenge as Holdeew had eliminated him in third place in the Eureka Poker Tour Main Event.
on the table. Track was up against 
on the board, nothing worrying for Track yet. 
on the turn, still no problems. 
was not one of them and we lose him in 13th place. After that hand Sotiropoulos is up to 3,800,000.
flop wasn't all that bad for Hasson and the 
on the river was a blank though and Hasson left the tournament. That one huge flip with Track costed him in the end, Hasson eliminated in 12th place.
