€5,300 EPT Main Event | 2018 PokerStars EPT Prague

2018-12-18 11:30 UTC+2

Seat 6: Artem "FaNjkEEE" Kobylynskyi, 28, Kiev/Ukraine (6,075,000)

poolshir

Artem Kobylynskyi might not be a household name in the live poker arenas, but the 28-year-old Ukrainian pro is a tremendously successful online player. Kobylynskyi has racked up just over $240,000 during his live tournament trips with his top result dating back to 2011.

But it's the virtual felt where Kobylynskyi has been showcasing his talent most of the time. He's notoriously known by his PokerStars moniker "FaNjkEEE" in the Eastern European poker community. A brief look at Kobylynskyi's online résumé reveals tournament cashes of over $4.4 million, including several big final table appearances. His standout result came in the 2017 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP); Kobylynskyi topped Event 31-H: $2,100 for a $284,918 payday.

A former #30-ranked player on the prestigious PocketFives leaderboard, Kobylynskyi has now reached his first final table at an EPT.

Artem Kobylynskyi's Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	169,600	32/436
Day 3	164,000	87/137
Day 4	1,432,000	7/44
Day 5	1,005,000	13/16
Day 6	6,075,000	3/6

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Artem Kobylynskyi	6,075,000

Tags: Artem Kobylynskyi

2018-12-18 11:35 UTC+2

Seat 5: Laurynas "LaurisL91" Levinskas, 27, Lithuania (4,765,000)

poolshir

Lithuania is yet to crown their first EPT Main Event champion, but Laurynas Levinskas might change that for the Baltic country. Levinskas marched through the field at EPT Prague to earn a seat at the six-handed finale. The 27-year-old player has already been at a few truly huge final tables.

He is a former Sunday Million runner-up, playing as "LaurisL91" at PokerStars. Levinskas has amassed nearly $3.5 million in online tournament winnings through his career. His most impressive deep run in a live tournament came four years ago here in Prague when he finished second in the EPT High Roller, banking €412,910. Both of his largest live and online cashes came out of a heads-up loss,

But Levinskas does know how to close things out; he demonstrated that in the PokerStars Championship Macau HK$103,000 event where he outlasted an incredibly skilled final table which featured the likes of Philipp Gruissem, Mikita Badziakouski, and Sam Greenwood.

Laurynas Levinskas' Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	236,300	9/436
Day 3	377,000	35/137
Day 4	523,000	29/44
Day 5	1,900,000	7/16
Day 6	4,765,000	4/6

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Laurynas Levinskas	4,765,000

Tags: Laurynas Levinskas

2018-12-18 11:40 UTC+2

Seat 4: Carlos "poeira4" Branco, 31, Portugal (3,100,000)

poolshir

Carlos Branco is the oldest player at the EPT Prague Final Table at the age of 31, which isn't old at all. Known online as "poeira4", Branco has won the Super Tuesday in 2014 for $107,919, and the Sunday Warm-Up earlier this year for $39,135. And many more online results.

Branco started amassing his reported live tournament results ten years ago in lower stakes tournaments in Portugal. He transitioned into an EPT circuit player with his forte being the side events.

Branco's results include several five-figure scores such as a second place in the EPT12 Prague €2,150 Turbo event (for €47,670) and a first place in the EPT13 Prague €1,100 Hyper Turbo event which earned him €28,900 and the iconic spade-shaped trophy.

Now Branco has once again proved his fine association with the Czech capital, navigating to the biggest final table of his poker career.

Carlos Branco's Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	153,400	43/436
Day 3	510,500	14/137
Day 4	884,000	17/44
Day 5	990,000	14/16
Day 6	3,100,000	6/6

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Carlos Branco	3,100,000

Tags: Carlos Branco

2018-12-18 11:45 UTC+2

Seat 3: Alexandr Merzhvinskii, 30, Moscow/Russia (7,545,000 )

poolshir

Alexandr Merzhvinskii already knows how it feels to hoist a coveted PokerStars trophy. He conquered the PokerStars Festival Sochi Main Event back in October 2017, taking home more than $130,000 along with the silverware.

The 30-year-old Muscovite has been treated well in Sochi, with all his major live tournament results emerging from there. That includes his career-biggest prize of $400,000 for a third place in the MILLIONS event, coming just a month before his triumph at the PSF.

Merzhvinskii is also active on the online scene. 2018 has been his breakout year on the virtual felt; Merzhvinskii claimed all of his top three results within the last 12 months.

Alexandr Merzhvinskii's Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	71,200	221/436
Day 3	152,500	90/137
Day 4	1,463,000	6/44
Day 5	1,365,000	11/16
Day 6	7,545,000	2/6

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Alexandr Merzhvinskii	7,545,000

Tags: Alexandr Merzhvinskii

2018-12-18 11:50 UTC+2

Seat 2: Parker "tonkaaaa" Talbot, 27, Mississauga/Canada (3,690,000)

poolshir

One of the most recognizable faces by a broader poker audience, Parker Talbot is both an extremely experienced player and a highly-popular streamer. His channel boasts nearly 100,000 followers on Twitch which ranks him among the most popular poker streamers.

Widely known by his PokerStars screenname "tonkaaaa", the 27-year-old Canadian has had a stellar poker career. His success is mainly related to the online fields with Talbot's total online tournament winnings exceeding $4.2 million. His achievements include two Thursday Thrill titles as well as a Super Tuesday victory.

Talbot started becoming a regular fixture at live events only a few years ago, but his first reported cashes date back to the eighth season of the EPT; his first ever Hendon Mob notch came six years ago in the EPT Berlin Main Event.

Parker Talbot's Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	191,900	19/436
Day 3	773,500	2/137
Day 4	1,690,000	4/44
Day 5	3,250,000	5/16
Day 6	3,690,000	5/6

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Parker Talbot	3,690,000

Tags: Parker Talbot

2018-12-18 11:55 UTC+2

Seat 1: Paul Michaelis, 27, Vienna/Austria (10,060,000)

poolshir

Germany's 27-year-old Paul Michaelis is an experienced poker player in both live and online fields. His most significant accomplishment came three years ago when he notched a WSOP bracelet, topping a 639-strong field in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event for $189,818.

That payday remained Michaelis' largest score until his deep run here at EPT Prague where he's guaranteed to set his new career-best result. Michaelis is no stranger to making the headlines in the Czech capital. Last year, he led the PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event for two consecutive days (Day 2 and Day 3) only to settle for a 28th place finish.

Michaelis has now dominated the EPT for two days straight again. Much to his benefit, it's been in the deeper phase with Michaelis able to seize the chip lead ahead of Day 5 as well as ahead of the final day.

Paul Michaelis' Main Event run:

Entering	Chips	Position
Day 2	101,600	118/436
Day 3	167,000	86/137
Day 4	186,000	42/44
Day 5	5,315,000	1/16
Day 6	10,060,000	1/6

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Paul Michaelis	10,060,000

Tags: Paul Michaelis

2018-12-18 12:00 UTC+2

Who Will Be The Last EPT Main Event Champion of 2018?

poolshir

The final day of the 2018 PokerStars EPT Prague Main Event is here with its last six players still in the running for that amazing first-place prize of €1,020,000, the beautiful trophy, and the all-important title.

Action is set to start at noon local time here at the Hilton Prague with Paul Michaelis in pole position with 10,060,000 in chips. The German pro who resides in Austria is ahead of Alexandr Merzhvinskii (7,545,000) who has already experienced how it feels to lift a PokerStars trophy up.

The Ukrainian player is followed by Russia’s Artem Kobylynskyi with 6,075,000, Lithuania’s Laurynas Levinskas (4,765,000), poker Twitch’s hero Parker Talbot (3,690,000), and Carlos Branco from Portugal.

Seat Draw for the Final Day:

Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	Paul Michaelis	Germany	10,060,000	84
2	Parker Talbot	Canada	3,690,000	31
3	Alexandr Merzhvinskii	Russia	7,545,000	63
4	Carlos Branco	Portugal	3,100,000	26
5	Laurynas Levinskas	Lithuania	4,765,000	40
6	Artem Kobylynskiy	Ukraine	6,075,000	51

The players will return to play the last 15:46 minutes of Level 30 which has a small blind of 60,000, big blind of 120,000, and a big blind ante of 120,000. They will then continue with Level 31 which features blinds of 80,000/160,000 and a big blind ante. Levels will last 90 minutes each until there are three players left, level durations will then be halved.

This is what they are all playing for:

Place	Prize (in EUR)	Prize (in USD)
1	1,020,000	1,160,485
2	600,810	683,560
3	422,600	480,805
4	316,000	359,523
5	242,560	275,968
6	179,360	204,063

Make sure to follow the PokerNews updates to find out who will be crowned as the last EPT Champion of 2018!

Tags: Alexandr Merzhvinskii Artem Kobylynskyi Carlos Branco Laurynas Levinskas Parker Talbot Paul Michaelis

2018-12-18 13:58 UTC+2

Parker Talbot Eliminated in 6th Place (€179,360)

poolshir

Nível 31 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante

Parker Talbot shoved all in from the cutoff and action folded to Laurynas Levinskas in the big blind who asked the dealer for a count. The dealer complied and confirmed Talbot had 2,575,000 in total. Levinskas took a few more seconds and then made the call.

Parker Talbot:
Laurynas Levinskas:

Talbot shouted out what the cards were to his rail and rose from his chair.

The dealer spread out on the flop for Levinskas to hit trip aces immediately.

The turn was the to give Talbot an out as the jack would give him the straight but the on the river signaled the end of Talbot's Main Event run as he was the first one to be eliminated today. Talbot picks up a cash for €179,360 which is also immediately his biggest live cash ever.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Laurynas Levinskas	7,090,000	2,325,000
Parker Talbot	Eliminado

Tags: Laurynas Levinskas Parker Talbot

2018-12-18 15:38 UTC+2

Carlos Branco Eliminated in 5th Place (€242,560)

Nível 32 : 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Paul Michaelis opened to 400,000 first to act and Carlos Branco jammed for 3,575,000 on the button. Artem Kobylynskyi set him at risk from the big blind and Michaelis released.

Carlos Branco:
Artem Kobylynskyi:

Branco encouraged his rail to get loud and they did find some help on the with a gutshot. The turn and river just danced around him, though.

"It was a pleasure," Branco said.

"Aces, huh?" Michaelis said with a smile after Branco exited. "Easy game."

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Artem Kobylynskyi	15,000,000	4,100,000
Carlos Branco	Eliminado

Tags: Artem Kobylynskyi Carlos Branco Paul Michaelis

2018-12-18 16:18 UTC+2

Laurynas Levinskas Eliminated in 4th Place (€316,000)

Nível 32 : 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Laurynas Levinskas opened for 400,000 under the gun and Alexandr Merzhvinskii defended big blind. Merzhvinskii checked the flop and Levinskas bet 300,000. Merzhvinskii craned to get a look at Levinskas' remaining stack then announced all in, earning a quick fold.

The next hand, Paul Michaelis raised on the button to 425,000 and Levinskas defended. Action checked through on the flop for a board. Levinskas checked again and Michaelis put in 400,000. Levinskas shoved for about 1.8 million and the German was in there with a snap-call.

Paul Michaelis:
Laurynas Levinskas:

Levinskas' top pair was stone dead against the turned set and he sighed and wished everyone good luck.

After the hand, the prospect of a deal was again brought up but it was shut down in a hurry when Michaelis and Merzhvinskii argued whether short stacks benefited or didn't from ICM.

Jogador	Fichas	Oscilação
Paul Michaelis	15,750,000	3,475,000
Laurynas Levinskas	Eliminado

Tags: Alexandr Merzhvinskii Laurynas Levinskas Paul Michaelis