Heads-up on a flop of 6♥3♦2♣, Jiri Kocab bet 23,000 from under the gun and Ettore Esposito called in the big blind.
The turn was the 4♠ and Esposito led out for 32,000. Kocab called and the 2♠ fell on the river. Esposito then moved all in for 231,000.
Kocab used a time bank before calling as Esposito turned over A♥2♥ for trip deuces. Kocab showed K♣K♥ and stormed out of the room while Esposito raised his arms in the air to celebrate his double up.
Steve O'Dwyer raised from middle position and Max Neugebauer called in the big blind.
The flop came Q♣8♦7♥. Neugebauer checked and O'Dwyer bet 45,000, which Neugebauer called. The turn was the K♥ and both players checked.
The river came the A♥. Neugebauer checked, O'Dwyer bet 160,000, and Neugebauer check-raised all in for 577,000. O'Dwyer took less than 30-seconds to make his call, flipping over J♠10♣ for a straight. Neugebauer, however, showed 9♥8♥ for a rivered flush. He won the pot and doubled up his stack.
Around 150,000 was already in the middle as Ramon Colillas and Jon Kyte tangled again, this time going heads-up to a flop of 9♦K♠9♣.
Colillas had a bet of 125,000 in front of him from the hijack before Kyte reraised to 245,000 on the button. Colillas called and the 5♥ fell on the turn.
Both players checked and the K♥ fell on the river. Colillas then bet 75,000 and Kyte paused for around a minute before waving for the dealer to take his cards.
Following an under the gun raise, Daniel Starmer moved all in from middle position, and Ran Ilani called all in for 249,000. The original raiser folded and the two players flipped their cards, with Ilani at risk.
Ran Ilani: K♣K♦
Daniel Starmer: A♠Q♥
The board ran out Q♦5♦4♣9♦K♥. Starmer paired his queen on the flop but remained behind. Ilani already had pocket kings and further improved to a set on the river. He won the pot and doubled up his stack.
Grzegorz Glowny was in the small blind and got his last 148,000 in the middle against big blind Marco Regonaschi.
Grzegorz Glowny: A♦Q♦
Marco Regonaschi: A♥A♣
Glowny had run right into Regonaschi's aces as the flop came A♠K♠J♣. Regonaschi hit the last ace in the deck to make top set, while Glowny picked up a straight draw. The 9♥ fell on the turn, while the K♥ river improved Regonaschi to a full house.
Glowny, who won this event in March 2022, had to settle for a 52nd-place finish this time.
Patrik Jaros moved all in from middle position as Preben Stokkan asked how much he had.
"Two hundred," Jaros joked as he had 83,000. Stokkan called and the rest of the table got out of the way.
Patrik Jaros: K♦6♠
Preben Stokkan: A♣K♣
Both players hit top pair on the K♠10♣3♥ flop, while Stokkan also picked up a flush draw on the 2♣ turn. Jaros missed the 4♠ river and headed off to the payout desk near the end of the night.
Day 3 of the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague Main Event has concluded here at the Hilton Prague with Jon Kyte in the lead after amassing 2,200,000 in chips. Not far behind him is 2013 EPT Monte-Carlo Main Event championSteve O'Dwyer, who bagged up 1,915,000 by the end of play.
Kyte is a regular in EPT tournaments with over €1,000,000 in live-tournament earnings. The Norwegian pro recently won a hyper turbo freezeout event at EPT Barcelona earlier this year for €50,325 and is currently best positioned to make a run at his first EPT Main Event title and the €1,030,000 first-place prize.
The competition will be stiff, however, as many top players are still in the hunt, including Teun Mulder (1,875,000), Marle Spragg (1,395,000), PokerStars AmbassadorRamon Colillas (1,015,000), Omar Eljach (1,250,000), Leo Margets (170,000), and EPT Main Event champion Niall Farrell.
The action got underway with 175 hopefuls looking to continue their run at EPT glory. Everyone was already assured a minimum payout of €9,100 for making it to Day 3 and it didn't take long for the chips to start rapidly changing hands.
Marle Spragg got off to a hot start, including a hand where she flopped two pair against Andrzej Powalka. Spragg held onto the momentum and spent the latter part of the day at the feature table before bagging up a top-ten stack.
Garcia held the chip lead at various points throughout the day and was responsible for several eliminations, including a hand where he rivered a set for a double knockout.
O'Dwyer remained active throughout the day and was among the chip leaders after eliminating Ka Kwan Lau, but he took a hit to his stack after running a straight into Max Neugebauer's flush. O'Dwyer recovered nicely, however, and nearly chipped his way back into the lead before play ended for the day.
2022 EPT Prague champion Grzegorz Glowny gave a valiant effort before busting late in the day after running ace-queen into Marco Regonaschi's aces. His deep run officially ended in 52nd place (€18,260).
Other notables to fall short of a Day-4 berth include Dimitar Danchev (150th - €9,100), Ran Shahar (118th - €12,020), Robin Ylitalo (97th - €12,020), Niklas Astedt (95th - €13,840), Tamas Adamszki (64th - €15,900), and Patrik Jaros (49th - €18,260).
Remaining Payouts
Place
Prize
Place
Prize
1
€1,030,000
12-13
€60,960
2
€643,000
14-15
€50,800
3
€459,240
16-17
€42,320
4
€353,240
18-20
€36,780
5
€271,660
21-23
€31,980
6
€209,000
24-27
€27,800
7
€160,750
28-31
€24,180
8
€123,600
32-39
€21,000
9
€95,000
40-46
€18,260
10-11
€73,160
Day 4 begins on Friday, December 15 at noon and play will resume on Level 21, which features 10,000/15,000 blinds with a 15,000 big blind ante. Levels will continue to last 90 minutes each and players will get a 20-minute break at the end of every level. An extended 30-minute break will take place after Level 24.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action leading to the next EPT Prague Main Event champion! Feature table action can also be viewed on the PokerStars YouTube channel here.
