At the start of the tournament, when the wintery wonderland that is Prague saw a record-setting field of 1,285 players descend on the Czech capital for the PokerStars European Poker Tour Main Event, making the final table seemed only like a distant dream. But for the 16 players who have made it to Day 5, it suddenly seems like a reality.
Norway’s Jon Kyte leads the way when action resumes at noon local time inside the Hilton Prague. Kyte went on an incredible run at the end of yesterday’s action, spiking a three-outer on the river to double up then winning two massive coin flips to accumulate a stack of 6,515,000. He leads his closest challenger, Russia’s Grigorii Rodin (4,025,000), by just shy of 2,500,000. Cheng Zhao of China (3,740,000) and two Frenchmen, Serge Chechin (2,980,000) and Vincent Meli (2,920,000), give the top five an international flavor.
Day 5 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Kyte | Norway | 6,515,000 | 130 |
| 2 | Grigorii Rodin | Russia | 4,025,000 | 81 |
| 3 | Cheng Zhao | China | 3,740,000 | 75 |
| 4 | Serge Chechin | France | 2,980,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Vincent Meli | France | 2,920,000 | 58 |
| 6 | Padraig O'Neill | Ireland | 2,700,000 | 54 |
| 7 | Niall Farrell | United Kingdom | 2,695,000 | 54 |
| 8 | Dejan Jakovljevic | Netherlands | 2,285,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Marle Spragg | United States | 2,080,000 | 42 |
| 10 | Adam Wagner | Czech Republic | 1,930,000 | 39 |
| 11 | Umberto Ruggeri | Italy | 1,470,000 | 29 |
| 12 | Jiri Kocab | Czech Republic | 1,325,000 | 27 |
| 13 | Preben Stokkan | Norway | 1,185,000 | 24 |
| 14 | Max Neugebauer | Austria | 1,090,000 | 22 |
| 15 | Govert Metaal | Netherlands | 930,000 | 19 |
| 16 | Mark Helou | Lebanon | 540,000 | 11 |
Two players left in the field are not only chasing the EPT trophy and €1,030,000 top prize but also a place in the EPT record books. Niall Farrell, champion of EPT Malta in 2015, would become only the fourth player with multiple EPT titles. He enters Day 5 in seventh place with 2,695,000.
Marle Spragg, the popular poker content creator and better half of PokerStars Team Pro Benjamin Spragg, finds herself just inside the top 10 with 2,080,000. Just 15 opponents separate her from joining the small list of women to win an EPT Main Event that currently has only four other names on it.
Other notables still in the hunt include Padraig O’Neill (2,700,000), Dejan Jakovljevic (2,285,000), Preben Stokkan (1,185,000), Max Neugebauer (1,090,000), and Govert Metaal (930,000). Adam Wagner (1,930,000) and Jiri Kocab (1,325,000) are the only two left flying the flag for the local Czech contingent.
The action resumes with just over three minutes remaining on Level 25 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante. The blinds then increase to 25,000/50,000. The 16 players have already locked up €42,320, with a final table appearance guaranteeing €123,600. The plan for today is to play down to the final six players who then return tomorrow to determine a champion. All the action will be streamed by PokerStars TV on a 30-minute delay with commentary from James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton.
Stay tuned throughout the day as PokerNews provides all the live updates as this record field plays down to a final table.
