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Stephen Graner Leads Field into Final Day
Only seven players out of a record-breaking field of 1,107 entries remain in the €5,300 PokerStars EPT Prague Main Event and Stephen Graner helds a commanding lead when play resumes at 12:00 CET. The tournament recommences in level 30 at blinds 50,000-100,000 / ante 10,000 and 2013 EPT Deauville champion Remi Castaignon is the short stack with 1,030,000.
Jonathan Wong (1,900,000) from the UK and Simon Mattsson of Sweden (2,130,000) both have double as many chips as the Frenchman. Two Germans are still in to keep the winning streak alive in Season 11 after Andre Lettau came first in Barcelona and Sebastian Pauli emerged victorious in London. Bjorn Wiesler is fourth in chips with 3,285,000 and Fabio Sperling has 4,710,000.
PokerStars online qualifier Anton Bertilsson accumulated 7,740,000 chips thus far whereas Graner boasts massive 12,405,000. A fifth place finish would result in a new career-best score for the American, who came sixth at the inaugural Millionaire Maker at the 2014 World Series of Poker for $273,854 this summer. All seven players have at least €129,390 locked up for their efforts with the winner set to take home astonishing €969,000.
Here is how the players line up:
Seat
Name
Country
Chips
1
Anton Bertilsson
Sweden
7,730,000
2
Simon Mattsson
Sweden
2,155,000
3
Jonathan Wong
UK
1,900,000
4
Stephen Graner
USA
12,405,000
5
Bjorn Wiesler
Germany
3,285,000
6
Remi Castaignon
France
1,030,000
7
Fabio Sperling
Germany
4,710,000
The action of the Main Event will be streamed live on the internet and is subject to a security delay of one hour, thus the PokerNews live reporting will start at 13:00 CET. You can also check out the PokerNews live coverage of the final day of the record breaking €10,300 High Roller as well. Only 23 players remain out of a record-breaking field of 309 entries and 2014 EPT Vienna champion Oleksii Khoroshenin will return as chip leader.
Estrellas Valencia champion Fabio Sperling was chip leader at the end of Day 4 of the EPT Prague Main Event. Sperling hails from Siegberg in Germany but is now living in the seaside resort of Ramsgate in the UK. He won the Estrellas Valencia Main Event for €77,000 in April, shortly after a runner-up finish in the Sunday Million 8th Anniversary bonanza. He’s been playing online since 2009 and live since 2011. He won his seat in a €215 qualifier on PokerStars.
French player Remi Castaignon has found a great way to celebrate his 31st birthday this week – with the chance of being the EPT’s second double champion! Castaignon, who turned 31 yesterday, snagged a giant €770,000 prize when he won Deauville in Season 9. Castaignon, who hails from a tiny village in the Pyrenées, has had several cashes since his Deauville victory including a final table in a $500 event in Las Vegas last summer and he also min-cashed both the Eureka Main Event and Eureka High Roller in Prague this week. He has been playing poker since 2007.
German player Bjorn Wiesler has played a few EPTs but this is his first main event cash and he also min-cashed the record-breaking €2k Eureka Prague High Roller the other day for €3,730. His live tournament winnings already total more than $314,824. He bought in to the event on site here at the Hilton Prague.
Stephen Graner is a 26-year-old professional poker player, originally from Kailua, Hawaii, but who now lives in Las Vegas. After finishing sixth in the inaugural Millionaire Maker tournament at the World Series this summer for $273,854, his biggest tournament score, Graner decided to explore a bit of Europe this autumn and included EPT Prague in his schedule. It was a wise choice: he has secured his first in-the-money finish outside of the United States and heads to the final table with a dominant chip lead.
Should Graner place in the top two in this event, he will more than double his lifetime earnings from live tournaments, a total that currently stands at $676,642.
Wong is a 30-year-old cash came pro from London who has been playing poker since 2006. He took a break from the game in 2010, EPT Prague makes his return to big live tournaments and what a return it’s been.
He’s guaranteed his biggest ever lifetime tournament cash wherever he should finish, having eclipsed his biggest lifetime cash of €70,000 which came when he finished fourth in the Irish Open in 2006. But the money jumps will not faze him as he’s played as high as $200/$400 cash games online. Sadly Jonathan’s father passed away in November and he plans to donate a portion of his winnings from this tournament to charity in his memory.
Mattsson is an EPT regular who has been playing on the tour since Season 9, three years after he started playing poker. He mainly plays online MTTs where he has had a lot of success. When not playing poker, he spends a lot of time watching sports – mainly ice hockey – and also plays tennis with friends.
Professional poker player Anton Bertilsson mainly plays Pot Limit Omaha cash games online but has attended several EPTs before and actually won two online packages to this event.
He’s been playing poker since he was 18 and has earned his living from it ever since. Bertilsson lives in Stockholm with his girlfriend and loves football – both watching it and playing it!
Hand #6: Fabio Sperling limped from the hijack with and Stephen Graner checked his option in the big blind with . On the flop, Graner bet 125,000 and Sperling called to improve with the turn. Graner checked, Sperling checked behind. The saw no further action either and Sperling took down the pot.
Hand #7: Remi Castaignon moved all in for 810,000 from under the gun. Anton Bertilsson called in the hijack and all other players folded.
Castaignon:
Bertilsson:
Both players found some help on the flop, the on the turn and the river gave Bertilsson the nut flush and sent Castaignon to the rail for €129,390. This also ensures that a new EPT champion will be crowned, as Castaignon was the last former Main Event winner in the field.
Hand #18: Stephen Graner got a walk in the big blind. He had .
Hand #19:
Stephen Graner raised from the small bind and then quickly called a shove from Bjorn Wiesler in the big blind. Chip leader Graner would put Wiesler’s tournament life at risk.
Graner:
Wiesler:
The final board showed with Graner taking the lead on the flop and keeping it to the river to bust Wiesler.
and Stephen Graner checked his option in the big blind with 
. On the 
flop, Graner bet 125,000 and Sperling called to improve with the 
turn. Graner checked, Sperling checked behind. The 
saw no further action either and Sperling took down the pot.
flop, the 
on the turn and the 
river gave Bertilsson the nut flush and sent Castaignon to the rail for €129,390. This also ensures that a new EPT champion will be crowned, as Castaignon was the last former Main Event winner in the field.
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