Kenny Hallaert was in middle position and checked a completed board of 
. Fabio Sperling bet 3,025 into the 10,000 pot and Hallaert responded with a check-raise to 11,500. Sperling tanked about a minute and then dropped in calling chips.
Hallaert shook his head and tabled 
and Sperling took it down with 
, having hit a three-outer on the river.
Long-time Czech grinder Miroslav Forman, who has relocated to Malta for his online poker career, raised to 450 from the cutoff and both blinds Jacques Der Megreditchian and Navot Golan tagged along. On the 
flop, Forman bet 550 and both blinds called.
The turn brought the 
and Forman fired a second barrel worth 2,500. Only Der Megreditchian called before both players checked the 
on the river.
Der Megreditchian showed 
, Forman nodded and mucked.
Photos by Neil Stoddart.
Will Kassouf defended his big blind from a cutoff raise and saw a 
flop. The Brit check-called 450 and 900 more on the 
. On the 
river, he checked a final time. Faced with 1,350, he decided on a fold, finishing up an uncharacteristically silent hand.
Recent entries include EPT11 Malta winner Jean Montury.
Defending champion — of sorts, anyway, as the event technically has a different name despite being under the same sponsor and price point — Jasper Meijer van Putten has arrived and taken a seat in the PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event.
As with any champion's arrival, it's noteworthy. However, what's even more remarkable is the seat he's drawn: the one to the immediate right of Marton Czuczor, whom Meijer van Putten defeated heads up one year ago. Technically, they aren't sitting right next to each other in the physical sense, as Meijer van Putten's in Seat 9 while Czuczor is in Seat 1. Still, they're next to each other in the poker sense, and we'll see if it results in any battles as Day 1b plays out.
The field is currently up to 447 players. Here are some of the latest players to sit down, including former EPT Player of the Year Ondrej Vinklarek.
With the board completed with 
, Xianyong Liao checked to his opponent, who bet 4,500 into an already sizable pot.
"Ok, I call," Liao said as he quickly flicked in a chip. His opponent showed 
for busted flush and straight draws and Liao showed 
to win the hand.
Three players created a pot of a little over 3,000 preflop and everyone checked the 
flop. On the turn, the big blind checked and Vlad Darie bet 2,800 from the cutoff. Both of his opponents quickly folded and the Romanian scooped up the pot.
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