EPT Prague: Final table, level 26 updates

Updates from the final table, level 26 of EPT Prague, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc “The Conv” Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Latest chip counts are on the chip count page. The EPT tournament structure can be found on the EPT tournament structure page. Full details of the payout structure and prizewinners so far are on the payout structure and prizewinners page.

Click through for full profiles of the final table players.

Blinds:
Level 26: 25,000-50,000 (5,000 ante)

2.35pm: Break time
That was the last action of that level and the players now take a 10-minute break. Their chips are:

Anthony Roux, France, 1,165,000
Stefan Mattsson, Sweden, 6,775,000
Jan Skampa, Czech Republic, 5,545,000
Eyal Avitan, Israel, 4,085,000

2.30pm: Roux moves Avitan
Folded to Avitan in the small blind, he raises to 155,000. Anthony Roux moves all in for 835,000 and that was too much for Avitan, who folded.

2.25pm: Avitan survives the Skampa stare
Jan Skampa’s stare can bore holes in your soul, so it’s fair to assume that Eyal Avitan is made of strong stuff. He just got Skampa to fold despite a long, blink-less stare-down at the end of a hand that went like this:

Folded to Skampa in the small blind, the Czech player raised to 130,000. Avitan called in the big blind. The flop came J♥ 7♦ Q♣ and Skampa bet 160,000. Avitan called. The river was 5♥ and Skampa checked. Avitan bet 275,000 and then the death eyes came out. Skampa peered through Avitan’s hand, which was clutched over his cheek. He peered through his face and skull and deep into his mind. He peered through Avitan’s very being. And folded.

2.22pm: Scampering along
Jan Skampa raised from the button to 115,000 and was called by Anthony Roux in the big blind. The flop came down J♠ 5♣ 6♣ and Roux check-folded to a 130,000 bet from Skampa. Roux wont be able to call too much longer as he has less than twenty big blinds now, and those blinds are about to go up.

2.17pm: Another one for Skampa
Jan Skampa raised to 120,000 from the button and was called by Anthony Roux in the big blind to see a J♠ 3♠ 9♥ flop. Both players checked through to the A♦ turn where Skampa bet 150,000 when Roux checked to him. Roux called and then called off another 410,000 when he checked to Skampa on the 7♠ river. Roux called but mucked upon seeing his opponent’s A♥ Q♦ .

2.16pm: Avitan ‘avin some of Mattsson’s chips
Eyal Avitan raised to 150,000 on the button and Stefan Mattsson called from the big blind. The flop came J♣ 5♠ 2♠ and Mattsson checked. Avitan bet 250,000 and Mattsson called. They went through the same procedure on the turn of A♦ : check from Mattsson, bet to 400,000 from Avitan, call from Mattsson. The river was Q♣ and they both checked. Avitan showed A♣ 8♦ and Mattsson mucked.

2.15pm: News from the side events
There has been a healthy number of side events throughout the week here in Prague. Dutch Team PokerStars Pro Thierry Van Den Berg came fifth out of 292 players in the €1,100 NLHE event for a €17,300 pay day. Meanwhile, PokerStars main event qualifier Melanie Weisner from the USA took down the €300 Ladies Event for €3,100.

Ladies champ Melanie Weisner

2.10pm: Skampa again
It’s all about two players right now. Stefan Mattsson opens with a raise again, this time 115,000 from the button. Jan Skampa calls from the small blind, and Eyal Avitan has no interest from the big.

The flop comes 5♠ 4♥ A♠ , Skampa checks and Mattsson makes it 155,000. Call. On the Q♥ turn, Skampa checks again, then calls Mattsson’s 240,000. The J♦ is checked down, and Mattsson shows 3♠ 6♠ for the busted flush and straight draw, while Skampa has A♥ 7♥ for a winning pair of aces.

2.05pm: Skampa II
Looking at the chip stacks and the style of these four players, it’s very difficult to bet against a Mattsson/Skampa heads up battle, which could be utterly fearsome. The two of them, however, aren’t exactly waiting for Eyal Avitan or Anthony Roux to be eliminated before they dust off the boxing gloves. They’re already getting deeply involved, as this hand will attest.

It was folded to Mattsson in the small blind and he raised to 165,000. Skampa defended his big blind with a re-raise to 425,000. Mattsson called. The flop came A♥ Q♥ 2♦ and they both checked. But Mattsson fired 440,000 at the A♠ turn. Skampa called. The river was 5♣ and Mattsson checked. Skampa also checked and Mattsson announced: “You win.” Mattsson mucked.

Skampa looked a little startled, but mucked behind as the chips were slid in his direction. Who knows what either of them had. Air versus air quite possibly.

2pm: Skampa I
Jan Skampa took three hands on the bounce, in remarkably differing circumstances. First up, he raised to 120,000 from the button and the blinds passed. Then he raised to 120,000 from the cut off (also under-the-gun four handed) and Anthony Roux called from the small blind, as did Stefan Mattsson from the big blind.

The flop came 5♠ 9♦ Q♥ and after Roux and Mattsson both checked, Skampa bet 210,000. Both players folded.

(The third hand is coming up momentarily in the dastardly entitled “Skampa II”.)

1.55pm: Pressure poker
A Swedish player with a huge chip lead and four handed calling? I don’t think so! I thinking we’ll be seeing Stefan Mattson raising most pots he’ll be entering. The last hand was a perfect example of this. When Anthony Roux raised to 120,000 Mattsson re-raised to 290,000. Roux called to see a 9♠ 3♣ 4♦ but check-folded to a 310,000 from the Swede.

1.52pm: Mattsson tangles with Skampa
Jan Skampa raised to 120,000 from the cut off. We’ve seen this before. Stefan Mattsson re-raised to 330,000 from the big blind. We’ve seen this before too. Skampa called. The flop came 3♥ K♣ 10♣ and Mattsson fired 440,000. Skampa folded.

In addition to this being quick in terms of eliminations, the actual play during the hands is exceptionally rapid, particularly Mattson and Skampa. That hand took about one minute, start to finish.

1.50pm: A moving picture introduction to the final day

1.45pm: Yes, I am lying
After busting two players in quick succession, Stefan Mattsson opens again, this time for 115,000.

“I am on a rush,” he said.
“Aces again?” asks Skampa.
“Just one ace,” responds the Swede.

Skampa gives no respect to that statement and, from the small blind, pushes out a mountain of orange 25,000 chips – around 400,000. Insta fold from Mattsson.

“So you were lying,” Skampa laughed.
“I was.”

1.40pm: Avitan’s pot
Jan Skampa opens on the button for 120,000 and only Eyal Avitan calls from the small blind. Both check the K♠ J♣ J♠ flop, but Avitan wakes up on the 9♥ turn and bets 225,000. Skampa loses interest and folds.

1.36pm: Larry Ryan out in fifth place winning €135,000
On the hand after Luca Pagano busted Stefan Mattsson was back into raising mode. He made it 145,000 to go from the small blind before Larry Ryan three-bet him to 390,000 from the big blind. Mattsson peered left at his opponent and announced “all-in”, getting an instant call from the Irishman. Yet another showdown:

Mattsson: A♦ A♣
Ryan: J♦ J♣

The board came K♠ 8♠ 6♦ 5♥ 3♠ to confirm that we lose Larry Ryan in 5th place for €135,000. Are we really four handed already?

1.35pm: Luca Pagano out in sixth winning €100,000
It’s all over for Luca Pagano for another EPT main event. Another cash, another final table, but another near miss when it comes to the title. Jan Skampa set the tone, raising two pots in succession from late position and picking up blinds and antes. When it was folded to Pagano on the button, he made it 125,000 and Stefan Mattson, in the big blind, asked for a count. “Three-point-five more,” said Pagano.

Mattsson re-raised to 320,000, and Pagano moved all in. “I call,” said Mattsson, in a heartbeat. On their backs:

Pagano: A♣ J♦
Mattsson: Q♣ Q♥

Pagano was in trouble and the board came 6♦ K♥ 4♣ , which didn’t offer much help. The turn Q♦ actually gave him more outs as he was drawing to a straight. But the 6♣ on the end filled Mattsson’s boat and sent Pagano out.

1.30pm: Roux raising
Anthony Roux opened for 120,000 from the cut off. Jan Skampa called in the small blind for a flop of K♣ 5♦ 3♥ . Both checked for a 7♣ , then checked that for a 5♠ river card. Skampa then fired out 170,000 and Roux called showing A♦ J♠ to Skampa’s 8♠ 9♠ .

1.26pm: Nice pot for Pagano
Luca Pagano opens for 125,000, and gets a call from Anthony Roux on his left. Stefan Mattson folds his button, but Larry Ryan also call from the small blind. The three of them see a 6♦ 5♥ 8♠ flop, Ryan checks, Pagano bets 275,000 and gets a call from only Roux. The 10♣ turn sees another bet from the Italian, this time for 425,000, and now Roux decides it’s best to let this one go. That hand puts Pagano up to 2.6million, And Roux down to 1.7million.

1.25pm: Nice value bet
Jan Skampa raised to 120,000 from under-the-gun and was called by Larry Ryan in the big blind. The flop came 3♠ 5♠ K♠ and Ryan check-called a 165,000 bet from Skampa to see the 2♠ turn. Both players checked before Ryan led out for 245,000 on the 7♣ river. Skampa called quickly and mucked even quicker when Ryan revealed A♣ 7♠ for a flush.

1.20pm: Counts
Approximate chip counts are available on the chip count page throughout the level. These are the official counts at the break:

Anthony Roux – 2,285,000
Stefan Mattsson – 3,485,000
Larry Ryan – 1,805,000
Jan Skampa – 4,425,000
Eyal Avitan – 3,445,000
Luca Pagano – 2,125,000

1.15pm: New level
With the 1,000 denomination chips now out of circulation, players are ante-ing 5,000. The full, official six-handed counts are on their way.

Here’s how the tournament area looks in Prague today: