The four winners of European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Events so far this year have been far from household names.

Ian Hamilton hadn’t yet set the world alight before he won EPT London last month, Giuliano Bendinelli had had some side event success but took a major step forward to win EPT Barcelona in August, and Marcelo Mesqueu multiplied his previous biggest win nearly 10-fold when he triumphed in Monte Carlo in May.

But before all them came Grzegorz Glowny, the softly-spoken player from Legnica, Poland, who triumphed in the rescheduled 2021 EPT Prague Main Event, which actually took place here in March.

From zero to hero

Glowny, who was 28 at the time, recorded his first live documented cash in a €2K side event at that festival (72nd, for €4,790), before he steamed to spectacular triumph in the Main Event and banked €692,252, after a four-way deal.

He was a PokerStars qualifier then, in for €530, and he’s back to defend his title this week, again having qualified for a fraction of the cost online.

“It’s been great,” Glowny said, when asked to describe how the past eight months have been, his first as an EPT champion. “There are a few things more to handle, in life in general, but it’s been great.”

Glowny doesn’t take to the spotlight easily, but it’s plain to see his happiness at having stepped out of the shadows to take a place in European poker’s elite. “More people know me now, so it’s more difficult,” he said, describing how opponents now adjust their game when he’s at the table.

“It’s going to be tough,” he added, referencing his Day 2 starting table, which also features Roman Hrabec, fresh from his final table at EPT London, the online crusher Jerry “perrymejsen” Odeen, and Jun Obara, one of Japanese poker’s emerging talents.

Still buzzing

Glowny made it through Day 1A and bagged 100,500 to start today. He said he still gets a buzz just stepping into the tournament room of his biggest triumph, and that his earlier victory is still sinking in.

“I think it’s getting bigger every month,” he said when asked if his has been able to appreciate his achievement yet. He said he still thinks about that day, and the return to Prague brought many fond memories flooding back.

“It’s very nice to be back here,” Glowny said. “I love the place. It’s hard not to have a great feeling when you come back.”

An important audience to impress

In an interview on the Poker In the Ears podcast, Glowny told James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton that various members of his family had tuned in to the EPT broadcast as he claimed the title. “Actually the grandmother of my girlfriend was watching,” he revealed.

With the EPT Prague broadcasts starting today, and Glowny still buzzing from that win in March, there may yet be some more decent viewing for his No 1 fan this week.

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