This year’s €5,300 No Limit Hold’em—EPT Main Event broke the record with 1,458 entries, and Pedro Marques was the one to come on top and win $1,018,199. This was close to his most significant score of $1,251,500, which came from his fifth-place finish in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em—PokerStars Players NL Hold’em Championship.
“It’s an amazing, special feeling. One of the best days of my life, for sure. Winning a Main Event is completely different from any of my other wins—it’s a really special moment.” said Marques.
Marques beat Paul Runcan in a heads-up battle to win the title, establishing him as second on Portugal’s all-time money list. Runcan won $951,143 for his second-place finish.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pedro Marques |  Portugal | €963,450* |
| 2 | Paul Runcan |  Romania | €900,000* |
| 3 | Jaehyung Park |  South Korea | €512,100 |
| 4 | Barak Oz |  Israel | €393,950 |
| 5 | Anton Bergstrom |  Sweden | €303,000 |
| 6 | Siarhei Alontsau |  Belarus | €233,050 |
| 7 | Tjenno Eskes |  Netherlands | €179,250 |
| 8 | Siegfried Kapeller |  Austria | €137,900 |
| 9 | Danut Chisu | Romania | €106,050 |
100% up to $1,000 Deposit Bonus
Join our club for the best KKPoker deal!
New Customers Only | 18+ | T&C Apply
The Final Table
Starting the official final table with six remaining players, Paul Runcan was the chip leader and was ready to dominate and put pressure on other players, which he did.
The first one to hit the road was Siarhei Alontsau, who opened with A♠A♥ from the CO and got called by Marques in BB. The flop came 9♣J♦Q♣, Marques checked, and Alontsau overbet shoved just to get snap-called by J♣9♠. Alontsau’s aces were in bad shape against two pairs, and they didn’t get any help from the turn 4♣ or the river 10♥. Alontsau was out in sixth place for €233,050.
Anton Bergstrom was out in fifth place in a preflop all-in hand where he shoved A♣10♦ against the open from Runcan and got called by 4♠4♣. The board ran 9♠K♦9♦2♥8♠. Bergstrom lost the crucial flip, which was the end of the road for him. Bergstorm won €303,000.
Barak Oz was eliminated by Marques in another preflop all-in hand where he had A♦7♣ vs J♥8♥ and had a slight lead, but the board 6♠Q♣8♣K♦6♣ gave Marques the lead on the flop and didn’t show any mercy for Oz on the turn or the river. Oz won €393,950 for his fourth-place finish.
With 3-way action, Park shoved from SB with A♦6♠ and got snap-called bi Runcar in BB, who was holding A♣K♣. The board ran Q♥7♠5♥7♥K♠, and Park was out in third place for €512,100.
The Heads-Up
Going into the heads-up battle, Runcar was far ahead with a 5:1 chip lead, and the lead got even bigger after a few hands were played. Marques managed to get a double up when Runcan bluff-catched him with an A-high and came back to life. Slowly but surely, stacks evened out, and players made the deal, giving each player €900,000 with €63,450 still to play for.
The last hand happened when Runcan shoved with Q♦J♣ from SB against Marques’s open and got called by K♦Q♣. Already on the flop 6♣3♥K♥, Marques improved, hitting the top par, and the turn 2♣ ended the story as Runcan had no outs before the river 9♥ was dealt.
Marques managed to turn things around and became the champion of the EPT Prague Main Event. Duncan had everything in his hands, but it just wasn’t his day. Runcan won €900,000 for his second-place finish.
FREE $55 Ticket + 100% up to $1,200 Bonus
Sign-up for the best WPTGlobal deal!
New Customers Only | 18+ | T&C Apply
100% up to $600 Bonus or $100 Free Tickets&Cash
Sign-up for the best GGPoker deal!
New Customers Only | 18+ | T&C Apply
