Andras Nemeth and Robert Cowen Close Out EPT Prague With High Roller VictoriesThe Final High-Stakes Tournaments of the Series Awarded Six-Figure Paydays To Both Champions |
|
The 2022 European Poker Tour Prague wrapped up the final few events on Wednesday, Mar. 16. The series awarded more than $28 million in total prize money along the way, thanks in part to a plethora of high-stakes events. There were two such events that reached their conclusion on the final day of action. Below is a look at the results of those high roller tournaments.
2022 EPT Prague €25,000 NLH High Roller
There were five events on the EPT Prague schedule that featured a buy-in of €25,000. four of them were single-day high rollers (one of which was canceled). The fifth €25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em high roller was planned to last two days. This event kicked off on Tuesday, Mar. 15. A total of 18 entries were made by the time registration was closed, building a prize pool equivalent to $471,076 USD.
Andras Nemeth emerged victorious for his second title in a week, having won the second of the single-day high rollers on Mar. 11 for $230,818 USD. This time around the Hungarian high-stakes tournament star took home $197,857 as the champion. The win increased his career live tournament earnings to more than $5 million.
Only the top four finishers made the money in this event, all locking up at least $56,527 USD. That amount was ultimately awarded to 2019 Card Player Player of the Year award winner Stephen Chidwick when his K-10 suited failed to outrun the A-6 suited of Nemeth. Pablo Brito Silva followed him to the rail in relatively short order, with his A-5 losing out to the A-Q of Martin Kabrhel. Silva earned $84,791 as the third-place finisher.
With that Nemeth took nearly a 2:1 lead into heads-up play with Kabrhel. The final showdown was a swingy affair, but Nemeth came away with the title on the end. Kabrhel got the last of his short stack in with J-3 suited and received a call from K-7. Neither player improved and Kabrhel was sent home with $131,901 USD as the runner-up finisher.
Place | Player | Earnings (USD) | POY Points |
1 | Andras Nemeth | $197,857 | 168 |
2 | Martin Kabrhel | $131,901 | 140 |
3 | Pablo Silva | $84,791 | 112 |
4 | Stephen Chidwick | $56,527 | 84 |
2022 EPT Prague €10,300 NLH High Roller
The €10,300 buy-in high roller that kicked off on Mar. 14 attracted a sizable turnout of 271 total entries, building a prize pool equivalent to more than $2.8 USD million in the process. After three days of play, the UK’s Robert Cowen came away with the title and the top prize of $518,197 USD. Cowen won his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet last year in the $3,000 pot-limit Omaha six-max event for what was then his career-best payday of $280,916. After his new high score, he now has nearly $1.4 million in lifetime earnings to his name.
In addition to the title and the money, Cowen also scored 1,080 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his first POY-qualified score of the year, but it alone shot him up the standings and into 45th place in the overall rankings.
Cowen made the final table in the middle of the pack. He outlasted Kayhan Roshanfekr (8th – $72,202 USD), Christopher Puetz (7th – $98,274 USD) and Mike Watson (6th – $133,808 USD) to survive to the top five. He then won a key pot without showdown against four-time bracelet winner Adrian Mateos to chip up. He then won another big pot without showdown, this time against bracelet winner Andriy Lyubovetskiy. Cowen shoved all-in on the river and took down the pot to move into the lead.
Mateos’ run came to an end when his Q-4 suited ran into a dominating A-4 suited for Conor Beresford. Mateos earned $176,787 USD and 450 POY points as the fifth-place finisher.
Ricardo Caridade was the next to fall, with his A-3 losing to the pocket queens of Lyubovetskiy. Caridade took home $225,499 USD, while the field was narrowed to just three players.
A classic preflop race set up the final heads-up pairing. Beresford got all-in with pocket tens facing the A-Q of Lyubovetskiy. A queen on the turn left Beresford in need of a jack or a ten on the river. The 7 was no help and Beresford was eliminated in third place ($279,367 USD).
The final two struck a deal to restructure the final two payouts, leaving €50,000 and the title to play for. Lyubovetskiy ultimately took home the $438,256 USD he negotiated for after his Q-J suited was unable to outrun the K-9 suited of Cowen.
Place | Player | Earnings (USD) | POY Points |
1 | Robert Cowen | $518,197 | 1080 |
2 | Andrey Lyubovetskiy | $438,256 | 900 |
3 | Conor Beresford | $279,367 | 720 |
4 | Ricardo Caridade | $225,499 | 540 |
5 | Adrian Mateos | $176,787 | 450 |
6 | Mike Watson | $133,808 | 360 |
7 | Christopher Puetz | $98,274 | 270 |
8 | Kayhan Roshanfekr | $72,202 | 180 |
9 | Niall Farrell | $59,885 | 90 |
Winner photo credits: Rational Intellectual Holdings Ltd. / Tomas Stacha.