The poker world descended upon the Hilton Prague on December 4, as the 2024 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague kicked off with a bang. This final EPT stop of the year is a 12-day poker spectacle featuring 68 events, giving players a chance to snag some serious winnings before the holidays. One of the early highlights was the €10,200 Mystery Bounty, where Hungary’s Andras Nemeth (cover image) dominated the field to seize his fifth EPT title and the €132,980 top prize, including €65,000 in bounties, after two days of fierce competition.
Nemeth’s performance was truly impressive. Starting Day 2 as the chip leader, he navigated a challenging field with remarkable precision and composure. But his path to victory wasn’t a walk in the park. The heads-up battle against Greece’s Michail Manolakis was a nail-biter, with the chip lead changing hands multiple times. However, Nemeth’s composure proved unshakeable in the crucial moments.
One hand, in particular, stands out. Three-handed, Nemeth made a gutsy hero call on the river that catapulted him into a commanding chip lead. Looking back on the hand, Nemeth said, “The hero-call was a hand where I called it correctly after I’d maybe made a mistake a couple of hands previously. It felt like a good combination to call in theory, and I felt my opponent could be bluffing at a reasonable frequency. Ace-high was going to be beating all his bluffs, so I decided to go for it.”
The heads-up duel was a true test of endurance. Manolakis managed two crucial double-ups to even the stacks, putting the pressure back on Nemeth. But Nemeth remained focused and methodical. “When you have a chip lead, it’s easy to feel like you are close to winning the tournament. And when I doubled him up twice, I could have let myself feel like it was slipping away. But the key for me is to stay focused and take each hand at a time,” Nemeth explained after his victory.
For Manolakis, finishing second is a career highlight. He came into this event with just $40,514 in tracked live earnings, so walking away with €89,300 (€45,000 from bounties) is a huge breakthrough.
Six new entrants at the start of Day 2 of the €10,200 Mystery Bounty brought the total field to 25 players and the overall number of entrants to 42. This created a cash prize pool of €196,980 and a bounty prize pool of €210,000. Unfortunately, the €12,300 Cuatro Knockout didn’t get as much interest. This event, which had 62 entries at EPT Barcelona, only saw 11 runners this time, making it a short, single-day tournament.
Despite the smaller field, the Cuatro Knockout still delivered plenty of excitement. Steve O’Dwyer, who won this event in Barcelona, almost made it back-to-back victories, reaching heads-up play. However, his quest for another title was stopped by Yauheni Tsiareshchanka. Tsiareshchanka claimed the €60,000 first-place prize and all three €12,000 bounties after eliminating the 2024 WSOP Main Event finalist Niklas Astedt in third place and O’Dwyer in second (€32,525).
Adding to the excitement, several Indian players are in Prague for this year-end EPT stop! PokerStars India ambassadors have shown up in force, with Young Gun Kanchan Sharma, Goonjan Mall, and POY #2 Neel Joshi, along with a few others like Prateek Mittal, all in attendance!
While these Indian players were seen playing the ongoing €1,100 Eureka Main Event, only Mall managed to bag a stack for Day 2 with 131,000 chips. Sharma, Joshi, and Mittal, unfortunately, couldn’t make it through despite multiple attempts. The full field for the tournament reached a staggering 4,732 entries across six flights, setting a new record high prize pool of €4,542,720, with 709 players returning for Saturday’s Day 2 restart. Sadly, Mall’s run ended relatively early on Day 2, falling in 44th place for €2,360 (₹2.11 Lakhs) – his first-ever cash at an EPT event.
Final Table Chip Counts
- Michail Manolakis – 1,100,000
- Andras Nemeth – 903,000
- Nikita Kuznetsov – 540,000
- Elias Suhonen – 395,000
- Candido Cappiello – 315,000
- Morten Klein – 295,000
- Maksim Vaskresenski – 280,000
- Ilia Pavlov – 236,000
- Niklas Astedt – 161,000
Final Table Recap
Once the final table of the €10,200 Mystery Bounty was set, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Michail Manolakis held the chip lead, with Andras Nemeth close behind and Nikita Kuznetsov rounding out the top three. Kuznetsov had some ground to make up, but in poker, anything is possible.
The first to fall was Candido Cappiello, who ran into Nemeth’s buzzsaw and had to settle for a €10,000 bounty as a consolation prize. But the action was just getting started. Kuznetsov suddenly shifted the momentum, winning a crucial pot against Niklas Astedt. Astedt had moved all-in with Big Slick, but Kuznetsov woke up with pocket rockets! The board bricked, and Kuznetsov raked in a massive pot.
Astedt, not one to back down, then eliminated Elias Suhonen, bringing the final table to the money bubble.
The bubble burst quickly when Kuznetsov outkicked Maksim Vaskresenski‘s ace, guaranteeing everyone a payday.
A brief calm settled over the table before the next elimination. Niklas Astedt, facing off against Morten Klein, moved all-in with , only to find a caller in Klein sitting on with a dominant . The board ran out , offering no help to Astedt, who exited in sixth place for €13,800. But Astedt’s night wasn’t over yet. He still had a mystery bounty to claim. With everyone watching, he reached into the chest and pulled out an envelope… and gasped! It was the coveted €40,000 bounty.
Morten Klein‘s luck ran out in fifth place when his ace-king ran smack into trouble against Andras Nemeth’s . The flop came , giving Nemeth the middle pair. The turn was a hammer blow, upgrading Nemeth to trips and leaving Klein drawing dead. The river was an inconsequential , completing Nemeth’s full house and sending Klein packing.
A tense three-way battle ensued after Nikita Kuznetsov navigated a tricky preflop spot to eliminate Ilia Pavlov in fourth place.
Nikita Kuznetsov‘s impressive run ended in third place when he moved all in from the small blind with , only to find Nemeth waiting with . The board ran out , giving Nemeth a pair of sixes on the river and sending Kuznetsov home.
The heads-up battle began with Andras Nemeth holding a slight chip advantage, but Michail Manolakis fought back, chipping away at Nemeth’s stack and building a 3:1 lead. Just when it seemed like Manolakis had the title in his grasp, Nemeth scored a crucial double-up, his Ace-high holding against Manolakis’ King-high, restoring the balance again!
With renewed momentum, Nemeth expertly sniffed out a bluff from Manolakis, putting the Greek player on the defensive. The final hand came soon after. Manolakis moved all-in with , and Nemeth called with . The flop came , giving Manolakis top pair. The turn was the , swinging the advantage back to Nemeth. The river was the , and with that, Nemeth claimed the pot, the title, and the trophy, bringing the exciting final table to a dramatic close.
Final Table Results (EURO) (Including Bounties)
- Andras Nemeth – €132,980 (€65,000 in bounties)
- Michail Manolakis – €89,300 (€45,000 in bounties)
- Nikita Kuznetsov – €70,500 (€40,000 in bounties)
- Ilia Pavlov – €22,700
- Morten Klein – €27,700 (€10,000 in bounties)
- Niklas Astedt – €53,800 (€40,000 in bounties)
Content & Images Courtesy: PokerNews and PokerStars
Keep following PokerGuru for all the latest updates from the 2024 PokerStars EPT Prague!