Thursday, 28th March 2024 14:50
Home / Uncategorized / Eureka5 Prague: Final table updates

eureka_final_table.jpg

Eureka final table players: Left to right: Mihaita Croitoru, Gianluca Speranza, Martin Staszko, Meir Ben Shimon, Javier Rojas Mederos, Simon Persson, Vladas Burneikis, Cosimo Sabatini
 

* Refresh the page for latest updates from Day 4 of Eureka Prague
* Prize-winners so far are on the prize-winners page

5pm: Javier Rojas Mederos wins Eureka Prague and €311,000
The stage is full of Spaniards celebrating one of the most remarkable victories this or any tour has seen. A full wrap is imminent.

Eureka Poker Tour 5 Prague final day Stacha Stacha Javier Rojas Mederos-5403.jpg

Javier Rojas Mederos: Winner
 

4.50pm: Martin Staszko out in second, winning €172,600
Level 33 – Blinds 150,000-300,000 (25,000 ante)
They got heads up with Martin Stazsko with only about 3 million in chips and he got it in on the very first hand. He had A♠ 7♣ and Javier Rojas Mederos found 2♣ 2♠ and called.

The board ran 4♣ K♥ J♠ 8♣ 3♥ and that was that. In an absolute flash, Javier Rojas Mederos is our champion!

4.45pm: Simon Persson out in third, winning €120,090
Level 33 – Blinds 150,000-300,000 (25,000 ante)
How did this happen? We’re heads up already. Javier Rojas Mederos has absolutely crushed everything in the past hour or so and has now dispatched Simon Persson in third.

Persson made a stand with about 8 million chips and pocket fours. Rojas Mederos had A♦ K♣ and called and then hit an ace on the flop. (There was another on the turn for good measure.)

4.40pm: Rohas Mederos on the tear
Level 33 – Blinds 150,000-300,000 (25,000 ante)
There’s no stopping Javier Rojas Mederos, who has now just taken a decent dent out of Simon Persson. This looked like a limped pot pre-flop, with Rojas Mederos completing Persson’s big blind, taking them to a flop of 7â™  5â™  7♦ .

Rojas Mederos checked, Persson bet 675,000 and Rojas Mederos called. The A♠ came on the turn and it went check, bet of 825,000, call. Then the J♥ completed the board and this time is went check, bet 1.825 million and call again.

Persson showed K♠ 10♥ , but Rojas Mederos had made a shrewd call with 6♥ 5♦ . He now has about 28.5 million, with Staszko with about 3.1 million and Persson with about 8 million.

4.20pm: The Vladas Burneikis show comes to an end
Level 33 – Blinds 125,000-250,000 (25,000 ante)
And just like that, he was gone. Vladas Burneikis, it is fair to say, has lit up this Eureka Poker Tour event — but he has now burnt himself out and is heading home in fourth. There was very little he could do about this one–even though it seemed for a moment as if he was thinking about folding queens pre-flop.

It he had have found the fold, he would have avoided running into Javier Rojas Mederos’s kings. But, to be honest, who is going to fold queens four handed?

It started with a raise from the button to 525,000 from Rojas Mederos. Simon Persson called from the small blind and Burneikis made it about 3 million to go from the big blind. Burneikis announced that he was all in and after Persson folded, Burneikis looked on in anguish.

Eventually he opted to call and was the man at risk. Rojas Mederos had him covered.

Rojas Mederos then showed the kings; Burneikis the queens and there was nothing to change either hand on the board.

Burneikis takes €86,850 for fourth and everybody’s best wishes. He made this final incredibly exciting. Rojas Mederos, meanwhile, who was the short stack not long ago, now has 26 million and is way out front.

4.10pm: Burneikis with big fold
Level 33 – Blinds 125,000-250,000 (25,000 ante)
I’m afraid I didn’t see how any of this played out, but I did see Javier Rojas Mederos announce that he was all in pre-flop against only Vladas Burneikis. I think Rojas Mederos has opened under the gun, been 3-bet by Burneikis on the button and then shoved, but I’m really not sure. Anyhow, Burneikis didn’t seem to like it and folded his hand, flipping over ace-king. He clearly didn’t fancy it four-handed.

4.10pm: Huge double for Rojas Mederos
Level 33 – Blinds 125,000-250,000 (25,000 ante)
A huge moment now for Javier Rojas Mederos, who has doubled up to more than 11 million, leaving Martin Staszko as the tournament short stack. They love a big pot in these parts.

Simon Persson started it, raising to 500,000 and Staszko, I think, raised from the small blind. I’m not totally sure about that, but I then definitely did see Rojas Mederos announce that he was all in from the big blind and Persson quickly folded.

Staszko asked for a count and learned it was 5.6 million and change. He then called.

Staszko: Aâ™  Qâ™ 
Rojas Mederos: 8♠ 8♥

It was a close one at this stage, but the flop favoured Rojas Mederos even more heavily. It came 5♦ 6♦ 7♦ . Then the 9♣ came on the turn to end it. Rojas Mederos is now motoring.

3.54pm: Persson close to being king again
Level 33 – Blinds 125,000-250,000 (25,000 ante)
Simon Persson is now back in this one having close to doubled up against his neighbour and nemesis Vladas Burneikis.

Burneikis opened from under the gun, making it 550,000 to play. Martin Staszko called from the button and although Javier Mederos gave up the small blind, Persson wanted to play for more from the big blind. He raised to 1.5 million.

Burneikis called almost instantly and it looked for a while as though Staszko was going to call too. But he eventually folded and that let two players to a flop of J♥ 6♣ J♠ .

Persson wasn’t slowing down. He bet 600,000 and Burneikis called instantly. The Qâ™  came on the turn and Persson bet 1.1m. Burneikis called instantly. The 8♦ came on the river and Persson kept up with his story. From about 5 million behind, he bet 1.77 million and this time Burneikis at least gave it some thought.

The Lithuanian dwelled for quite a while, muttering about going all in or folding, but in the end said that he called.

Persson flipped over K♥ K♠ and it was good for pot of about 9 million. Persson now moves into second place.

3.40pm: Away again
Level 33 – Blinds 125,000-250,000 (25,000 ante)
They’re now away in Level 33.

3.30pm: Break time counts
Those two huge pots for Martin Staszko have made him Vladas Burneikis’s closest challenger. Here are the stacks at the break:

Vladas Burneikis (Lithuania) – 22,875,000
Martin Staszko (Czech Republic) – 11,825,000
Simon Persson (Sweden) – 8,675,000
Javier Rojas Mederos (Spain) – 3,900,000

They’re now heading into Level 33 with blinds of 125,000-250,000 (25,000 ante).

3.15pm: Mihaita Croitoru out in fifth
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000-200,000 (25,000 ante)
On the very next hand after Meir Ben Shimon was knocked out, Martin Staszko won another enormous pot and sent Mihaita Croitoru to the rail. They again got it in pre-flop, with Staszko’s Qâ™  Q♣ beating Croitoru’s 6♥ 6â™  .

Croitoru lost a big pot right at the start of the final, but then rebuilt excellently. However he is now out in fifth and wins €70,490 for his troubles.

The remaining four are now taking their first break of the day, and we’ll get their chip counts ASAP.

mihaita_croitoru_eureka_prague_main.jpg

Mihaita Croitoru out in fifth
 

3.10pm: Meir Ben Shimon out in sixth
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000-200,000 (25,000 ante)
Meir Ben Shimon clung on heroically towards the end of yesterday and through the final today, but he has now hit the rail after losing a flip to Martin Staszko. Staszko opened the button, making it 400,000 and Ben Shimon shoved the small blind, for about 2 million and change.

Staszko called and tabled K♣ 10♣ , which was in a race against Ben Shimon’s 7â™  7♣ . The Gods saved it until the river. The board ran 9♦ 6â™  4â™  Q♣ 10â™  .

Ben Shimon wins €56,520 for sixth.

2.55pm: Another straight for Burneikis
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000-200,000 (25,000 ante)
There’s no stopping Vladas Burneikis and he just took another pot from Simon Persson. Burneikis limped from under the gun and both the blinds came along for the minimum after Mederos called from the small and Persson checked his option in the big.

All three players checked the flop of 2♠ 9♥ 2♣ and then, after the 3♥ turned, Mederos and Persson checked again. Burneikis bet 300,000, which was enough to get Mederos out of it. But Persson called for a 4♦ river.

Persson checked and then Burneikis’s speech play began. He fiddled with a stack of pink chips, worth 500,000 each, and originally seemed set to bet about 1.5 million. But after waving them around, he then grabbed some black chips and added them to the chips in his fingertips.

He split the two piles and said what originally sounded like, “This and this together,” adding the 1 million in one hand to the 800,000 in the other. Burneikis then actually dropped just the 800,000 over the line, and Persson asked the dealer if that was OK. “What about the others?” Persson said.

Burneikis said that he had actually said: “This…or this…or together,” deliberating between the two handfuls of chips, and the dealer corroborated. The bet of 800,000 stood. “I have a straight,” Burneikis said.

“You have a straight?” Persson repeated.
“I always have straight,” Burneikis said.

Persson didn’t believe. He called. Burneikis showed 5♥ 6♦ . That was, indeed, a straight. Persson mucked.

2.45pm: Refreshments for Vladas Burneikis
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000-200,000 (25,000 ante)
Vladas Burneikis doesn’t need any encouragement to play a lot of pots, but he’s just ordered an espresso and a brown liquid in a glass (is it whisky or brandy? I don’t know) so things could get even more lively. He didn’t have any Czech money, mind you, so Mihaita Croitoru stumped for it. Burneikis offered euros in exchange, but one suspects Croitoru would rather the chips.

vladas_burneikis_eureka_main.jpg

Running the table: Vladas Burneikis
 

2.40pm: Double for Ben Shimon
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000-200,000 (25,000 ante)
Meir Ben Shimon has doubled up again. After Vladas Burneikis opened to 425,000, he shoved from the small blind for 1.2 million, which put Mihaita Croitoru to a decision in the big blind. He folded, but later said he had ace-ten, and was clearly a little concerned by the big stack behind him.

Anyhow, Burneikis called with A♦ 3â™  and was behind Ben Shimon’s Aâ™  8♥ . The board ran A♣ K♦ 7♣ 5♣ J♣ and the eight played. Ben Shimon clings on.

2.35pm: Gianluca Speranza out in seventh – €43,210
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000-200,000 (25,000 ante)
Gianluca Speranza is out in seventh and he’s not happy about it. He open shoved to 860,000 from late position and Mihaita Croitoru, who has built his stack right up again after earlier trouble, called from the small blind. Javier Mederos also called from the big blind and so there was betting on the side.

The flop came 2♦ 4♣ 7♣ and the two active players checked. The turn was Q♠ and now Croitoru bet 400,000. Mederos open folded A♥ K♠ and Croitoro flipped over 7♦ 7♥ for a flopped set.

Speranza turned over his Jâ™  J♥ , now behind, and the 8♦ didn’t save him.

Speranza turned away from the table, but then span back to question why Croitoro would only call from the small blind. “Come on man, you know you have to shove,” he said. Croitoro didn’t respond and on they went.

Speranza takes €43,210 for seventh.

gianluca_speranza_eureka_main_event.jpg

The end of Gianluca Sperenza
 

2.25pm: Big pots only with Burneikis
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000-200,000 (25,000 ante)
Gianluca Speranza is now the tournament short stack with only about 1.2 million, or six big blinds. But his nemesis, Vladas Burneikis, is picking on everybody and just dished out some punishment on Javier Rojas Mederos. Mederos opened from the cut off to 400,000 and Burneikis was the only caller, from the small blind. The saw a flop of 2♦ 3♥ 10♦ , which they checked, and they also checked the 5♦ turn.

The A♥ came on the river and Burneikis bet 1.5 million, saying, “I do believe you have an ace.” Mederos seemed confused but eventually folded.

Burneikis now has at least 15 million chips.

2.10pm: Ante-ing a starting stack
Level 32 – Blinds 100,000-200,000 (25,000 ante)
They’re in Level 32 now, where blinds are now 100,000-200,000 and the ante is a starting stack.

2.10pm: Burneikis the bully
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante)
Vladas Burneikis is dominating this table now and has just put Gianluca Speranza through the wringer. Speranza opened to 340,000 from under the gun and Burneikis called from the big blind, the only player going to the flop with the raiser.

The board came 4♦ 3♥ 6♣ and they both checked. But after the 5♣ came on the turn, Burneikis said, “You are not lucky,” and bet 405,000. Speranza wasn’t so sure about that, and called.

The saw the 5♣ on the river and Burneikis bet 1.2 million. Then the speech play began.
“I wouldn’t raise with this hand,” Burneikis said, somewhat cryptically. Then: “It’s up to you.”
Speranza admitted he was confused. “Why you bet so much?” he said. “You know I can’t pay.”
“Maybe all in and you will frighten me,” Burneikis said, even though Speranza only had about 1.9 behind.
“Sick bluff man,” Speranza said.
“Could be,” Burneikis said. “But maybe not. Easy to bluff on that flop.”

Burneikis then invited Speranza to look at the pay schedule and said that this decision might cost him €12,000. Speranza had heard enough and said he folded.

“You show me?” he said to Burneikis.
“Of course,” Burneikis said and flipped over 10♦ 8â™  for total air.

2pm: Burneikis takes pot from Persson
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante)
“I wouldn’t play bad hand,” Vladas Burneikis told Simon Persson as the two were contesting what was possibly the biggest pot of the final table so far. I didn’t see how it panned out, but they were all the way to the river: 6♦ A♣ J♣ 5♦ 7â™  and there was a big pile of chips in the middle.

Persson had checked and Burneikis had bet 2 million and was now needling his neighbour. “I wouldn’t play bad hand,” he said again.

Persson tossed in the call and Burneikis flipped over 3♣ 4♣ saying, “Very bad hand.” But it had made a straight on this board and was good as Persson mucked.

1.55pm: Sabatini bounced in eighth, wins €30,460
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante)
Cosimo Sabatini’s long and watchful vigil is over. He had folded down to 420,000 chips, which was not much more than two big blinds, and open shoved with Kâ™  8♥ from UTG+1. It folded to Martin Staszko in the small blind and, after checking how much Meir Ben Shimon still had in the seat to his left, raised all in. Ben Shimon folded.

Staszko had Q♦ J♣ so was actually behind Sabatini. And it got even better for the Italian on a flop of K♦ 7â™  5♦ . But the next two cards were both diamonds — 4♦ and 3♦ — and Sabatini was flushed out. He takes €30,460 for eighth.

cosimo_sabatini_martin_staszko_eureka_prague_main.jpg

Cosimo Sabatini busts to Martin Staszko
 

1.42pm: Double up for Ben Shimon
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante)
And a double up now too for Meir Ben Shimon, who shoved over the top of Martin Staszko’s open, holding A♥ Qâ™  . He had about 1 million behind and Staszko called with A♦ 10♦ . And again the better hand held up.

“Your turn now,” Vladas Burneikis said to Cosimo Sabatini, who has so far kept his chips behind the line.

1.38pm: Double up for Croitoru
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante)
We have our first called all-in of the final table, and our first double up. After losing that early pot, Mihaita Croitoru has been one of the short stacks at the table, but has been prepared to at least try to move his way out of that situation. It allowed him to get paid in full when he found Qâ™  Q♣ and shoved for 1.6 million over Simon Persson’s raise. Persson had K♣ J♣ but there was nothing weird on the board.

Croitoru is back kicking with about 3.5 million.

1.32pm: Shove gets through
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante)
Meir Ben Shimon has seen enough and shoved all in from under the gun. Nobody was that concerned with getting a count until it folded to Martin Staszko in the big blind, who found out that it would cost him 910,000 total to call. Too much. He folded.

1.23pm: Table imbalance
Level 31 – Blinds 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante)
Martin Stazsko has the three short stacks to his left, so just open-shoved his button and got two folds. After that, it was folded Mihaita Croitoru in the small blind and he open shoved too, getting Cosimo Sabatini to fold. Meir Ben Shimon has not, to my knowledge, played a hand yet. There’s a real imbalance on the table, with those three short stacks in a line and their opposites, in the possession of Burneikis, Persson and Mederos across the other side.

1.16pm: Level up
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
They’re moving into Level 31 now, where blinds are 80,000-160,000 (20,000 ante). The last hand of the last level was won by Javier Rojas Mederos, who opened from early position and pinched the blinds and antes. Meir Ben Shimon is now very short.

1.10pm: Persson muscle
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
Simon Persson is not to be messed with, even if he has lost a couple of pots this morning. Just recently, Gianluca Speranza opened from under the gun, making it 260,000 to go. Persson three-bet from the small blind, bumping it to 660,000, and Speranza alone called. But Persson immediately bet at a flop of 4♦ 10â™  A♦ — making it 525,000 — and Speranza folded.

1.03pm: Mederos comes out fighting
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
As you would expect from both a chip leader and a Swede, Simon Persson is opening most post here today. He got things started on the most recent hand with a raise to 250,000 from under the gun and then watched the action fold around to Cosimo Sabatini in the small blind. The Italian player, who has nursed a short stack for nearly 24 hours now, pondered his options there, and then elected to call. It persuaded Javier Rojas Mederos to call from the big blind too.

The flop came K♦ 9♥ 7♠ and both Sabatini and Mederos checked. Persson, only to be expected, bet 325,000. But after Sabatini folded, Mederos cut out a raise to 780,000. Persson let it go.

12.58pm: Burneikis keeps up the pressure
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
The first three-bet of the final came from Vladas Burneikis, who came over the top of Simon Persson’s open raise and persuaded the Swedish chip leader to pass. Actually, Burneikis may now have taken over the lead from Persson–and has position on him too.

12.54pm: Open shove
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
That accident reported below has left Mihaita Croitoru in the danger zone. He just opened shoved for about 2 million from early position, but picked up no callers.

12.50pm: Bold start for Burneikis
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
The opening hand of this final table may have set a precedent for the kind of things we can expect. Mihaita Croitoru opened to 250,000 from the hijack and Vladas Burneikis, a self-professed “fish” called from the big blind.

The two of them saw a flop of 3♥ 6♥ K♥ and both checked. The 4♣ came on the turn and Burneikis took over the betting lead. He fired 425,000 at it, which Croitoru called. The river was the 10♥ and Burneikis bet 500,000 at that too.

Croitoru didn’t hesittate too long before calling, but mucked when Burneikis showed Q♣ 7♥ for the rivered small flush. Burneikis adds a million-plus to his stack, while Croitoru takes an early hit.

12.44pm: Start is imminent
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
It’s 12.44pm and they are just getting started, a mere 14 minutes after schedule. In poker terms, that’s practically early. There are 30 minutes left in Level 30 still to play, so they’ll polish that off and then crack on into Level 31.

12.30pm: Backdated apologies
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
Players have all arrived and are cutting open the bags containing their chips. There’s be a few formalities to undergo: photographs and changing up some of the low denomination chips principally. But we’ll be under way very soon.

12pm: Backdated apologies
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
Yesterday afternoon, I was banging on about Simeon Naydenov being the only player remaining in the Eureka Poker Tour main event who had a World Series bracelet. I was wrong. Idan Raviv, from Israel, who went out in 21st, also had one, won in a six-max event in Las Vegas this summer. So sorry about that, Idan.

11.30am: Ready to go
Level 30 – Blinds 60,000-120,000 (20,000 ante)
Last minute preparations are under way for the start of the Eureka Prague main event final table. Here are the players remaining:

Seat 1 – Gianluca Speranza (Italy) – 4,750,000
Seat 2 – Martin Staszko (Czech Republic) – 6,430,000
Seat 3 – Meir Ben Shimon (Israel) – 1,670,000
Seat 4 – Mihaita Croitoru (Romania) – 3,120,000
Seat 5 – Cosimo Sabatini (Italy) – 1,875,000
Seat 6 – Javier Rojas Mederos (Spain) – 6,145,000
Seat 7 – Simon Persson (Sweden) – 12,565,000
Seat 8 – Vladas Burneikis (Lithuania) – 10,800,000

Read the final table player profiles for more about all of the finalists.

And here’s what they are playing for:

1 – €311,000
2 – €172,600
3 – €120,090
4 – €86,850
5 – €70,490
6 – €56,520
7 – €43,210
8 – €30,460

Play gets under way at 12.30pm.

EPT Stacha Location_68DSC_5855.jpg

Study Poker with Pokerstars Learn, practice with the PokerStars app