EPT Prague 2024 Kicks Off Today!

The European Poker Tour kicks off today with their final event of 2024 in Prague! While the first EPT was held in the capital city of the Czech Republic back in 2007, this year marks the 16th time they are hosted by King’s Casino Prague (formerly Hilton Prague Hotel). Who will be the successor of Padraig O’Neil and take down the EPT Prague Main Event? And how will the newly added 10-Game Mixed Games Tournament be received by the crowd? With PokerListings, we will keep track of everything that is going on at this grand upcoming event, but let’s dive into some good old history first!

2007: The First EPT in Prague

The first EPT in Prague took place in December 2007 at the Hilton Prague Hotel. Poker was growing in popularity in the Czech Republic, and with the EPT arriving in their capital city, it marked the beginning of a new era. The Main Event attracted a total of 555 entries, and Arnaud Mattern from France took down the event for €708,400. Is he still playing, you ask yourself now? As it’s not the first name that comes to mind when thinking about big champions in the history of the EPT. Yes, he is still playing and not without any success! His last cash dates back to 2023, but he has collected over €2,000,000 in live cashes throughout the years, including two more final tables during European Poker Tour Main Events (5th – Monte Carlo 2008, 3rd – Tallinn 2010).

Interesting fact: During the EPT 2007 in Prague, there were only FOUR tournaments on the schedule.

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2008: Italian Galore!

In 2008, it was Salvatore Bonavena who took down the Main Event for €774,000, which had 570 entries, leaving fellow countryman Massimo Di-Cicco in second place for €445,000. Another Italian made it to the final table, resulting in a 5th-place finish for Franco Cirianni. Bonavena, until then fairly unknown in the poker world, catapulted his career this way and now has close to €3M in total career earnings. In the past five years, Bonavena seems to be taking it easier when it comes to his live poker escapades, according to his Hendon Mob profile. Where the Italians were cleaning the tables from top to bottom, we saw more familiar names in the top ranks, such as Jonathan Duhamel (10th), Raul Mestre (9th), and Andrew Chen (3rd).

Interesting fact: Still only FOUR tournaments on the schedule!

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2009: The First ‘Home Game’ Winner!

Jan Skampa was the first winner coming from the ‘home country’ Czech Republic, besting a field of 586 entries for a whopping €682,000. The final table had one all-time EPT legend in the line-up, Luca Pagano, known for several final table finishes during EPT Main Events between 2004-2010. Back to Jan Skampa, who took it easy after his win in 2009, as he seemed to have quit playing tournament poker ever since 2011.

Interesting fact: Martin Kabrhel, who had just kicked off his poker career, took down a €2K side event for €100,000! It was also the first time in Prague with a total of 9 tournaments on the schedule.

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2010: Wales Legend Roberto Romanello Takes Down Main Event

Roberto Romanello, a well-known poker player from Wales, confirmed his status by finishing the job on his second final table during an EPT Main Event in 2010 with his victory in Prague for €640,000. The total number of entries (563) hit an all-time low for Prague statistics, but that didn’t prevent Romanello from walking away with the most prestigious trophy. Other notable names at the final table were Marcin Horecki (3rd) and Kevin MacPhee (9th). A total of 16 events were on the schedule for the EPT 2010 in Prague.

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2011: Martin Finger Takes the Top Spot!

Do we remember Martin Finger? Of course we do! With over €8,000,000 in total live tournament earnings in 2024, he has definitely made his way up ever since winning the EPT Main Event of 2011 in Prague. Finger is mainly found in the high-stakes scenes nowadays and is still expanding his resume worldwide. Two Dutch players were at the final table of this record-breaking Main Event with 722 entries. Patrick Renkers (9th) and David Boyaciyan went deep in the tournament, where Boyaciyan (remember the name) managed to finish as the runner-up behind winner Martin Finger.

Interesting fact: Anton Wigg from Sweden won a €5K side event for €72K, having already won a Main Event the previous year in Copenhagen. Other side event winners were Martin Kabrhel (again) and Bryn Kenney (#1 All-Time Money List).

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2012: Eureka Poker Tour Makes Its Debut in Prague

The Eureka Poker Tour had already made its debut in 2011, but not yet in Prague until 2012. The first Eureka Main Event in Prague was won by Cypriot player Menikos Panayiotou, who doesn’t have many cashes to his name, but he does have a bracelet (2022)! The EPT Main Event continued to break records, and this time it was Swede Ramzi Jelassi who took down the event for €835,000. Remember the Dutchman Boyaciyan from the previous edition? He went on to take 3rd this time for €310,000!

Interesting fact: Martin Finger (Winner Main Event 2011) took down a side event, as well as Dan Smith and all-time Finnish legend Juha Helppi. (32 events on the schedule by the way!)

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2013: EPT Prague Stays on Track!

For the first time in history, the Main Event in Prague got over 1,000 entries, and it was Julian Track from Germany who took down the event for €725,700 after a heads-up deal with Georgios Sotiropoulos. Looking back on this final table nowadays, it was definitely one of the toughest line-ups, with Stephen Chidwick (3rd), Ole Schemion (5th), and Max Silver (6th) all making rock-steady runs. Andrew Chen, one of the icons in the history of the EPT, made it to the 13th spot.

Interesting fact: Vanessa Selbst took down the €5K PL Omaha Champs side event for €100,700. Perhaps even bigger, the Charity Challenge was won by tennis legend Rafael Nadal, who won the sit-and-go against Fatima Moreiro de Melo (Hockey), Andriy Schevchenko (Football), Daniel Negreanu (Poker), Ronaldo Nazario De Lima (R9 – Football), and Alberto Tomba (Skiing).

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Tournament Schedule EPT Prague 2024

With a tournament schedule of over 70 unique events, EPT Prague has evolved throughout the years like never before. Prague has almost always been the final stop of the year for the European Poker Tour, and many poker players worldwide consider this stop as one of the final stops in Europe before heading to the Bahamas or the US, or to call it a day and spend the rest of the year with their families. The Main Event consists of six playing days and two starting flights. Padraig O’Neil, reigning champion in Prague, will most likely defend his title, while Jon Kyte from Norway, the runner-up from that same event, will try to shine on the big stage once again.

Not only will all eyes be set on the Main Event or the Eureka Main Event this time around, PokerStars has also introduced a new format with the 10-Game Mixed Games Tournament, as well as the Spin & Go Challenge! All in all, there is a lot about to happen in Prague in the coming weeks, where many new winners will be crowned!

Here are the highlighted events of EPT Prague 2024:

Tournament Name	Dates	Buy-in
Eureka Main Event	Dec 7 – Dec 11, 2024	€1,100
Eureka Highroller	Dec 10 – Dec 11, 2024	€10,300
EPT Main Event	Dec 11 – Dec 16, 2024	€5,300
EPT High Roller	Dec 14 – Dec 16, 2024	€10,300
10-Game Tournament	Dec 13 – Dec 14, 2024	€10,300
Mystery Bounty (Day 1 & 2)	Dec 6 – Dec 7, 2024	€550
EPT Super High Roller	Dec 11 – Dec 13, 2024	€50,000
EPT High Roller	Dec 14 – Dec 16, 2024	€25,000