Kenny Smaron Wins EPT Prague High Roller For €595,500

The €10,300 EPT High Roller attracted a total of 315 players to create a prize pool worth €3,150,000. Just three days of action later, and it was Kenny Smaron who would emerge atop of the field to capture the prestigious title, as well as the event’s €595,500 ($654,302) first place prize. After securing the biggest score of his career, Smaron commented:
“I played like a savage at this final table. It was finally my time.”
The 30 year-old now boasts $857,046 in live tournament winnings, although he is predominantly a hyper sit-n-gos pro who divides his time playing online from Costa Rica and Colombia.
The €10,300 EPT High Roller attracted a number of notable pros to the Hilton Prague Hotel, all looking to cash in one of the event’s 47 money spots. Amongst the players managing to do so was Artem Metalidi in 18th (€31,480), Nicholas Palma in 17th (€36,060), Bryan Paris in 16th (€36,060), Mikkel Lokkegaard Hansen in 15th (€40,640), William Foxen in 14th (€40,640), Luc Greenwood in 13th (€45,220), Mihails Morozovs in 12th (€45,220), Aleksandr Denisov in 11th (€51,330), Kevin MacPhee in 10th (€51,330), and Davidi Kitai in 9th (€61,110).
The final table of eight, too, featured several big name pros including Vanessa Selbst (8th), Rocco Palumbo (7th), and Daniel Cates (6th). After three-handed play had been reached, Kenny Smaron (A-3) then sent Feliz Bleiker (K-3) to the rail to usher in the final battle against Poland’s Jaroslaw Sikora for the EPT title. Two hands later, and it was all over with Sikora relegated to a runner-up finish worth €378,280, while Smaron was crowned the 2015 EPT Prague High Roller champion.
Final Table Results:
1: Kenny Smaron (USA) €595,500
2: Jaroslaw Sikora (Poland) €378,280
3: Feliz Bleiker (Switz) €283,550
4: Ihar Soika (Belarus) €229,470
5: I. Kamatakis (Greece) €180,890
6: Daniel Cates (USA) €138,110
7: Rocco Palumbo (Italy) €101,440
8: Vanessa Selbst (USA) €74,550