Matthias Eibinger, Boris Mondrus Win Big At 2018 EPT Prague

The PokerStars sponsored EPT Prague got underway at the Casino Atrium Prague on Dec.7th, with a packed schedule of events taking place during its 12-day run. One of them was its €50,000 High Roller (unlimited re-entry) tournament, which lasted three days and was eventually won by talented Austrian player Matthias Eibinger for €653,000 ($739,552).

Eibinger: Austria’s Number 2 Player

As a result of his victory in the Czech Republic, Eibinger increases his career earnings to $4,893,812, further consolidating his position at number two on Austria ‘All Time Money List’. The only player currently above him is Thomas Mühlöcker on $6,738,796.

How much longer that will be the case remains to be seen, though. After all, in 2018, Matthias Eibinger has skyrocketed from almost nowhere after earning an incredible $4,765,721 in prize money, compared to just $1,376,875 for Mühlöcker. This includes recording a second place finish in May at the $100k ARIA High Roller Season XVI WPT Tournament of Champions for $1,006,060. Commenting upon his transition to playing high roller tournaments, the Austrian pro stated:

“When I was first playing online and moved into the live scene, it was a very different game. liked that aspect very much so I considered playing more of those. Travelling around, I really enjoy it. And with the high rollers I find there is a very good atmosphere. I think it’s a very good environment lately and I want to keep doing that.”

EPT Prague €50k High Roller

The PokerStars EPT Prague €50,000 High Roller attracted 25 entries, resulting in a prize pool worth $1,250,000. On Day 2, the UK’s Charlie Carrel and Canada’s Luc Greenwood subsequently exited in 6th and 5th places respectively, after which the remaining players took an overnight break before returning to the action.

Eibinger started Day 3 with over half the chips in play, but Eibinger soon relinquished his commanding lead after doubling up some of his opponents. One of them was Andras Nemeth (A-10), who later eliminated Pavel Plesuv (A-K) in 4th to assume the chip lead. Nemeth then used his big stack to good effect, and busted Liang Xu in 3rd to herald the final showdown against Eibinger.

Heads-Up Recap

Nemeth started heads-up play holding a 6.7 million to 3.3 million chip advantage over Eibinger. At one stage, he even managed to stretch out his lead to 9-to-1, before things headed south for the Hungarian pro. Following a dramatic turn around, the deciding hand was played when Nemeth moved all-in holding A-10, and received a call from Eibinger with A-9.

While Nemeth looked good to double up on a 2-3-2-7 board, unfortunately for him Eibinger spiked a 9 on the river to take down the contest. Nemeth let out a big sigh before shaking hands with Eibinger, who consoled his disappointed opponent with an “unlucky.”

Final Table Results

1: Matthias Eibinger (Austria) €653,000 ($739,552)
2: Andras Nemeth (Hungary) €451,350 ($511,174)
3: Liang Xu (China) €288,090 ($326,275)
4: Pavel Plesuv (Moldova) €220,870 ($250,145)
5: Luc Greenwood (Canada) €172,850 ($195,693)
6: Charlie Carrel (UK) €134,440 ($152,189)

Boris Mondrus Wins €1,100 EPT National Prague

In other EPT National Prague related news, Israel’s Boris Mondrus has just taken down the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague €1,100 EPT National. A total of 2,486 players paid €1,100 a piece to enter the tournament, resulting in a total prize pool worth €2,411,420 ($2,745,054).

On Day 5 of the competition, Mondrus then managed to progress all the way through to heads-up play where he faced local Czech player Ondrej Lon for the title. Following a tough battle, the final hand was played after Lon four-bet all in holding pocket eights and Mondrus snap-called with A-Q. The dealer subsequently laid out an A-K -3-3-Q board to seal the victory for the Israeli pro, who collected €382,750 ($435,706) for the win. Mondrus now boosts his lifetime earnings to $458,354, and commenting after his remarkable result, stated:

“I’ve played Texas Hold’em for a long time. But more PLO. This is a big win. I play cash games; I don’t play tournaments. I’ve played maybe eight to ten tournaments in my life.”