Despite the cold weather, the European Poker Tour Prague started to heat up with the introduction of the inaugural €25,000 Super High Roller Warm Up at the Hilton Prague.
This one-day event saw 34 super high rollers cough up the eye-watering €25,000 buy-in to sit and compete, generating a prize pool of €807,500. The main beneficiary of this six-figure sum was eventual winner Espen Jorstad, whose dominating final table performance saw him lay claim to his first title on the EPT circuit, in addition to €277,500.
Having won the bracelet in the World Series of Poker Main Event, Jorstad's resume in poker certainly needs no introduction, but as he continues to carve his legacy among the poker elite, a win today will be forever remembered as his maiden win on the European Poker Tour Circuit.
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espen Jorstad | Norway | €277,500 |
| 2 | Enrico Camosci | Italy | €180,700 |
| 3 | Ilya Nikiforov | Estonia | €124,200 |
| 4 | Roman Hrabec | Czechia | €91,900 |
| 5 | Nikita Kuznetsov | Russia | €71,700 |
| 6 | Viacheslav Buldygin | Russia | €56,500 |
| 7 | Morten Klein | Norway | €5,000 |
Andras Nemeth had already made an impressive showing here in Prague having taken down the €10,200 EPT Mystery Bounty for €132,980 just two days ago. With his winnings, Nemeth reinvested a total of €50,000, across two bullets, into today’s Super High Roller.
Nemeth’s first entry came to an end when a blind versus blind cooler saw Jorstad become the recipient of his entire stack; Nemeth’s pocket tens failed to hold against the Norwegian’s ace-queen, sending him to the rail.
Unfortunately for Nemeth, his second bullet also proved to be unsuccessful. Again, his pocket tens failed to hold against the ace-king of Enrico Camosci, decimating his stack and resulting in his departure as the first after registration had closed.
Thomas Santerne was also denied his second EPT title of the week, after claiming the trophy in the most recent €20,000 No-Limit Hold'em tournament. A potential triple-up awaited Santerne, but the straight of Morten Klein marked the end of the French phenom's tournament.
Online wonder turned live crusher, Niklas Astedt’s elimination in tenth place ensured all remaining players made the final table and the race toward the money became the central focus.
What would normally be considered the “soft bubble” was attributed to Markkos Ladev's exit in eighth place, leaving the remaining finalists on the stone money bubble. However, the moment Ladev’s seat was vacated, Morten Klein was quick to make a suggestion.
Klein informed the table he was in a race with Kayhan Mokri for points in a Norwegian league and needed a cash of €5,000 to beat him. The remaining players saw the humor in the suggestion, and all agreed to take €1,000 off each of the top five spots to accommodate a seventh-place prize of €5,000 for the bubble boy.
As if spoken into existence, Klein did in fact bust in seventh place. Despite being down €20,000 on the day, Klein was seemingly delighted with the result that he’d managed to negotiate for himself.
Viacheslav Buldygin’s exit in sixth place was the first considerable payout of €56,500, setting the pace of play as the bust-outs began to come thick and fast.
The beneficiary of this flurry of action was, by and large, Jorstad, who’d amassed a considerable chip lead by the time three-handed play was underway.
The victory was sealed in a dramatic three-way all-in. Although Camosci had the best preflop holding at showdown, it was a miraculous ace on the river that saw Jorstad eliminate both players and claim his first EPT title and €277,500.
Camosci recounted the hand in a short video for his Instagram story. As he panned for comment, Jorstad simply said, “Barry mother f***ing Greenstein!”
