EPT Prague made a boisterous return to the Czech capital in Season 5. Some 40 countries were represented by the 570 players at the €5,250 buy-in event but it was Italians who came to the fore and achieved their first ever EPT winner.
Salvatore Bonavena took down the €774,000 first prize after a rollercoaster final day. The 44-year-old estate agent went from overnight chip leader, to short stack, and then chip leader once more. After 264 hands of play over 12 hours, he finally triumphed at the Italian-heavy final table with Massimo Di Cicco finishing second and Francesco Cirianni fifth. The final hand came at 1am local time, when Bonavena's 7-8 beat Di Cicco's A-4 on an eight-high flop. All three Italians were vociferously supported from a packed rail of supporters.
Numerous stars took part in the Prague event, including Team PokerStars Pros Noah Boeken, Dario Minieri, Marcin Horecki, Luca Pagano, William Thorson, Alex Kravchenko and Katja Thater. PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras, from Valencia, Spain, finished 12th for €30,400 and German ShootingStar Sebastian Ruthenberg came ninth for €42,800. A total of 88 players won their seats online with PokerStars.
WELCOME DRINKS
PokerStars is hosting a welcome drinks party at the spectacular Cloud 9 Sky Bar & Lounge on the rooftop of the Hilton Prague. Cloud 9 is the first true “sky bar” in the whole of the Czech Republic. There will be an open bar from 9pm - 11pm on November 30th for all EPT players and accredited media.
VENUE
Golden Prague Poker
Hilton Prague Hotel
Pobrezni 1
Prague
Czech Republic 186 00
Tel: +420 602 561 223
Email: fabrice@goldenpraguepoker.cz
Opening hours: 2pm - 6am
Dress code: Casual, but no sports wear.
Minimum age: 18
NB: You must bring photo ID or your passport to enter the casino.
TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE
All EPT Season 6 events have the same structure. Please click EPT Structure for details.
TOURNAMENT RULES
Click here for EPT tournament rules.
MEDIA INFORMATION
All media wanting to attend EPT Prague must register online using the EPT accreditation form found here http://www.ept.com/media/index.html Accreditation is NEVER automatically granted and you will need to apply for each event individually. Media accreditation for each event opens as soon as possible once the previous tournament has finished - and closes one week before each event starts.
BUY-IN VIA POKERSTARS
You may buy in to EPT Prague (MAIN EVENT ONLY) online at PokerStars from
November 23 until three hours before the start of the event. Please see
the How to Enter page for full details."
SCHEDULE
There will be 17 table cash games available 24/7 where players will find a wide range of limits and poker variations such as Hold'em Omaha and seven card stud.
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| November 30 | 19:00 | €500 + €50 + 1 Re-buy Super Satellite to Main Event |
| 20:00 | 1 and 2 Table Satellites to Main Event | |
| 20:00 | Main Event Registration ONLY | |
| December 1 | 12:00 | EPT Prague Main Event - Day 1A - €5,000 + €250 |
| 14:00 | €200 + €20 + Rebuys Super Sat to Main Event Day 1B | |
| 20:00 | Main Event Registration ONLY | |
| December 2 | 12:00 | EPT Prague Main Event - Day 1B - €5,000 + €250 |
| 20:00 | €300 + €30 Nightly Freezeout - NL Turbo | |
| December 3 | 12:00 | EPT Prague Main Event - Day 2 |
| 16:00 | €1,000 + €100 NL Freezeout - Day 1 | |
| December 4 | 12:00 | EPT Prague Main Event - Day 3 |
| 13:00 | €1,000 + €100 NL Freezeout - Final Day | |
| 14:00 | €1,000 + €100 PLO - Day 1 | |
| 20:00 | €300 + €30 Nightly Freezeout - NL Turbo | |
| December 5 | 12:00 | EPT Prague Main Event - Day 4 |
| 13:00 | €1,000 + €100 PLO - Final Day | |
| 13:00 | €300 + €30 NL Ladies Only Freezeout | |
| 14:00 | €2,000 + €150 NL Freezeout - Day 1 | |
| 20:00 | €1,000 + €100 NL Freezeout - Day 1 | |
| December 6 | 12:00 | EPT Prague Main Event - Final |
| 12:00 | €2,000 + €150 NL Freezeout - Final Day | |
| 13:00 | €1,000 + €100 NL Freezeout - Final Day | |
| 13:00 | €500 + €50 NL Turbo Shootout (cap 100) |
Cash games available daily from noon (from 14:00 on November 30).

| Venue | Golden Prague Poker Hilton Prague Hotel |
| Location | Prague, Czech Republic |
| Dates | December 1-6, 2009 |
| Buy-In | 5,000 + 250 EUR |
| Cap | 600 |
| Rank | Name | TLB Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Luca Pagano | 4060 |
| 2. | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier | 3803 |
| 3. | Sebastian Ruthenberg | 3063 |
| 4. | Mike McDonald | 2987 |
| 5. | Antony Lellouche | 2887 |
| 6. | Dario Minieri | 2562 |
| 7. | Johannes Strassmann | 2519 |
| 8. | Jason Mercier | 2320 |
| 9. | Joao Barbosa | 2308 |
| 10. | William Thorson | 2301 |
| Rank | Name | Top Ten Cash |
| 1. | Glen Chorny | $3,170,600 |
| 2. | Pieter de Korver | $3,008,852 |
| 3. | Poorya Nazari | $3,000,000 |
| 4. | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier | $2,898,182 |
| 5. | Jason Mercier | $2,590,386 |
| 6. | Gavin Griffin | $2,429,103 |
| 7. | Sebastian Ruthenberg | $2,414,459 |
| 8. | Michael Martin | $2,397,730 |
| 9. | Denes Kalo | $2,308,870 |
| 10. | Constant Rijkenberg | $1,960,400 |





