Matan Krakow Finds His Way to Victory in the PokerStars EPT Prague Main Event

Regardless of the primary half of December spoiling gamers for alternative when it got here to tournaments, the PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague Essential Occasion ended up attracting a really respectable discipline of 1,224 entries, producing a prize pool of over €5.9 million. And when all of the arms have been dealt, it was Matan Krakow standing tall, claiming the victory in certainly one of poker’s most prestigious tournaments.

There was really a three-way ICM deal concerned, so when the event was down to 3 gamers, they agreed to cut up a majority of the prize pool, leaving simply over €77,655 and the trophy to play for. Matan outlasted his ultimate two opponents, claiming the victory and selecting up a complete of €778,255 for his wonderful run.

This marked an thrilling end to the ultimate cease of the 2025 European Poker Tour. The Essential Occasion featured the sector of 1,224 entries (together with 352 re-entries), and 184 gamers made the cash, pocketing at the least €5,565, getting at the least their buy-in again with a few further hundred on high.

A Fast Closing Desk

The ultimate seven gamers within the EPT Prague Essential Occasion returned on Sunday to play all the way down to the winner. It’s at all times exhausting to foretell how the motion will go down at a significant ultimate desk, however this time round, the motion was fairly quick and livid. It took solely about 4 and a half hours to crown the champion.

Krakow got here into the ultimate desk second in chips and was already assured his largest dwell event money. Whereas the Israeli participant is not any stranger to event poker, together with his Hendon Mob outcomes relationship all the way in which again to 2011, his largest money previous to Sunday was €65,068. By making it into the ultimate six gamers of the EPT Essential, he was already assured to greater than double that quantity.

He did, nonetheless, have assist from Eli Elezra, a member of the Poker Corridor of Fame, whose autobiography Pulling the Set off he co-authored. It was maybe that assist and encouragement that helped him seal the deal at certainly one of poker’s largest levels.

As talked about, when the event acquired down to 3 gamers, an ICM deal was agreed, and it was really the eventual runner-up, Bora Kurtulus, a self-proclaimed newbie from Turkey, who acquired the most important piece of the pie, pocketing €757,400.

Krakow locked up €703,600, however when the play acquired all the way down to heads-up, he was in a position to management the scenario and use the expertise he gathered years in the past, taking part in heads-up sit and gos on PokerStars, to come back out forward and decide up the remaining prize cash and the trophy.

EPT Prague Essential Occasion 2025 Closing Standings

One other EPT Season Wraps Up in Type

With the EPT Prague ending, one other season of PokerStars’ largest and most profitable dwell tour involves its pure conclusion. As soon as extra, Prague got here via, gathering gamers from throughout Europe and past for one ultimate competition of poker earlier than the vacations kick in.

There may be now a brief break in motion, nevertheless it received’t be lengthy earlier than the European Poker Tour is again in full swing. Issues will kick off with EPT Paris in February, and this competition will even be the house to the Spin & Go Championship Dwell. After that, the motion strikes to Monte Carlo on the finish of April.

As at all times, there are numerous other ways to qualify for the upcoming EPT occasions taking part in on-line at PokerStars, and loads of time to determine issues out!