Padraig O'Neill opened to 200,000 first-to-act and action folded to Adam Wagner in the big blind, who shoved for his last 2,315,000. O'Neill quickly called all in for less and hands were revealed.
Padraig O'Neill: J♠J♥
Adam Wagner: 2♥2♣
The 4♥K♦3♦7♣Q♣ runout kept O'Neill's jacks best and he doubled up while Wagner fell to just over a million in chips.
The final day of the 2023 European Poker Tour Prague Main Event is upon us with Jon Kyte heading into Day 6 with nearly two-thirds of the chips in play after bagging up 22,875,000 in chips (229 big blinds) last night. Kyte will be competing for the lion's share of the €6,101,300 prize pool against Cheng Zhao, Adam Wagner, Padraig O'Neill, and Umberto Ruggeri here at the Hilton Prague.
Kyte eliminated a staggering eight players on the penultimate day, including Niall Farrell, Marle Spragg, and both Dejan Jakovljevic and Max Neugebauer simultaneously in a hand where Kyte hit a three-outer on the river. Kyte's closet competition entering the final table is Zhao, who will bring an 8,125,000 stack worth 81 big binds.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Cheng Zhao
China
8,125,000
81
2
Adam Wagner
Czechia
2,760,000
28
3
Padraig O'Neill
Ireland
1,265,000
13
4
Jon Kyte
Norway
22,875,000
229
5
Umberto Ruggeri
Italy
3,410,000
34
Cheng Zhao
All five players will receive their largest live-tournament score to date regardless of how they place and all will be competing for their first EPT Main Event title. Kyte came close after finishing fourth in the Eureka Main Event last year and is sure to be all the more hungry to get the job done today.
Action is set to get underway at 12:30 p.m. local time. Play will resume with 26:37 left on Level 29, which features 50,000/100,000 blinds with a 100,000 big-blind ante. Levels will continue to last 90 minutes each and the tournament will play down to a winner.
2023 EPT Prague Main Event Final Table Payouts
Place
Player
Country
Prize (EUR)
1
€1,030,000
2
€643,000
3
€459,240
4
€353,240
5
€271,660
6
Grigorii Rodin
Russian Federation
€209,000
7
Govert Metaal
Netherlands
€160,750
8
Marle Spragg
United States
€123,600
9
Vincent Meli
France
€95,000
PokerNews will report on a 30-minute delay to avoid spoiling the final-table stream, which can be found on the PokerStars Youtube Channel here.
As always, be sure to stick with PokerNews as we bring all the final-table action leading to the latest EPT Main Event champion!
Cheng Zhao is a real estate agent who considers himself a semi-pro poker player, specializing solely in tournaments. He is, however, ready to declare himself a full-time pro following his deep run here at EPT Prague.
Originally from Beijing, China, Cheng relocated his family to Athens, Greece, in 2018 and still lives there with his wife and 10-year-old son. Living in the EU makes traveling the EPT circuit easier and Cheng says he plans to compete at every stop next year.
Here in the EPT Main Event, Cheng’s main focus has been on staying composed and maintaining a stable mentality. This is his first major final table, and the 35-year-old called the experience “a dream come true”.
Home hope Adam Wagner is originally from Ceske Budejovice in the southern Czechia, but now lives here in Prague. He used to be a professional poker player some years ago but eventually chose a different career path. The 30-year-old is now finishing a doctorate degree in law, leaving him little spare time. However, he still mentions football as a hobby.
Not relying on poker income has proved advantageous for Wagner’s mindset. He says he hasn’t felt any stress throughout the EPT Main Event journey. This was the only tournament he wanted to play here at the festival and, being out of the game for quite some time, he hadn’t expected to make it this far.
With the pay jumps getting steep, Wagner admitted that on Day 5 he finally started to experience a bit of pressure. But he’s still been mostly enjoying himself at the table, knowing this may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Should he go all the way, Wagner can become the second Czech champion after Jan Skampa, who won the EPT Prague Main Event in 2009.
Carrying the hopes of the enthusiastic Irish poker community, Padraig O’Neill – known to all as “Smidge” – comes to the final table at EPT Prague a little more than a decade after bursting onto the scene during the early days of the UKIPT.
O’Neill picked up early cashes in Dublin and Newcastle before delivering on his promise back in the Irish capital in 2012. He made the final table, finishing fifth, but with the endorsement of even the eventual winner, who said O’Neill was the best player there.
Since then, O’Neill has steadily progressed through the stakes and picked up tournament cashes across the world. He has been a pro for several years but is eyeing what could potentially be a new biggest tournament score.
The deep run has come at both the very best and the very worst time: O’Neill’'s wife Ciara gave birth to their first child Fionn around six months ago, meaning the new father is obviously missing his family, even as he earns them a tremendous payday. Fionn doesn't yet have a passport (and is a little way short of the age limit for spectators) so family is supporting only from afar.
This is O’Neill's first overseas trip since the new arrival, and he was due home yesterday. However, he has now joined the long list of poker players who have had to rearrange pre-booked flights for the best reason.
There's no doubt that the poker fans of Ireland will be following O’Neill's progress closely. In close to 20 years of the EPT’s existence, Steve O’Dwyer is the only Irishman to win a Main Event. Another win is long overdue and the man proudly representing “Middle of Nowhere, Ireland” (actually, Drumlish, County Longford) could end the wait.
Jon Kyte’s poker career took off six years ago in this very city, where he captured the Norwegian Poker Championship title along with €240,000. While it remains Kyte’s biggest payday to date, he’s now inching towards setting a new high score.
Inching may not be the right word as Kyte has taken the EPT Prague Main Event by storm, bagging back-to-back day-end leads on Days 3 and 4 before knocking out three players early into Day 5. Kyte has eased his way to the final table, never relinquishing the chip lead through the entire penultimate day.
His stack of close to 23 million, nearly 15 million more than his closest challenger, possibly represents the biggest chip lead coming into the final day of any EPT Main Event.
If there was a place for Kyte to reach his first EPT final table, it had to be Prague. Last year, he finished fourth in the Eureka Main Event, winning €131,900 in the same tournament room. Having locked up his third six-figure cash in the Czech capital, Kyte has eyes on the top prize. He can become Norway’s fourth EPT champion – and first in 13 years – following Bjørn-Erik Glenne, Andreas Høivold, and Kevin Stani.
Umberto Ruggeri has played poker for nearly 15 years and is now a poker pro. He is mostly an online MTT grinder, but says he also played two or three live events this year. He finished 91st in the EPT Barcelona Main Event, earning €20,550, but his second cash will be much bigger. He is already guaranteed a six-figure prize here in Prague.
Ruggeri pointed to his double up against Grigorii Rodin on Day 4 a key moment in the tournament. After the turned flush which kept him alive, he says he gained confidence and started playing his best.
Ruggeri says he now feels like he is equipped to play in these tournaments regularly and already looks forward to traveling to all the EPTs next season. But while it may seem poker occupies nearly all of his time, the 30-year-old is also active on multiple fronts: he owns two Bed & Breakfast spots in Rome, where he regularly works.
