Welcome to Day 1a of the 2016 PokerStars EPT Prague Main Event
Welcome to Day 1a of the 2016 PokerStars EPT Prague Main Event. History is in the making as this will be the final EPT in its 13 season history with the advent of the PokerStars Championship and PokerStars Festival events.
It is fitting that the last EPT takes place in Prague, where it has been ever-present on the EPT since making its debut during the tour's fourth season. Arnaud Matter won the inaugural EPT Prague Main Event in Season 4 after outlasting a field of 555 to get his hands on the winner's trophy and �708,400.
Last year in Prague, Hossein Ensan bested a field of almost double the size of 1,044 entrants to capture the tournament's top prize of �754,510. However, this wasn't the biggest win for an EPT Prague Main Event, which took place the year before when in 2014 Stephen Graner navigated through a field of 1,107 players to win �969,000.
Past EPT Prague Main Event Winners
| Season | Buy-in | Entrants | Prize pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | �4,700+�300 | 555 | �2,530,240 | Arnaud Mattern | �708,400 |
| 5 | �5,000+�250 | 570 | �2,764,500 | Salvatore Bonavena | �774,000 |
| 6 | �5,000+�250 | 586 | �2,842,100 | Jan Skampa | �682,000 |
| 7 | �5,000+�300 | 563 | �2,730,550 | Roberto Romanello | �640,000 |
| 8 | �5,000+�300 | 722 | �3,501,700 | Martin Finger | �720,000 |
| 9 | �5,000+�300 | 864 | �4,190,400 | Ramzi Jelassi | �835,000 |
| 10 | �5,000+�300 | 1,007 | �4,883,950 | Julian Track | �725,700 |
| 11 | �5,000+�300 | 1,107 | �5,368,950 | Stephen Graner | �969,000 |
| 12 | �5,000+�300 | 1,044 | �5,063,400 | Hossein Ensan | �754,510 |
Play commences at 12 p.m. local time and ends around midnight after the completion of eight levels of 75-minutes each. A 20-minute break is scheduled after every second level, with a 75-minute dinner break at the end of the sixth level.
A second opening day with the same structure will take place on Dec. 13 followed by Days 2-6 from Dec. 14-19.
Also taking place today are the final tables of the �1,100 Eureka Main Event and the �50,000 Super High Roller, while the �2,200 Eureka High Roller, which was originally advertised as a two-day event will play down to a final one to two tables. PokerNews will be on hand today for live coverage for both the conclusion of the EPT Super High Roller and the EPT Prague Main Event.
With the final EPT Main Event winner to claim the trophy will take place in less than a week, PokerNews recapped the 13 year history of the tour. Part One of the retrospective focused on the early years in Seasons 1 through 5, Part Two focused on the Berlin robbery, the effects of Black Friday and the "mega-schedule" and Part Three will focus on the later years in Seasons 9 through 13 when the number of venues was reduced with each offering more events, along with some general stats about the venues and EPT winners.