Kazuyuki Tanemura moved in for his last 38,000 under the gun, and Andras Nemeth raised 75,000 on the button. Pablo Silva called from the big blind.
There was no betting on the J?5?8?2?7? runout, and Silva tabled K?10?, missing the board. Tanemura rolled over 3?2? for a pair of deuces, but Nemeth dragged the pot with A?2?, out-kicking Tanemura.
Mounir Tajiou opened 60,000 and Andras Nemeth shoved from the big blind. Tajiou immediately asked for a count. The dealer broke down the stacks to show it was 337,000, and he made the call.
Andras Nemeth: Q?Q?
Mounir Tajiou: A?10?
Both players saw the queen in the window as the dealer fanned the K?Q?3? flop, and Tajiou said, "That's okay," as if he knew the J? turn was coming, which gave him Broadway.
However, the J? river gave Nemeth a full house to remain in his seat.
Pablo Silva opened 50,000 on the button before Andras Nemeth three-bet 165,000 from the big blind. Silva thought about it for a few moments before announcing all in. Nemeth quickly called off his stack of about 600,000.
Andras Nemeth: A?K?
Pablo Silva: 4?4?
They were headed to the races as the J?8?3? flop hit the felt. The 10? turn was one of the best in the deck for Nemeth without hitting a pair as he picked up a royal flush draw, but the 4? river improved Silva to a set as Nemeth exited the tournament in fourth place.
Mounir Tajiou opened 75,000 on the button and both Pablo Silva and Sirzat Hissou called in the blinds.
The dealer fanned a flop of A?K?J?, and all three players checked to the 3? turn. Silva led for 150,000, forcing Hissou out and Tajiou raised to 400,000. Silva called.
The 5? landed on the river, and both players checked. Silva tossed his A?9? face up, and Tajiou mucked.
The following hand:
Silva opened 75,000 and only Tajiou called from the big blind.
When the J?8?5? flop hit the felt, Tajiou checked and Silva fired 200,000. Tajiou called.
The 2? hit the turn, and Tajiou checked once more before Silva pushed a stack across the line for a bet of 500,000. Tajiou let out a large breath of air and mucked his hand.
Sirzat Hissou opened the button to 75,000 and was called by Mounir Tajiou in the big blind.
Tajiou checked and called a bet of 60,000 on the 8?A?Q? flop.
He checked once more as the 6? came on the turn. Hissou bet to 210,000 before Tajiou raised all in with the German covered. Hissou made the call, but saw the bad news as his two pair was way behind Tajiou's set of aces.
Sirzat Hissou: 8?6?
Mounir Tajiou: A?A?
A 3? came on the river, sending Hissou to the rail while giving Tajiou the ascendancy going into heads up.
Pablo Silva had just lost a couple of pots in a row to no longer be the chip leader when Mounir Tajiou opened 125,000 on the button, and Silva called.
The flop came A?10?6?, and Silva check-raised a bet of 135,000 to 500,000. Tajiou announced all-in, and Silva snap-called his stack of 1,900,000.
Pablo Silva: 10?6?
Mounir Tajiou: 9?4?
Silva flopped two pair, while Tajiou had a flush draw. The 7? turn gave Tajiou a straight draw as well, but the 10? river filled Silva to leave Tajiou with just over ten big blinds.
Pablo Silva limped in and Mounir Tajiou checked his option.
The dealer fanned a flop of K?3?3?, and Tajiou check-raised a bet of 40,000 to 175,000, and Silva called.
When the 9? fell on the turn, Tajiou moved all-in for his remaining stack of about 275,000 and Silva instantly called.
Mounir Tajiou: K?4?
Pablo Silva: 7?3?
Tajiou had flopped kings and threes but unfortunately for him, Silva had flopped trip threes. The 4? completed the board, ending Tajiou's impressive run in second place.
One of the final events of the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague has wrapped, with Pablo Silva defeating Sweden's Mounir Tajiou heads up to claim the €10,200 NL Hold'em II title. The tournament attracted a total of 46 entries, with only the top six sharing a prize pool of €446,200.
"It feels good, it was an amazing tournament - my last one in the series," Silva said following the win. The Brazilian didn't have it all his own way on Day 2 but managed to take it down for only his second tournament win of his poker career.
Final Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize (EUR)
1
Pablo Silva
Brazil
€153,900
2
Mounir Tajiou
Sweden
€100,400
3
Sirzat Hissou
Germany
€69,200
4
Andras Nemeth
Hungary
€51,300
5
Kazuyuki Tanemura
Japan
€40,200
6
Thomas Eychenne
France
€31,200
Day 2 Action
Silva's day started promisingly, busting outJan-Eric Schwippert early on. However, the eventual winner wasn't among the chip leaders at that point in the day. Hungary's Andras Nemeth was the one setting the pace, knocking out several opponents on Day 2 including EPT Champion Steve O'Dwyer.
Silva didn't see it all go his way, losing a three-way pot with ace-king a couple hours into the day. However, he was deeply involved in the hand that burst the money bubble, which could be seen as the turning point in his tournament's trajectory. He scooped a three-way pot with kings to not only knock out Jean-Vincent Lehut, but also take him over two million in chips - nearly half of all that were in play.
Jean-Vincent Lehut
Thomas Eychenne was first to go in the money, as he busted in sixth place (€31,200). Nemeth then beat out Silva to win a large pot and eliminate Kazuyuki Tanemura (€40,200) in the same hand.
Then it was Nemeth's turn to hit the rail (€51,300) with Silva sending him there in an interesting hand. Nemeth had a royal flush draw on the turn, but he missed and saw the Brazilian river a set of fours to eliminate the Hungarian in fourth place (€51,300).
A short while later it was down to two, with Sirzat Hissou busting in third (€69,200). The German ran into Tajiou's set of aces while holding two pair.
Heads-Up Play
Unlike the previous final table action, it was a far more tense affair during the heads-up phase, with both players exchanging the chip lead before Silva eventually took it down. The Brazilian flopped trip treys and called when Tajiou got it all in with two pair. The board ran out favorably and Tajiou was eliminated in second place (€100,400).
After finishing in second place in the €25,000 High Roller at EPT Barcelona this past summer, Silva took down his first ever EPT title at the Hilton Prague for €153,900.
"It was tough because I didn't have a huge stack [at the start of the final table], but things went well for me. When I doubled up on the bubble I was confident," Silva commented when asked whether he believed he would win as he reached the final table. He went on to say his plans for 2024 were simply to "keep playing and keep up the grind."
Pablo Silva
This concludes live coverage from the PokerNews team for the €10,200 No-Limit Hold'em event. Stay tuned for similar up-to-date coverage of the remaining events of the series.
