The 2018 European Poker Tour Prague €5,300 Main Event has finished up, ending after a three way deal was struck. Paul Michaelis would end up with the trophy and the majority of the three-way deal after finishing first against Artem Kobylynskyi who finished in second and Alexandr Merzhvinskii, who earned the third place finish.

Striking A Deal:

A total of 1,174 poker players would compete in the EPT Prague Main Event, creating a total prize pool of €5,693,900. Once the tournament whittled down to the final three, the remaining players would decide to talk about a deal for the second time. When only four remained, a deal was mentioned but never cut.

According to PokerStars…

A deal was cut between the three players based on the current chip counts. Merzhvinskii was in second so he would earn €631,500 while Michaelis was ahead, set to take home €770,000. Kobylinskiy was pulling up the rear, securing €571,910. The three players would then agree to compete for the remaining €70,000, the title and a Platinum Pass that was up for grabs.

As the blinds continued to increase, Merzhvinskii would soon see his Prague tournament journey to come to an end. This would leave Michaelis holding a 2 to 1 chip lead as heads-up play began with Kobylinskiy. Eventually, the final hand would go down with Michaelis would hold the chip lead. Both players were all-in with Michaelis holding pocket jacks against Kobylinskiy’s pocket tens. The board fell K-Q-5-9-7, giving Michaelis the win.

Final Results:

Place Player Prize EURO Prize USD
First Paul Michaelis €840,000 $954,677
Second Artem Kobylynskyi €571,910 $649,987
Third Alexandr Merzhvinskii €631,500 $717,712
Fourth Laurynas Levinskas €316,000 $359,140
Fifth Carlos Branco €242,560 $275,674