Home / Poker News November 2013 / A Look Back at Past EPT Prague Champions – Part 1
A Look Back at Past EPT Prague Champions – Part 1
Posted by: James Carter. - Fri, 2013-11-29 14:52
The EPT’s Prague stop has been one of the most popular of the Series’ for quite a few years now. Having reached its 10th season, the
European Poker Tour is about to return to Central Europe, to the capital of the Czech Republic once again. The Main Event will be a €3.5k
NL Holdem affair this time, but there will be more exotic events featured as well, like the €10.3k High Roller.
The tour first set foot in Prague in its 4th season, and indeed, looking back like this, it’s difficult to comprehend why the first 3 seasons failed to make it to the city.
The first ever EPT Prague Champion was France’s Arnaud Mattern, who stepped up to the plate in 2007. Before the Prague Main Event of the EPT, he had already registered 7 cash finishes in various major live poker tournaments, so by the time he made it to the 2007 EPT Prague, he had a considerable amount of experience under his belt.
The starting field was 555-strong then, and for winning the tournament, Mattern was rewarded with a €708.4k prize. The Frenchman has remained in the poker spotlight since, and he amassed around $2.1 million in tournament profits.
In 2008, the winner of the Season 5 EPT Prague Main Event was Italy’s Salvatore Bonavena. Bonavena’s accomplishment was a major one: through it, he became the first ever EPT champion out of Italy, a feat no one has been able to repeat since.
On his way to the top, Bonavena bested a starting field of 570 players, taking down a €774k share of the prize-pool.
Although he has finished in the money in dozens of live poker events since then, his EPT Prague Season 5 haul remained the biggest of his career.
Play at PokerStars and win your way into the Season 10 EPT Prague’s Main Event for pocket change.
