Main Event
Day 5 Completed
2011 PokerStars.com EPT Prague
Main Event
Day: 5
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2011 PokerStars.com EPT Prague
Buy-in
€5,000
Prize Pool
€3,501,700
Entries
722
Level
32
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
20,000
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 30
: 50,000/100,000, 10,000 ante
That's all she wrote for the fifth iteration of the Prague. Six days ago, a record-smashing field of 722 turned up with the buy-in burning a hole in their pockets, and just eight of them survived to unbag chips on Day 5.
After a yo-yo heads-up finish, Germany's Martin Finger has just put his name in the record books, topping David Boyaciyan in a marathon duel. For his win, Finger earns himself €720,000, a shiny bracelet from Shamballa worth about €10,000, and the coveted EPT trophy that money can't buy.
Finger's path to the title was a relatively smooth one today -- at least until he got to heads-up. He began the day with more than 25% of the chips in play, and he quickly chipped his way upward from there. Finger was responsible for the elimination of Andreas Wiese in seventh place, and he took care of Ari Engel in sixth just a few hands later. An aggressive player with a big stack is a recipe for domination, and Finger soon had half the chips in his corner with four players left.
Guillem Usero ran his ace-eight into Finger's pocket kings to exit in fourth place, and the German went ahead and took care of Nicolas Levi in third place as well. Things were plugging along just fine, but closing it out proved to be the most difficult chore of his day.
It was Finger in one corner and Holland's David Boyaciyan in the other, and they were playing quite deep. They decided to make a chip chop and leave €100,000 on the table to play for, along with the two pieces of precious hardware. Normally, that lends itself to a quick finish, but such was not the case here.
While the play from eight down to two took just four hours, the heads-up battle was a marathon. Finger began with a big chip lead, but Boyaciyan stood his ground and played back methodically at his opponent. He continued to gain momentum as play wore on, and Finger's focus and optimism seemed to wane just a bit. Everything began to go Boyaciyan's way, and he even managed to pip into the chip lead at one point.
But that lead lasted just a couple hands. Finger won one of the largest pots of the day a few minutes later, and it was just a few more shuffles before they were dealt a coin flip and got it all in. Finger was putting his trust in ace-king against Boyaciyan's pocket tens. Two kings on the flop was essentially all she wrote, and it was the German left alone at the table with the trophy and all the chips.
Finger is just 21 years old, and he's a Business Science student back home in Frankenberg. He's a Supernova Elite on PokerStars, and that's where he won his seat to this event -- earning a cheap entry via the step tournaments. It's not a bad parlay for a few Euros' investment, and Finger is going to be the toast of the town in Prague tonight.
One more time, we send our congratulations to Martin Finger, the champion of this PokerStars.com EPT Prague! The next EPT stop is the real gem of the tour, and the will make a few more poker millionaires to begin the new year. Thanks for following along with us here at PokerNews, and we'll see you on Paradise Island in 2012!
From the button, David Boyaciyan raised to 380,000. Martin Finger fought back with a reraise and made it 875,000 to go. Boyaciyan four-bet to two million straight. Finger didn't back down and moved all in. Boyaciyan called.
Finger: 
Boyaciyan: 
The flop came down 
and Boyaciyan fell behind to Finger's trip kings. The 
on the turn didn't do anything for Boyaciyan and he was left looking for just a ten on the river.
The river completed the board with the 
, but it wasn't the four across card that Boyaciyan needed. He lost the hand and his tournament life. For his second-place finish, Boyaciyan earned €535,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
21,660,000
5,500,000
|
5,500,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
From the button, Martin Finger raised to 325,000, and David Boyaciyan three-bet to 825,000. Finger called, and there was a pot brewing as the waited for the first three board cards.
The flop came 
, and Boyaciyan knocked the table. When Finger bet 825,000, though, he check-raised to 2.075 million, and Finger made the call.
That brought them to the 
turn, and Boyaciyan fired back out with another 2.5 million. In response, though, Finger shoved all in, and Boyaciyan spent a few minutes agonizing in the tank before sending them into the muck.
Just a couple hands after the chip lead changed hands, it's gone back the other way in a big way. Have a look at the chip counts nowL
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
16,160,000
5,600,000
|
5,600,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
5,500,000
-5,600,000
|
-5,600,000 |
Martin Finger raised to 325,000, and David Boyaciyan came along with the call. The two men checked through the 
flop and the 
turn, and the 
filled out the board on the river. When Finger checked again, Boyaciyan made a bet of 325,000 and was called.
The Dutchman showed 
for three pair, and Finger shook his head and mucked. That pot pulled Boyaciyan to within 200,000 chips of his opponent, and he made up that final gap on the next hand.
It was Boyaciyan opening to 360,000 from the button, and Finger flatted. They once again checked through the 
flop, but Boyaciyan only needed to make a motion at his chips on the turn to coax a quick fold.
That pot has finally completed Boyaciyan's run to square the match. In fact, he's now the chip leader with about a half-million more than Finger.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
11,100,000
1,500,000
|
1,500,000 |
|
|
10,560,000
-1,500,000
|
-1,500,000 |
|
|
||
From the button, Martin Finger raised to 325,000, and David Boyaciyan made the call to proceed. The 
flop drew a follow-up bet of 300,000 from Finger. Boyaciyan took a bite of his pastry and pushed the call into the pot with one finger, leading them to the 
turn. The action repeated on the turn with another check-call of 300,000, and they checked it down behind the river.
Finger tabled 
, but Boyaciyan's 
had made the better two pair on the turn.
That's another pot to Boyaciyan's corner, and he has all the momentum right now. We may be here a while yet at this pace.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
12,060,000
-1,000,000
|
-1,000,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
9,600,000
1,000,000
|
1,000,000 |
Level: 32
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 20,000
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
13,060,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
8,600,000
-550,000
|
-550,000 |
Level 31
: 60,000/120,000, 20,000 ante
The players are now on a break. We'll have chip counts coming shortly.
As we watched the last series of hands play out, it started to become clear that the momentum has begun to swing a little bit in the Dutchman's favor. Over the course of the last ten minutes, Daid Boyaciyan has been dragging the majority of the pots, and Martin Finger appears to be slightly out of his groove.
In the last pot of the series, Boyaciyan raised to 260,000 from the button, and Finger made the call to proceed. The flop came out 
, and Boyaciyan made a repeat bet of 260,000. Finger check-called, and they both checked through the turn. On the river, the 
put a four-flush on board, and Finger led out with 500,000 of his own chips. Boyaciyan made the call, and Finger showed up 
. His flush was decent, but his opponent's was one better. The 
appeared on the other side of the felt, and Boyaciyan drags that pot as well.
The match is drawing closer to even still, and Boyaciyan is one big pot away from turning the tables entirely.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
12,510,000
-1,700,000
|
-1,700,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
9,150,000
1,700,000
|
1,700,000 |