€1,100 Eureka Main Event
Day 4 Completed
2022 PokerStars EPT Prague
€1,100 Eureka Main Event
Day: 4
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 4
2022 PokerStars EPT Prague
Buy-in
€1,100
Prize Pool
€3,856,320
Entries
4,017
Level
42
Blinds
1,250,000 / 2,500,000
Ante
2,500,000
Entries
9
Players Left
1
Level 42
: Blinds 1,250,000/2,500,000, 2,500,000 ante
Pieter Theelen of The Netherlands was a short stack at various points at the final table in the €1,100 Eureka Main Event at 2022 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague, but that didn't stop him from winning the record-breaking event for a career-best €496,760 after defeating Sweden's Anton Suarez in a brief heads-up battle.
“I’m feeling awesome, but I just have to start realizing (what happened)," Theelen said. "I don’t know what happened, actually. I was short a lot of the time and then (I was) chip leader, and after that it went pretty well. But after that it was close heads-up, kind of. So I’m happy that I managed to take it down.”
The four-day event drew a massive 4,017 entrants across four starting flights to break the previous entry record set in March and to generate a €3,856,320 in prize money. Defending champion, PokerStars ambassador and freestyle rapper Alejandro Lococo was looking to go back-to-back but fell on Day 3 in 21st place for €14,080.
Others who joined Theelen and Suarez at the final table included Norway's Silius Moll (7th - €76,700), Finland's Elias Suhonen (5th - €129,650) and Britain's Jack Sinclair (4th - €168,560), who has been on an EPT tear as of late that saw him finishing second in both the EPT Barcelona Estrellas Main Event and the EPT London Main Event.
€1,100 Eureka Main Event Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN EURO) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pieter Theelen | Netherlands | €496,760 | |
| 2 | Anton Suarez | Sweden | €306,770 | |
| 3 | Leonardo Romeo | Italy | €219,120 | |
| 4 | Jack Sinclair | United Kingdom | €168,560 | |
| 5 | Elias Suhonen | Finland | €129,650 | |
| 6 | Quentin Guivarch | France | €99,720 | |
| 7 | Silius Moll | Norway | €76,700 | |
| 8 | Waldemar Starostin | Germany | €59,000 | |
| 9 | Marko Martinkovic | Croatia | €45,390 |
What Can Happen in a Year
Theelen only had $12,250 in headed into the event, but he's no newcomer to the felt. The 30-year-old has been playing poker since he was 18 years old and professionally for the last five years. But he said this is the first year he's traveled to poker festivals and got his first live cash at EPT Prague in March.
“In one year, this is already what I managed to achieve, so that’s great," Theelen said in reflection.
As is so often the case in poker, it wasn't always smooth flying for the Dutchman.
“I think it’s been up and down all the time. I think on Day 2 I had probably the chip lead, and then I lost a lot of it again. And then I built it up again, I lost a lot of it, it’s just been a swingy tournament all around.”
The swings continued at the final table, which Theelen entered toward the middle of the pack but dipped early after losing a big pot to Sinclair.
“This final table, I just had to wait a lot, because most of the time I was short-stacked, so I just had to wait around and wait until the good moments to run good," he said. "And that’s what happened … I’m still thinking (about) what happened.”
Final Table Action
Marko Martinkovic of Croatia was the first to go in one of the first hands of Day 4 when he found himself pipped with pocket jacks against the queens of Suarez. Germany's Waldemar Starostin was next out in eighth place when he ran ace-jack into the rockets of the eventual champion.
The tricky and aggressive Sinclair entered the final day as chip leader and spent most of the day steamrolling the table until a critical misfire where he jammed into the turned straight of Suarez. But the 2018 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event champion still managed to eliminate two opponents (Quentin Guivarch in sixth and Suhonen in fifth before himself falling in fourth place to Theelen, who again picked up aces at the right time to stack an unlucky opponent.
After Theelen's nines held up against the ace-seven of third-place finisher Leonardo Romeo, he entered heads-up play with a huge chip lead before Suarez doubled with two pair to even things out. But the Swede could never pull ahead and after about a half hour of heads-up play found himself jamming with king-eight over a limp only to find himself trapped by the Dutchman's Fishhooks.
"He had been jamming a lot so I think it’s good to limp a strong hand there as well," Theelen said about the hand. "So that worked out perfectly.”
That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of the record-breaking €1,100 Eureka Main Event. Be sure to check out the EPT Prague reporting portal for coverage of other events at the Eastern European stop.
Level 42
: Blinds 1,250,000/2,500,000, 2,500,000 ante
Pieter Theelen completed on the button and Anton Suarez moved all in for less than ten big blinds. Theelen quickly called.
Anton Suarez: 
Pieter Theelen: 
Theelen had a big lead that increased to a near lock on the hand when the dealer fanned the 
flop to give him a set.
"F*** yeah!" Theelen celebrated before giving Suarez a fist-bump as the board finished out 
to mark Suarez' elimination in second place for €306,770.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
120,000,000
22,000,000
|
22,000,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 42
: Blinds 1,250,000/2,500,000, 2,500,000 ante
Pieter Theelen completed on the button and Anton Suarez checked his option.
Suarez checked on the flop of and Theelen checked back. Suarez then led out for 5,500,000 on the 
turn and Theelen called.
The 
river completed the board and Suarez bet 8,500,000 and Theelen moved all in. Suarez quickly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
98,000,000
16,000,000
|
16,000,000 |
|
|
22,000,000
-16,000,000
|
-16,000,000 |
Level: 42
Blinds: 1,250,000/2,500,000
Ante: 2,500,000
Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/2,000,000, 2,000,000 ante
Anton Suarez completed on the button and Pieter Theelen raised to 7,000,000. Suarez called.
Theelen bet 4,500,000 on the flop of 
and Suarez called. Theelen then sized up to around 12,000,000 on the 
turn and Suarez laid it down.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
82,000,000
2,000,000
|
2,000,000 |
|
|
38,000,000
-2,000,000
|
-2,000,000 |
Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/2,000,000, 2,000,000 ante
Pieter Theelen opened on the button and Anton Suarez defended.
Suarez checked on the flop of 
and Theelen continued for 2,000,000. Suarez check-raised to 5,000,000 and Theelen quickly folded to keep the Swede afloat.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
80,000,000
-20,000,000
|
-20,000,000 |
|
|
40,000,000
20,000,000
|
20,000,000 |
Level 41
: Blinds 1,000,000/2,000,000, 2,000,000 ante
After returning from break, Pieter Theelen and Anton Suarez got to a river of 
with over 40,000,000 already in the middle.
Suarez was out of position and checked, prompting Theelen to move all in. Suarez gave it some thought and folded to hold onto his remaining 20,000,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
100,000,000
20,000,000
|
20,000,000 |
|
|
20,000,000
-20,000,000
|
-20,000,000 |
Level: 41
Blinds: 1,000,000/2,000,000
Ante: 2,000,000
Level 40
: Blinds 1,000,000/1,500,000, 1,500,000 ante
The heads-up players are on another 20-minute break after a pot that saw Pieter Theelen extend his lead when Anton Suarez called a sizable bet on a board of 
and then folded on the 
when facing a jam.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
80,000,000
11,000,000
|
11,000,000 |
|
|
40,000,000
-11,000,000
|
-11,000,000 |