History was made in the PokerStars EPT Prague €5,300 Main Event as Mikalai Pobal emerged as just the second player in European Poker Tour history to become a two-time Main Event champion.

It was a long road to victory for Pobal who first battled through the field of 1,154 entries and then grinded his way up from the short stack at the final table to put himself in position to become the first man to ever win two EPT Main Events. Eventually, Pobal faced off against two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Norbert Szecsi in a fast-paced heads-up match to claim the historic title and €1,005,600 first-place prize.

At the start of the final day, only five players remained. Even though Portal was sitting in the bottom half of the chip counts, everyone had over thirty big blinds so there was still room for everyone to maneuver.

Nearly three hours into the day, the first of the five hit the rail. After Gaby Livshitz put in a raise with , Portugal’s Tomas Paiva made the call from the big blind holding . The flop came , giving Paiva top pair and Livshitz an open-ended straight draw with a flush draw. Paiva, check-raised Livshitz who then shoved over the raise. Paiva made the call with his tournament on the line. The turn was the bringing in the flush for Livshitz, but giving Paiva some life with one card to come. However, the river fell the providing no help to the Paiva’s trips and sending him out the door in fifth place for €241,230.

With four left, Pobal was now the shortest stack at the table. He picked his spots and found a double up and then quickly doubled again providing him some breathing room. Over the next two hours, Pobal began to climb the chip counts when eventually he knocked out his first opponent of the day. Livshitz limped the small blind holding and Pobal made a small raise with his . Livshitz three-bet and after taking a moment to think about it, Pobal elected to flat call the raise. The flop came . Livshitz bet his top pair, Pobal took his time and put in a raise. Livshitz shoved and was snap-called by Pobal who watched as his pocket aces held through the turn and the river. Livshitz finished in fourth place earning €316,780.

Pobal and Szecsi took turns holding the chip lead while Brazil’s Ricardo Da Rocha tried to climb back from the short stack. Eventually, with fewer than ten big blinds De Rocha moved all-in holding and was called by Szecsi holding . The board provided no help to the Brazilian and Da Rocha walked away in third place, taking home €421,450.

With Pobal holding a slight chip lead heading into heads-up play, the pair briefly discussed the possibility of a deal. Unable to come to an agreement, Pobal and Szesi settled in to determine a winner with history on the line.

It didn’t take long as Pobal ran hot right from the start and quickly held a sizable chip lead over Szecsi. On the final hand of the tournament, Szecsi raised the button with and Pobal put in a three-bet with . Szecsi stuck all his chips in the middle and was immediately called by Pobal. The flop brought Szecsi some backdoor possibilities but the turn was of no help. Finally, the hit the river and Hungary’s Norbert Szecsi settled for a €598,880 payday as the runner-up.

Pobal earned the 2019 EPT Prague Main Event title and €1,005,600 first-place prize. He became just the second player, the first male player, to win two EPT Main Event titles. The only other player in the tour’s 15-year history to accomplish the same feat is Victoria Coren Mitchell who won EPT San Remo in 2014 for the second of her two victories.

For Pobal, EPT Prague’s seven-figure score comes only second to his €1,007,550 prize for winning his first EPT which came back in August 2012 when he took down the EPT Barcelona Main Event in Season 9.

2019 EPT Prague Main Event Final Table Results

1. Milalai Pobal – €1,005,600
2. Norbert Szecsi – €598,880
3. Ricardo Da Rocha – €421,450
4. Gaby Livshitz – €316,780
5. Tomas Paiva – €241,230
6. Luke Marsh – €177,420
7. Laurent Michot – €134,610
8. Dietrich Fast – €96,100
9. Gab Yong Kim – €74,770