The EPT Season 12 Dublin €5,300 Main Event, the first one to be held on Irish soil in eight years, is coming to a close. There are only 6 remaining players who will be returning today to play down to a champion, whose share of the prize money will amount to €561,900.
Day 5 of the event, its penultimate one, saw 16 hopefuls return at the tables of the Royal Dublin Society. And the first elimination occurred on the very first hand of play. Shortly after, another player left the tables and it did not take long before yet another hit the rail. With 13 remaining survivors, action slowed a bit and yet, the official eight-handed final table was reached quite quickly.
Shortly after the beginning of eight-handed play, Croatian Ivan Banic was eliminated in 8th place by Greek player Iliodoros Kamatakis. Banic, who finished Day 2 of the event as the chip leader, collected the amount of €60,750 for his performance. Then, it took some time before the next elimination occurred. Swiss Alexandre Meylan was busted by start-of-the-day chip leader Patrick Clarke to take home the amount of €88,300.
Play stopped once there were only 6 remaining players at the table. Six-handed action is set to resume today at 13:00 local time. Each of the survivors is secured with a six-figure payout, with the player who finishes 6th taking home €119,450.
And here are the 6 hopefuls that are to reappear at the Royal Dublin Society later today and their respective seats:
Seat 1: Gilles Bernies
The German will start the day fourth in chips with a total of 2,735,000, good for 55 big blinds. Bernies has collected live tournament winnings of $74,990 since the beginning of his poker career. His most recent success was his triumph in the Netherlands’ 2015 Breda Poker Series €500 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Re-entry for €23,571.
Seat 2: Dzmitry Urbanovich
The young Pole is not only headlining the EPT Dublin Main Event final 6 but will also start the day as the chip leader with a total of 5,125,000 in chips, good for 103 big blinds. Over the past several years, Urbanovich has accumulated live tournament earnings of $4,196,067. He has also been a frequent entry into EPT events across the continent. Last year, the player topped the field of the EPT Season 11 Malta €25,500 High Roller for a payout of €572,300.
Seat 3: Patrick Clarke
The Irishman started Day 5 of the EPT Dublin Main Event as the chip leader. Today, he will return at the table second in chips with 4,300,000, or 86 big blinds. The player is a former Irish Poker Open champion. He captured the title in 2014 and collected €200,000 for his victory. Clarke’s live tournament winnings amount to $396,001.
Seat 4: Kuljinder Sidhu
Sidhu ended Day 5 of the tournament 3rd in chips with 3,260,000, good for 65 big blinds. The UK-based player is no stranger to the EPT scene. Last August, he finished runner-up to Mustapha Kanit in the EPT Season 12 Barcelona €10,300 High Roller 8-Max for a payout of €640,000, his best live cash so far. The player boasts live tournament winnings of $1,282,020.
Seat 5: Iliodoros Kamatakis
The Greek has accumulated a total of 1,965,000 in chips, good for 39 big blinds. Kamatakis, too, is an EPT regular. Most recently, he finished 5th in the EPT Season 12 Prague €10,300 High Roller 8-Handed for a payout of €180,890. His live tournament winnings total $625,961.
Seat 6: Rhys Jones
The other Englishman at the table will start the day as the short stack with 740,000, or 15 big blinds. Jones can be seen at the tables of WSOP and EPT as well as other prestigious series. He is a former Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Main Event champion. In 2014, he took down the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour – Leg 2, Manchester £1,080 Main Event for £42,000. His live tournament winnings amount to $618,390.
