Matan Krakow cracks Bora Kurtulus to seal EPT Prague Main Event win
Israel’s Matan Krakow is the latest champion on the European Poker Tour (EPT), taking only around four-and-a-half hours to complete victory on the last day of the €5,300 buy-in Main Event in Prague.
A 44-year-old former journalist from Tel Aviv, Krakow’s closest previous brush with poker fame came when he helped co-write Eli Elezra’s autobiography Pulling the Trigger. But Krakow found all the right spots to pick his way through this tricky final table, which featured a host of unfamiliar faces but offered an entertaining denouement to this six-day event.
“Eli is not just a great player, he’s also an amazing legend and he also wrote me during the tournament to say he’s following and watching,” Krakow said, beginning to celebrate his win. “I don’t think he’s going to write my biography, but I’m happy together with him.”
Krakow’s reward for beating a field of 1,224 entries is a first prize of €778,255 as well as a first chunk of silverware for his mantle. He was one of trio of players who negotiated an ICM deal when they were the last three left, eventually beating both Dimitrios Gkatzas, of Greece, and overnight leader Bora Kurtulus, who finished third and second respectively.
Krakow becomes only the second player from Israel to win a Main Event on Europe’s leading poker tour, while Kurtulus fell narrowly short of becoming Turkey’s first.
“First of all I have to give credit to my opponent, because he played great,” Krakow said of Kurtulus. “He was giving me a very hard time.”
Krakow had the better of the recreational player Kurtulus in the heads-up phase of play, and revealed he’d had some practice in that particular side of the game.
“I will say it’s in a way closing the circle because I started my poker career about 15/16 years ago, playing heads-up sit n gos on PokerStars,” Krakow said. “So I did feel comfortable in the heads-up, but also needed a bit of luck.”
There was plenty of skill alongside it, though, as Krakow started strongly, stayed focused and navigated a steady passage to the title. There was heaps of drama too, not least from India’s Paawan Bansal, who at one stage looked like he might pull off the greatest ever EPT comeback. He lost almost everything with kings against aces, before somehow spinning up less than 1/2 of a blind to ladder two spots. The rollercoaster ended in a fifth place for Bansal.
Krakow, meanwhile, just kept on accumulating. And he is now a famous champion.
The new champion Matan Krakow!
FINAL DAY ACTION
Through five previous days of play, an always-healthy tournament field of 1,224 entries had been reduced to the final seven. Sometimes there are eight heading into a final, sometimes six. Here, we split the difference, with 30 levels played and still enough chips in play to entertain everyone on the last day.
They lined up as follows:
Bora Kurtulus, Turkey, 12,325,000 (82 BBs)
Matan Krakow, Israel, 9,700,000 (65 BBs)
Traian Stanciu, 5,325,000 (36 BBs)
Dimitrios Gkatzas, Greece, 3,075,000 (21 BBs)
Paawan Bansal, India, 2,625,000 (18 BBs)
Vitezslav Cech, Czech Republic, 2,400,000 (16 BBs)
Conor O’Driscoll, Ireland, 1,225,000 (8 BBs)
EPT Prague Main Event final table players (l-r): Matan Krakow, Dimitrios Gkatzas, Paawan Bansal, Vitezslav Cech, Conor O’Driscoll, Bora Kurtulus, Traian Stanciu.
EARLY MOVES
Self-professed amateur Bora Kurtulus had a big lead heading into the last day, but Israel’s Matan Krakow sneaked ahead on the first hand of final table play. At the other end, Conor O’Driscoll lost three blinds on the second hand — nearly half his stack — but managed to secure a double on the very next hand, leaving local hero Vitezslav Cech as the shortest.
Paawan Bansal then also added to his short-ish stack in a hand against Kurtulus, which edged him closer to a playable amount. The shorties were enjoying some of the best of it early on, and the plot thickened.
Krakow played another big pot against Kurtulus to extend his lead. He called a three-bet with 8♦ 9♦ and turned a straight to beat Kurtulus’ big slick. But then the only player not mentioned to this point, Traian Stanciu, won the biggest pot of the whole first hour: a classic cooler with aces besting kings, all in pre-flop.
Bansal had the kings and was left with less than a single blind.
BANSAL’S LADDER AS CECH AND O’DRISCOLL BUST
Bansal was under the gun next hand, but made a shrewd decision to fold his rags. It proved to be very valuable indeed because he managed to triple up on the next hand, head to a tournament break, and then come back to watch himself ladder up — not once, but twice. He also got to see his previous adversary Staciu get a taste of his own medicine.
It was a truly remarkable few hands to start Level 32.
On the very first deal, Stanciu picked up pocket queens in the cutoff. He made a standard raise. Dimitrios Gkatzas, on the button, looked down at the beautiful pocket aces and moved all in, for 13 big blinds.
Vitezslav Cech, who only had four big blinds but was not (because of Bansal) the short stack, then looked down at pocket jacks in the big blind. What a ridiculous situation. Cech had such a tough decision with a decent pocket pair and plenty of his stack in the middle, but a raise from one of the chip leaders, and a jam from a covering stack!
He pondered and pondered. But then he opted to call for all he had.
Bansal watches on as Cech hopes to hit
Stanciu also called with the queens, setting up a three-way all-in. There was nothing unusual about the run-out, however. The best hand pre-flop held up, with Gkatzas getting more than a double up and Cech busting in seventh. The Prague native earned a new career best of €159,150 for seventh.
At this stage, Bansal was of course still the tiny stack. But then another crazy hand played out. Chip leader Krakow presumably thought that everyone at the table would be playing incredibly tight until Bansal bust and raised with 8â™ 4♦ under the gun. However, Kurtulus found A♣ Q♥ in the small blind and called, with O’Driscoll looking down at K♦ Q♦ and also calling from his five blind stack in the big.
And then the blockbuster flop of A♦ 5♦ A♥ persuaded O’Driscoll to open jam, which Kurtulus snap-called! Krakow folded, and two blank cards later spelled the end of O’Driscoll’s run.
The Twitch streamer was sent packing in sixth, earning €206,900, which was another career high. Bansal, still at the table, couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
O’Driscoll showed no fear
THE END OF THE MIRACLE
He celebrated with a double up holding A♣ Q♥ soon after. And then he found pocket fives and held through Krakow’s A♥ 4♦ . He suddenly had eight big blinds and was cooking again.
This remarkable run of hands now left Stanciu at the bottom of the counts. He had lost heaps in the queens vs. aces hand, and was shorter even now than the resurgent Bansal. However, Stanciu doubled through Bansal, with pocket fours holding against Bansal’s K♣ 9♥ .
Staciu watched the run out from amid his friends on the rail. And it allowed him to dance along to some Romanian folk music as the dealer kept him alive.
That, unfortunately, left Bansal back on the ropes again. And although he’d successfully climbed back from worse positions before, the miracle comeback finally ended. Bansal had J♣ 4♣ when he was forced all in from the big blind. Three others gave him a spin, checking it down all the way. In the end, Kurtulus’s Q♥ 2♥ rivered a flush to officially send Bansal out.
The first Indian player ever to make an EPT final left in fifth for €269,000.
A remarkable finish for Bansal
DOWN TO FOUR, THEN THREE AND A DEAL
Though Stanciu had got what he wanted with the departure of Bansal, he was now back under pressure. It began to show as he folded pocket threes from a sub-10 blind stack, and was then bluffed off a pair by Kurtulus.
That left him even shorter and he was essentially forced all-in from the big blind holding only 6♥ 4♦ . Krakow’s K♣ 3â™ didn’t come under any threat, leaving Stanciu on the rail. He took €349,650 for fourth.
Stanciu bowed out in fourth
The last three now decided to discuss a possible deal. Kurtulus was back out front, with 88 blinds, ahead of Krakow’s 65 and Gkatzas’s 28. Tournament officials showed them the ICM-approved numbers, and after a short while they agreed.
Kurtulus locked up €757,400. Krakow secured €703,600. Gkatzas guaranteed himself €574,600. There was €74,655 left on the side to play for.
THREE BECOMES TWO
The originally advertised third-placed payout was €454,550, so Gkatzas had negotiated himself an extra $120K. That was a nice insurance for precisely what then happened: his tumble out the door in third.
He lost a big pot with 10♦ 8♥ , which flopped a ten but lost to Krakow’s Aâ™ J♣ . Krakow flopped a jack and rivered another.
And after that, Gkatzas shoved from the small blind with K♣ 2â™ , but Kurtulus was going nowhere in the big blind with A♣ 8♥ . The better hand held, and the Greek’s challenge was over. He took the €574,600 he had signed for earlier, and no more.
Third place and €574K for Dimitrios Gkatzas
With that, the two dominant forces at this final sat down and squared off for the big trophy and a place on the honour’s board.
Krakow had the lead with 19,150,000 (77 BBs) to Kurtulus’ 17,525,000 (70 BBs). This was deep, but both the players had shown a willingness to tangle, so there was no real reason to expect a tight and drab battle.
There’s little doubt that Krakow made most of the running in the early stages. He made a big call with ace high to pick off a big Kurtulus bluff, then he got handsomely paid off with top two pair when Kurtulus couldn’t find the fold with a pair of sixes.
Kurtulus started the final in front
He added to his stack with a pocket pair of kings, and suddenly Kurtulus was in shoving mode.
They went on a short break, with Krakow now sitting with double Kurtulus’ stack. And when they came back, there was only one more hand to play before the end.
Krakow found 7♦ 6♦ and opened his button. Kurtulus looked down at pocket eights and stuck in a three-bet. Krakow called with his suited connectors, and they headed to a flop. It was a big one for Krakow. It fell 4♥ K♦ 5♥ , which gave him an open-ended straight draw and backdoor diamonds.
Kurtulus fired out and Krakow jammed. Kurtulus made a very good call.
However, the A♦ turn gave Krakow even more outs, and he drilled the 4♦ on the river to win it. It was a dramatic way to end a dramatic final. And Matan Krakow was the winner!
Krakow cracks Kurtulus
EPT Prague €5,300 Main Event
Dates: December 9-14, 2025
Entries: 1,224 (inc. 352 re-entries)
Prize pool: €5,936,400
1 – Matan Krakow, Israel, €778,255*
2 – Bora Kurtulus, Turkey, €757,400*
3 – Dimitrios Gkatzas, Greece, €574,600*
4 – Traian Stanciu, Romania, €349,650
5 – Paawan Bansal, India, €269,000
6 – Conor O’Driscoll, Ireland, €206,900
7 – Vitezslav Cech, Czech Republic, €159,150
*denotes three-way deal
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