Kalidou Sow wins PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event for €675,000

Frenchman Kalidou Sow took down the first – and last ever - PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event for €675,000 ($795,456) after defeating Jason Wheeler heads-up in a tense and tetchy finale.

The news this week that PokerStars have decided to revert from their ill-advised Championship and Festival series’ back to the long-standing and much-heralded EPT (and other) brands as of 2018 meant that whoever took down the Main Event title here in the Czech capital would hold a unique place in poker history.

A total of 855 entries were chasing a share of the €4,146,750 ($4,886,751) prizefund on offer at the Casino Atrium in the Hilton Hotel and among them were some of the host country’s biggest names – 2011 WSOP Main Event runner-up Martin Staszko the best-known, although he only managed a 66th place finish.

As usual in the big Prague events there was a worldwide texture to the tournament, and the final nine had a distinct East vs West look to it as a couple of Americans, an Italian, a Frenchman and an Englishman vied for top honours with players from Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia and the host nation.

When Matas Cimbolas busted out in 7th, it was left to Czech pro Michael Mrakes to fight off the West single-handedly and he made a good fist of things early on when his aces found Wheeler holding queens, an 8million chip pot going Mrakes’ way.

Arizona pro Colin Robinson was the first to fall by the wayside, Sow’s turned trips ending his deep run, and when Wheeler quickly dispatched both Lodge and Lepore, the title was firmly in the remaining trio’s sights.

It wasn’t to stay in the Czech Republic however, as Mrakes fell to Wheeler’s rivered set of sixes, although by this time Wheeler seemed a bit agitated by Sow, the PokerNews live updates revealing the following conversation:

"Let's f****** go," Wheeler said. "Try to win every pot, bro. You get one cooler, you think the tournament's yours. I'm still the one to beat."

"Good luck," Sow said.

"I don't need luck," was Wheeler’s retort.

With Mrakes out of the way, the heads-up battle saw a deal of sorts, Wheeler insisting the ‘only deal’ he’d make was to agree on €570,000 each and leave €105,000 to play for – plus the title and trophy of course.

The end, when it came, saw Sow 3-bet Wheeler’s button open holding pocket tens, the US pro shoving his stack in and Sow – after some deliberation – calling, and finding his tens ahead of Wheeler’s offsuit A9.

No help from the run out and it was Kalidou Sow who had just won the Main Event in Prague – by far his biggest win and taking his lifetime (well, only 4 years, but still!) earnings over the $1million mark.

Final table results

*denotes a deal