EPT Berlin Day 4: Final Table Includes PokerStrategist Mario Puccini

After four days of play, the EPT Berlin has reached its final table. Learn about the players who reached the final table, and listen to an interview with Canadian online pro Andrew Chen, who is currently in third place.

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Day 4 of the EPT Berlin is finished, and just 8 players are left. They outlasted a field of 745 players and will return to play the final table on Saturday. The champion will receive €825,000.

PokerStrategist Vladimir 'beyne' Geshkenbein barely missed the final table, finishing in 10th place. He'll go home with €51,000 for his achievement.

Two former EPT champions - Kevin MacPhee (19th) and Anton Wigg (14th) - also hit the rail earlier. To date, no player has ever won 2 EPT titles, and that will still be the case after this event.

Three of the eight final players are German, including PokerStrategist Mario 'maddyhh' Puccini.

Who made it to the final table?

Davidi Kitai (5,695,000 chips) - Kitai is already at the top of the Belgian all-time money list, having accrued nearly $1.8 million in live tournament earnings. He is the only Belgian who has won both a WSOP bracelet ($2,000 PLO) and a WPT title. This is Kitai’s second EPT final table – he finished in third place at the EPT Barcelona in Season 5 for €455,000.

Bahadir Kilickeser (4,640,000 chips) - Kilickeser, a German player who works in wholesale and exports, won his seat in this event in a €550 live satellite at the Spielbank Casino on Monday. He took up poker five years ago in the Weser Poker Lounge in his home city of Bremen. The Lounge is planning a big EPT final table party tomorrow in his honour, with a giant screen showing the EPTLive webcast so that all of Kilickeser’s friends can support him from there. This is his Kilickeser’s first-ever EPT and by far his biggest result.

Andrew Chen (3,600,000 chips) - Chen is a well-known Canadian online pro who has been a regular at EPT events since Season 5. He's still looking for his first EPT victory, but he has already made several final tables. He snagged his first major title when he won the $5k Bounty Shootout at the PCA for $263,100. His live tournament winnings now total more than $2 million.

Mario 'maddyhh' Puccini (2,065,000 chips) - Economics student Mario Puccini has been playing poker since 2007. He’s well-known in the German poker community for winning nearly 100 tournaments on PokerStars in the last four years, including the Super Tuesday in 2009 for over $60,000. This is his fourth EPT Main Event cash - his best result so far was eighth place at EPT Loutraki in November for €27,000. He’s also had three final tables in EPT side events where his best finish was third place in the EPT5 Dortmund €2k event for €42,000. Puccini is the final PokerStrategist in this tournament.

German Player (1,940,000 chips) - A further German player has been playing poker since 2007, primarily focusing on playing online satellites to qualify for live events like the EPT.

Marc Wright (1,540,000 chips) - Wright has been a professional player for more than four years now. He previously worked as a Retail Manager for a co-op supermarket, but he quit to pursue poker. He only decided to enter the EPT Berlin due to the encouragement of his girlfriend. Regardless of where he finishes, this will be the biggest live cash of his career.

César "CesarSPA" García (1,485,000 chips) - Law student García is currently ranked the #1 online tournament player in Spain and has a string of great online results. He has finished in second in the Sunday Million in August 2009 for $208,845 (his biggest score), fourth in a $1k SCOOP re-buy event, and fourth in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up. This is his sixth EPT but best live result to date.

Pratyush Buddiga (1,280,000 chips) - Pratyush Buddiga turned pro after graduating from Duke University where he studied economics. He plays MTTs online and has benefited from the coaching he receives from poker superstar Mike McDonald, who has been railing him here all week. This is his biggest live result to date although he racked up four WSOP cashes last summer in his first visit to the Series.

The final table begins on Saturday at 12:00 CET, and it will be broadcast with a one-hour delay at PokerStars.tv.

EPT Berlin: PokerStars Live Coverage

EPT Berlin End of Day 4 Chipcounts
Place	Name	Chips
1st	Davidi Kitai	5,695,000
2nd	Bahadir Kilickeser	4,640,000
3rd	Andrew Chen	3,600,000
4th	Mario 'maddyhh' Puccini	2,065,000
5th	German Player	1,940,000
6th	Marc Wright	1,540,000
7th	César García	1,485,000
8th	Pratyush Buddiga	1,280,000
Blinds: 20,000/40,000/5,000  |   Players: 8 (24)   |   Price pool: €3,725,000

Pictures from Day 4 of the EPT Berlin:

Marc Wright

Kevin MacPhee, after hitting the rail

 

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