Jean-Baptiste Pano shines at PokerStars EPT Prague 2025

Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Pano was the standout player at PokerStars EPT Prague 2025, making two final table appearances and capturing his first Spadie. Find out more about his remarkable run.

The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague 2025 festival is coming to an end, but for Jean-Baptiste Pano, this series has already become a milestone. The French player burst into the spotlight thanks to impressive results in several events. In just one week, Pano made two final tables, set a personal record for winnings, and claimed his first Spadie trophy. Here’s a detailed look at his achievements, the outcomes of key EPT Prague tournaments, and the current state of the series’ Main Event. Jean-Baptiste Pano’s Success: A String of Cashes and His First Spadie Trophy Until October 2024, Jean-Baptiste Pano’s name wasn’t widely known in the poker community: his live tournament results were modest, with total winnings of just $42,935. However, at EPT Prague, the Frenchman made a real breakthrough. First, he finished fourth in the €825 PokerStars Open Cup , earning €112,500 —the best result of his career at that point. Just a few days later, Pano was back in the spotlight, winning the €2,100 No-Limit Hold'em Single Re-Entry event. This victory brought him his first Spadie trophy and another €75,020 in prize money. As a result, his total live tournament winnings for the series exceeded a quarter of a million dollars, immediately making him a notable player on Hendon Mob. How the €2,100 NLHE Single Re-Entry Tournament Played Out The event, with a €2,100 buy-in and a single re-entry option, attracted 167 entries (including 32 re-entries). The total prize pool was €320,640 , distributed among the top 23 finishers. The first player to cash was Jamie Dwan, who finished 23rd and received €3,720 . Among those who made the money but missed the final table were Ognyan Dimov (17th place, €4,920 ), Endrit Geci (15th, €5,660 ), and Pasi Sormunen (13th, €6,510 ). Notably, Sormunen had just finished second in the €2,700 PokerStars Open High Roller , earning €284,130 . Final Table: Players from Eight Countries Battle It Out The final table featured a truly international lineup: nine seats were filled by players from eight different countries. The first to leave was Julien Groenendijk from the Netherlands, followed by Japan’s Ryoji Kusumoto, who made the money for the third time and reached his second final table at this EPT Prague series. Next out was Adam Reynolds from the UK, finishing seventh. Sixth place went to Antoine Saout, who recently surpassed $10 million in career winnings. Fifth place was claimed by Sweden’s Anton Bergstrom, who had also finished fifth in the EPT Prague 2024 Main Event earlier in the series, earning €19,810 for this result. Fourth place went to Israel’s Harel Stern, for whom this was a huge leap forward: before the tournament, his total live earnings were just €160 . Stern now took home €25,760 . Completing the top three was Belgium’s Walter Van Camberg, who finished third and earned €33,480 . Heads-Up: Pano vs. Denis Gergoc The final showdown for the top prize was between Jean-Baptiste Pano and Swiss player Denis Gergoc, considered one of the most promising young professionals. The heads-up battle had €28,140 separating first and second place. In the end, Pano prevailed, taking the top prize of €75,020 and his first Spadie trophy, while Gergoc received €46,880 —the third-largest cash of his still-young career. Final Table Payouts for €2,100 NLHE Single Re-Entry 1st place: Jean-Baptiste Pano (France) — €75,020 2nd place: Denis Gergoc (Switzerland) — €46,880 3rd place: Walter Van Camberg (Belgium) — €33,480 4th place: Harel Stern (Israel) — €25,760 5th place: Anton Bergstrom (Sweden) — €19,810 6th place: Antoine Saout (France) — €15,220 7th place: Adam Reynolds (UK) — €11,700 8th place: Ryoji Kusumoto (Japan) — €8,980 9th place: Julien Groenendijk (Netherlands) — €7,090 Biggest Wins and Other Highlights from EPT Prague So far, the largest single prize of the series is €454,385 , won by Sho Homma from Japan for his victory in the €2,700 PokerStars Open High Roller . However, this record will be broken once the Main Event with a €5,300 buy-in concludes: its champion will take home a massive €1,019,300 . Enrico Camosci deserves special mention. The Italian, who lives in Malta, won two high roller tournaments back-to-back. First, he took down the €20,000 No-Limit Hold'em for €85,690 , then won the €25,000 No-Limit Hold'em for €66,419 . Despite there being only 11 entries combined in these two events, Camosci made the most of his opportunities, winning both final tables. EPT Prague Main Event: The Battle for a Million-Euro Prize The series’ flagship tournament—the €5,300 EPT Prague Main Event —has reached Day 3. Out of 1,224 entrants, 163 players remain, each guaranteed at least €8,350 . Paawan Bansal from India leads the chip counts going into Day 3 with a stack of 850,000 . Close behind are Terry Jordon ( 845,000 ) and Jeffrey Sarwer ( 816,000 ). Other big stacks include Tobias Peters ( 789,000 ), Ole Schemion ( 728,000 ), Ryan Mandara ( 694,000 ), and Conor O'Driscoll ( 540,000 ). Still in contention for the title and the million-euro prize are well-known players such as Uri Gilboa ( 456,000 ), Jakub Michalak ( 439,000 ), Maria Lampropulos ( 363,000 ), Anton Wigg ( 223,000 ), Dimitar Danchev ( 215,000 ), Enrico Camosci ( 154,000 ), and Davidi Kitai ( 74,000 ). Explanation of Poker Formats and Terms For readers unfamiliar with some poker terms, here’s a quick explanation of the main tournament formats mentioned in this article: No-Limit Hold'em (NLHE) — the most popular form of poker, where players can bet any amount of chips at any time during a betting round. Single Re-Entry — a tournament format where, after busting out, a player can re-enter only once to continue playing. High Roller — tournaments with high buy-ins, usually for professionals and experienced players. Spadie — the trophy awarded to EPT tournament winners. Heads-up — the stage of a tournament when only two players remain to play for first place. Stack — the number of chips a player has at any given point in the tournament. What This Means for PPPoker Club Players The achievements of Jean-Baptiste Pano and other EPT Prague participants clearly show that even players with little live tournament experience can achieve significant results through discipline, smart strategy, and choosing the right tournaments. For PPPoker club members, this is a great example: regular play and participation in various formats help you quickly build your skills and compete for big prizes. Additionally, paying attention to international series and analyzing their structures helps you better understand the dynamics of major tournaments, which you can apply to your online play on the PPPoker platform. By studying the moves of professionals, you can adapt their strategies to your club battles, whether it’s re-entry tournaments, heads-up matches, or final tables with players of different styles. Finally, the results of EPT Prague confirm: success in poker is within reach for anyone willing to learn, analyze their hands, and embrace new challenges. Use the experience of top players to develop your game in PPPoker clubs—maybe the next big win will be yours!