Saltsberg and Nikolas Win EPC Titles in

The King's Million European Poker Championship (EPC) brought international tournament action to King's Resort in Rozvadov, with two notable events producing new champions. Israeli player Tsuf Saltsberg won the €3,000 PLO High Roller, while Swedish player Vasilis Nikolas took down the €1,000 Mystery Bounty.

Saltsberg Secures PLO High Roller Title

The €3,000 PLO High Roller carried a guaranteed prize pool of €500,000 and drew 156 entries. Twenty-eight players advanced from Day 1, and another 60 entries came in through late registration at the start of Day 2. The top 22 finishers were paid.

Saltsberg, an Israeli professional who has specialized in Omaha for around ten years, played a patient and tactical game, with attention to prize jumps at the final table. In heads-up play he faced Slovak chipleader Oliver Tot and erased a deficit of more than four times the chip count.

The two players agreed to an ICM deal. Because of his chip lead, Tot took the larger payout of €96,800, while Saltsberg received €87,000. They then played a final blind flip for the King's Royal Scepter trophy. In that hand, Saltsberg held Kd Kc Tc 7h and flopped a set of kings, defeating Tot's Js Jh 7s 6h to claim his first major live tournament trophy.

Final table results for the €3,000 PLO High Roller:

• 1. Tsuf Saltsberg, Israel, €87,000 (heads-up ICM deal)
• 2. Oliver Tot, Slovakia, €96,800 (heads-up ICM deal)
• 3. raketrap, Poland, €47,900
• 4. Paul Haus, Germany, €33,100
• 5. Alessandro De Michele, Italy, €23,700
• 6. Antoine Vranken, Netherlands, €17,700
• 7. Eran Carmi, Israel, €13,700
• 8. Bastian Bluem, Germany, €11,100
• 9. Michael, Germany, €9,400

Nikolas Wins Mystery Bounty; Bayout Hits Top Envelope

The €1,000 Mystery Bounty tournament registered 1,863 entries across eight starting flights. The total prize pool reached €1,583,550, split into a main prize pool of €1,024,650 and a bounty pool of €558,900. A highlight of the event was the opening of bounty envelopes on Day 2.

French pro Axel Bayout drew the top bounty of €150,000. He continued his run to the final table, finishing fourth for €89,280 and earning a total of €242,880 including bounties, making him the event's top earner.

With four players remaining, an ICM deal was reached, influenced by the fact that a €30,000 envelope was still unclaimed. Heads-up came down to Sweden's Vasilis Nikolas and Italy's Loris Biagio Greco, and the decision arrived in just two hands. Nikolas moved all-in with As Kh and Greco called with 8h 8c. The board ran out 6h Qs Qc Ad 6d, giving Nikolas the title. He collected a trophy, €123,850 in prize money, and €42,900 in bounties, having also drawn the last €30,000 envelope.

Final table results for the €1,000 Mystery Bounty:

• 1. Vasilis Nikolas, Sweden, €123,850 prize, €42,900 bounties (four-way ICM deal)
• 2. Loris Biagio Greco, Italy, €103,000 prize, €7,500 bounties (four-way ICM deal)
• 3. Luca Beretta, Italy, €84,770 prize, €4,200 bounties (four-way ICM deal)
• 4. Axel Bayout, France, €89,280 prize, €153,600 bounties (four-way ICM deal)
• 5. Andrea Marchi, Italy, €41,600 prize, €13,200 bounties
• 6. Leandro Gaone, Belgium, €31,100 prize, €900 bounties
• 7. Nik, Romania, €23,600 prize, €7,500 bounties
• 8. Xerxes I, Germany, €17,800 prize, €13,200 bounties
• 9. Emmanouil Chalkiotis, Greece, €13,395 prize, €300 bounties

ICM Deals Shape Both Outcomes

Both events ended with deals rather than a single winner taking the full first-place payout. In the PLO High Roller, the heads-up ICM deal reflected Tot's chip advantage, while the trophy was decided by a blind flip. In the Mystery Bounty, the four-way ICM deal was driven partly by the unclaimed €30,000 envelope, which Nikolas later drew.

Such arrangements are common in modern tournament poker, particularly in high buy-in events and large-field bounty tournaments where prize jumps and remaining bounties can create complex risk-reward calculations. Players often use ICM considerations to assess whether to accept a guaranteed payout or continue playing for a larger share.

Event Context

The King's Million EPC is part of the tournament schedule at King's Resort in Rozvadov, a venue known for hosting large international series. The Mystery Bounty format, in which players collect envelopes with bounty prizes after eliminations, has become a popular variant in recent years because it combines a standard tournament structure with random high-value payouts.