Recap: Comeback Nat claims Prague title

Jarmonthavat claimed €25,000
in a head-up deal 

Nat Jarmonthavat proved tournament poker’s oldest adage as he bounced back from the brink of elimination to claim the ParadisePoker Tour Prague title.

The road to becoming the first Danish winner since the tour began was far from smooth, as running battles between Piotr Sowinski, Ertan Aldikacti and later Milan Simko pushed Jarmonthavat to the fringes of the final table.

He fought on with a short stack for long spells but having seen his top pair hold up against the nut flush draw of Sowinski, the momentum carried him to victory.

A deal was done at heads-up, with then chip leader Simko taking a €28,000 share and Jarmonthavat €25,000, yet the battle for the trophy proved just how much both players coveted that first major title.

"It feels great to have won the ParadisePoker Tour Prague title,"  grinned the newly crowned champion, "This is my biggest cash and I have to put it down to patience. 

"Some of the players at the final table were just playing crazy, so I just had to wait it out. I was waiting a long time for the right moment but I knew I just had to be patient and keep on believing I could win it.

"I won’t be going out and spending my winnings on a crazy car or anything though – mainly because I already have a crazy car!"

While his winning hand of 10-6 off-suit was far from glamorous, pocket Kings played a leading role in Jarmonthavat's triumph over a 287-player field. 

"I had just over average stack at the end of Day 1 after I had a few big hands. The one I remember is re-raising with Kings and calling when my opponent went all-in. he had AQ but my pair held up and gave me a good size stack.

"Day 2 wasn’t so good, I had to fold for long spells but I made it to Day 3 and won another big pot with Kings again. That was really memorable because I got all-in with KK vs QQ and a Queen came on the flop, but the river saved me as it brought a King. That was crazy."

Day 3 was a long slog as three tables returned to the King's Casino, within the walls of Corinthia Towers hotel, but the adrenaline pushed our man on to a triumphant end in the early hours.

"I'm a little tired right now but to be honest I'm so happy I don't mind. Still, I'll probably celebrate by just going to bed!"

Marketing Manager Bryan Carroll was delighted with this year's visit to the Czech Republic: “We’ve been to Prague twice before but we’d like to thank King’s Casino and the Corinthia Towers hotel for extending us such a great welcome,” he said.

“We couldn’t have been happier with the superb organisation and seeing a field of 287 players join us for the Main Event, not to mention all our side event entrants, made this weekend another success story for the ParadisePoker Tour.”