Friday the thirteenth is known as the unluckiest date on the calendar, but for Mats Ullereng, it proved to be the exact opposite. Ullereng bested a field of 835 over three days of play to take home €265,560 in the €3,000 Mystery Bounty at the 2024 PokerStars European Tour Prague. The Norwegian grinder also pulled €2,000 in bounties from the chest at the Hilton Prague for a total score of €267,560.
This is his second EPT title this year, having won €144,520 for a first-place finish in the €1,100 No Limit Hold'em at EPT Paris this February. He dispatched last year's €2,200 Eureka High Roller champion Grzegorz Kozieja in heads-up play, which lasted just shy of an hour. Ullereng scored his biggest-ever cash, and Koizieja secured his second. He pulled €9,000 in bounties in addition to his second-place score of €165,700.
Rounding out the podium places was Jonas Hagstrom, who bagged €118,300 for his third-place finish. Hagstrom, who predominantly plays online under the alias "flerrehuve," also scored his second-biggest live payout. Hagstrom did, however, have more luck at the bounty chest than the first two finishers. He pulled a total of €52,000 in bounties, which included €25,000 and €10,000 envelopes to boost his total haul to €170,300.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) | Bounties (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mats Ullereng | Norway | €265,560 | €2,000 |
| 2 | Grzegorz Kozieja | Poland | €165,700 | €9,000 |
| 3 | Jonas Hagstrom | Sweden | €118,300 | €52,000 |
| 4 | Humberto Lopes Galindo | Spain | €91,000 | €3,000 |
| 5 | David Vinaya | Norway | €70,000 | €52,000 |
| 6 | Klemens Roiter | Austria | €53,800 | €24,000 |
| 7 | Abdelhakim Zoufri | Netherlands | €41,400 | €8,000 |
| 8 | Sebastian Malec | Poland | €31,900 | €8,000 |
| 9 | Erik Bakker | Netherlands | €24,500 | €0 |
In talking to PokerNews, Ullereng said, "I'm very happy to win, one of my friends [David Vinaya] was at the final table too, we travel together to EPT's. I only really play live at EPT's, most of my volume is from playing online."
Ullereng's immediate plans are to "celebrate and drink a few beers before flying home on Sunday."
Ullereng got into poker during COVID-19, and after a few well-taken shots, he "quit his job in marketing" to pursue poker. It's safe to say that the decision has paid some pretty sizeable dividends. The tournament score isn't the only reason for Ullereng to celebrate, as he told PokerNews, "Me and my girlfriend are expecting our first child together," adding to the baby-run-good poker superstition.
Most of the big bounties were pulled on Day 2, as players could cash in their tokens for an elusive envelope from the start of Level 15. David Savocka was the first recipient of a €75,000 bounty, with the second going to Dean Hutchison before play started today. Eros Calderone received the remaining €75,000 bounty.
David Von Schnehen pulled a €40,000 on Day 2 but did not make Day 3. David Vinaya, a friend of Ullereng, added a €40,000 bounty to his deep run.
Arni Gunnarsson, Mikolaj Zawadzki, Mengshi Tian, Joshua Gebissa, Raul Aguiar, and Francois Vincenti all pulled €25,000 bounties on Day 2. Hagstrom pulled the final €25,000 bounty today.
After a flurry of bustouts, the field of 16 was whittled down to the final table after two and a half hours of play. With no big bounties left, the players were less incentivized to gamble for stacks in the hope of pulling a big score from the chest.
The first hand saw Hagstrom score a huge double to ascend the chip counts. EPT champion Sebastian Malec was left short but wasn't the first elimination of the final table.
Erik Bakker had his queens cracked by Zoufri and was sent to the rail in ninth. Malec couldn't spin up his short stack, and lost a preflop all in to Kozieja, who flopped a set. Malec busted in eighth.
Action slowed down for a level, and Zoufri was next to depart at the hands of eventual champion Ullereng. Zoufri's Big Slick was bested by Ullereng's ace-jack.
Klemens Roiter had an up-and-down day. He was the first elimination when play resumed after the first break. Vinaya lost to runner-up Kozieja after the flop left the former drawing incredibly slim.
Galindo missed out on the first podium place as the river paired Ullereng's king.
Before the final three took to their seats, an ICM deal was discussed for a matter of moments as all three agreed to play to a winner.
Hagstrom lost a huge flip after Ullereng flopped a set in a preflop all in to take the chip lead for the first time in final table play.
The Swede then battled back and doubled through Kozieja. Kozieja topped the chip counts for a decent chunk of final table play.
Ullereng was active throughout, putting his tablemates in some difficult spots. He attempted to trap Kozieja, having turned a straight, but the Polish national didn't bite.
Hagstrom got himself back into contention by doubling through Ullereng, but he eventually fell to Kozieja who bested Hagstrom's two pair with a full house.
Ullereng came into heads-up play with a 3:1 chip lead, but it was Kozieja who drew first blood in the duel.
After that, it was seemingly one-way traffic as Ullereng used his big stack to his advantage, claiming big pots in back-to-back hands.
Eventually, Kozieja succumbed to Ullereng. He got it in good against Ullereng, but the Poker Gods decided it was the Norweigan's day.