EPT Budapest has showcased some of the young talent coming out of Eastern Europe. Lukas Benkovic is one of that group, representing poker's increased popularity among players from countries such as Slovakia.
We grabbed Lukas shortly after he finished the day with an above-average stack, leaving him set for a good tilt at the EPT title. He filled us in on his thoughts on the day, in particular on a key hand he played against former EPT winner Arnaud Mattern.
Hi Lukas. Congratulations today. You must be really pleased with the way things went!
Yes I am happy, but I just lost $150,000 in the last few hands. I lost a big pot with queens at the end.
... I made it $11,000; he reraised me to $25,000, so I just made it $75,000 and he pushed all-in.
I folded my queens and he showed K-9 ... I was very surprised! I then lost another big pot with pocket tens.
Wow, that's quite some move. I guess you were disappointed with how that went but how many chips did you end up with?
$224,000. It is better than average but I hoped I would have more.
There was a key hand during the tournament against Arnaud Mattern where he called his stack off with A-K high and you knocked him out. Take us through that hand from your point of view, Lukas.
For sure this was definitely the key hand of the tournament for me against Arnaud Mattern.
He raised pre-flop and I called him. One more player also called. The flop came 4-4-7 with a flush draw. I had A-7, so top pair with top kicker. He bet out, I reraised him ... and he called.
The turn was the 2d and I played it like a flush.
So I bet out $40,000 and he called.
The river was - I'm not sure - but a six or something like that I think. He had about $60,000 left behind and I moved all-in. I played it as a bluff you know. I thought he had something like kings or queens and that he would lay them down.
Instead he ended up calling with A-K!
Were you surprised he called with such a light holding?
I was really surprised!
[Read about this hand and other action from the day by clicking here.]
There don't seem to be that many Slovakian players around on the circuit. Is poker something that is getting bigger in Slovakia at the moment?
For sure! There were four Slovakians in this tournament and in fact one of my Slovakian friends cashed. Poker is definitely getting more and more popular in Slovakia.
What sort of poker do you play normally?
I play online and I am a tournament player. I play almost any type of level, any type of buy-in.
How do you come to be in the EPT? Did you qualify online?
Yes, I won two seats. I won a seat through the steps and also through my player points.
So it's almost a freeroll for you?
Yes; that's right. It's nice to be freerolling for what I hope will be a big cash!
Who impressed you today?
I can't single anyone out in particular. Everyone played well!
Do you have a strategy in mind for tomorrow or are you just going to go with the flow?
I'm pretty tired so I just want to sleep right now but I'll think about it overnight!
Well thanks very much Lukas for spending time talking to us and the best of luck to you tomorrow!
Thanks!
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Lukas will return tomorrow poised to dominate, with close to $250,000 in chips, and if the young Slovakian can take down his first EPT triumph, he may inspire yet more young Eastern European players to follow in his footsteps and try and create their own piece of history for the annals of poker.
You can try and emulate Lukas' achievement by qualifying for the next EPT on Pokerstars.com. Click here for a link through to play on Pokerstars.
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