French crowd thrilled by Serge Chechin’s charge at EPT Prague
Online qualifier Serge Chechin is flying the flag for France at the EPT Prague feature table today, making his legions of fans very happy
Most poker fans from the English-speaking world will probably be supporting the likes of Steve O’Dwyer, Marle Spragg and Niall Farrell today as the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague Main Event plays through Day 4.
But for French followers, top of their wish list is an appearance on the feature table for Serge Chechin — a colourful and popular character from Mulhouse. And lucky for our Francophile friends, Chechin is on the same table as Spragg, chip-leading Jon Kyte and Preben Stokkan, which makes their table a shoo-in for the TV treatment.
Chechin is one of only two PokerStars qualifiers left in the field here (the other is Adria Diaz), having won passage to this event in an online satellite on December 3, just a few days before the EPT Prague festival began.
He qualified for EPT Paris earlier this year and clearly fancied a repeat trip, entering several online qualifiers for as little as €10 in a bid to make his way back to the EPT. Eventually he got one to stick on the eve of the event, booking his spot for a €250 outlay.
That earned him his €5,300 buy-in, his room in the five-star Hilton Prague, plus travel expenses. He has now guaranteed at least €18,260 as the record-breaking field closes in on its last 40 players.
Serge Chechin, left, pictured in Monaco
SERGE CHECHIN – LOCAL HERO MAKES GOOD
Chechin, 51, has been playing poker recreationally for many years, but never as a full-time job. He is an entrepreneur, born and raised in the town he still lives in, where he has owned several companies, nightclubs and restaurants through the years.
These days, he focuses mainly on real estate, but maintains a sharp eye for up and coming industries and is willing to back his hunches. It also keeps him very busy. Even yesterday, as the EPT was entering its business end, Chechin had to step away from the table to field calls and enquiries, making decisions that may have been worth even more than those he was facing at the felt.
Now, at the feature table, his phone is locked away until the tournament breaks, so he is free to focus on the poker.
With more than $400,000 in documented live tournament earnings, Chechin is certainly no stranger to the deep stages of tournaments. He picked up a six-figure score in the WSOP Main Event in 2022, when his 80th place (from 8,663 players) earned him $101K. But more recently, he came out on top of a 1,504-entry field in Rozvadov and banked another €86K. He is in form.
French commentary duo Benny Bruneteaux and Julien Brecard (aka “Benny & Yu”) are excited by the prospect of commentating on Chechin, promising he will not quite fit the bill of GTO-adherent robot.
It’s time to see how far this PokerStars qualifier can take that tiny online buy-in…
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