King's Million EPC | Viorel Gavrila beat 4,389 entries to win the Mini Main championship, earning a career-high €125,500.

On September 21, 2026, the King's Million European Poker Championship (EPC) crowned its first champion at King's Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. Romanian professional poker player Viorel Gavrila emerged victorious from a field of 4,389 entries, winning the €250 buy-in EPC Mini Main Event and taking home €125,500 and the Royal Scepter trophy.

This six-figure euro prize not only broke Gavrila's record for the highest single prize in a live tournament, but also brought significant results to his career transition plan to increase his participation in live tournaments.

This tournament boasted a guaranteed prize pool of €1 million, with 34 players competing on the final day. Gavrila quickly established a lead on the day and personally eliminated the last four opponents, ultimately defeating Mystery Kid's AK with a 95 to claim the championship.

4,389 participants entered the competition, and the first champion was crowned in the million-euro prize pool.

The €250 EPC Mini Main Event is a key event in this year's King's Million European Poker Championship, where the championship match was the first to be completed.

After several days of competition, the originally large roster of participants was gradually reduced to a final 34.

EPC Mini Main Event Core Data

For King's Resort, this Mini Main Event also officially kicked off the King's Million EPC award ceremony.

Gavrila broke three scoring thresholds on the final day.

At the start of the final day, 34 players still had a chance to win the championship.

Gavrila quickly demonstrated his dominance, and as the number of players continued to decrease, he became the first player in the entire event to break through the following scoreboard thresholds:

10,000,000

20,000,000

30,000,000

This gave him a substantial amount of scoreboard data as the game entered its final stages.

More importantly, Gavrila did not rely solely on its early advantages to survive until the end.

Starting with the remaining five players, he eliminated the last four opponents in succession, personally bringing the entire competition to a close.

Complete Results of the EPC Mini Main Event Final Table

Among them, Vietnamese player Binh Nguyen (VNM) successfully entered the nine-player final table and ultimately won €12,100 by finishing in 8th place.

The runner-up, Mystery Kid, earned €76,500.

K5 beats A4 at a four-handed table, Gavrila continues to extend his lead.

After entering the four-player table, Silver1964 had only 6,000,000 chips left.

He got the following in position CO:

A♦4♥

and chose to move all-in.

Gavrila holds position BB:

K♥5♣

and called.

Flop:

Q♦5♦2♦

Gavrila hit a pair of 5s and took the lead temporarily.

Silver1964 retains the opportunity to draw cards for Aces, flushes, and Wheel straights.

Turn:

9♥

River:

10♠

Gavrila ultimately managed to hold on against five opponents.

Silver1964 finished in 4th place, earning €39,500, while Gavrila continued his run towards the championship.

At a three-player table, 96 turned into a straight, eliminating Maximilian Kuntz.

Once at the three-person table, Gavrila faced off against German player Maximilian Kuntz in a crucial match.

Kuntz increased his bet to 3,000,000 at the BTN position.

Gavrila called from the BB position.

Flop:

K♣7♦5♠

Gavrila checked, and Kuntz bet 2,500,000.

Gavrila raised to 8,000,000, and Kuntz called.

Turn:

8♠

Gavrila continued to bet 3,500,000.

Kuntz then went all-in with 18,000,000 chips, and Gavrila quickly called.

Hands revealed:

Gavrila had already made a straight on the turn, but still needed to avoid river cards like spades, kings, and 7s that could change the outcome of the game.

River:

6♣

This card did not help Kuntz.

Gavrila successfully defended her straight, eliminating Kuntz and officially joining Mystery Kid in Heads-Up.

Kuntz ultimately finished third, earning €54,000.

With a final hand of 95, Gavrila defeated AK and secured the championship with a full house.

Shortly after the heads-up match began, the two players played a crucial pot that would decide the entire match.

Mystery Kid impeded from the BTN position, and Gavrila checked from the BB position.

Flop: A♥9♣4♣

Gavrila checked the card.

Mystery Kid bets 1,500,000, and Gavrila raises to 4,000,000.

Mystery Kid raised to 7,500,000, and Gavrila called.

At this time, Gavrila holds:

9♥5♠

Mystery Kid received:

A♦K♥

Mystery Kid flopped a top pair, while Gavrila held a pair of 9s.

Turn card: 4♥

The turn card revealed a pair of 4s on the community cards.

Gavrila checks, and Mystery Kid bets 4,500,000.

Gavrila called again.

River card: 9♠

The appearance of a second 9 on the river card directly changes the outcome of the entire hand.

Final board:

A♥9♣4♣4♥9♠

Gavrila, with her 9♥, accomplished:

9 gourds 4

He chose to go all in.

Mystery Kid had 11,500,000 chips left behind and decided to call after a brief moment of thought.

Gavrila showed 9♥5♠, while Mystery Kid displayed A♦K♥.

Although Mystery Kid held two pairs of Aces and 9s, he still couldn't beat Gavrila's full house.

The match has now ended.

Gavrila won €125,500 and the Royal Scepter trophy, while Mystery Kid finished as runner-up and took home €76,500.

The largest cash payment of his career, the previous record was only $40,779.

For Viorel Gavrila, one of the most significant aspects of this victory was that it significantly broke his personal record for live tournament prize money.

According to PokerNews citing The Hendon Mob, Gavrila's career live tournament winnings prior to this match were:

$535,157

The highest prize money for a single game previously was:

$40,779

Today, he won €125,500 in a single EPC Mini Main Event, breaking the six-figure euro prize threshold and setting a new personal best for the event.

He previously won the 888poker LIVE Main Event, and this wasn't his first time winning a live tournament.

Despite this record-breaking prize money, this is not the first time Gavrila has won a live tournament.

He has previously achieved numerous live competition results, including:

In 2023, Gavrila won the 888poker LIVE Bucharest Main Event championship.

However, compared to his past live tournament results, the six-figure prize money from this King's Million EPC is still a significant breakthrough in his career.

With 12 years of online competition experience, Gavrila plans to increase on-site participation.

Gavrila has long focused on online poker as his primary competitive activity.

Before joining King's Resort in 2026, his live tournament winnings this year were only:

$10,007

He revealed to PokerNews that he has accumulated 12 years of experience in online poker.

Although he has devoted a lot of time to online competitions in recent years, he now hopes to gradually shift to live competitions.

Gavrila stated:

"I play a lot of online poker, but now I'm transitioning. I want to play more live tournaments."

Speaking about his performance on the final day, he believes that his years of experience in online tournaments helped him stay calm under the pressure of major competitions.

However, he also admitted that he had a lot of good luck with the cards he played.

Three years ago, he finished 9th in a similar event, and now he has finally won the championship.

Gavrila mentioned after the match that he had also participated in a similar event during WSOPE about three years ago.

He made it to the Final Table but ultimately finished in 9th place.

Returning to King's Resort this time, he improved his ranking from 9th place at the final table to the champion.

Gavrila said she was very happy about the experience.

This victory not only sets a new record for the highest prize money in a single event, but also represents a significant achievement after years of accumulating live tournament experience.

He had previously faced off against runner-up Mystery Kid.

It's worth mentioning that this isn't the first time Gavrila and Mystery Kid have faced off at the same table.

He stated that he had played cards with the other party many times in the past and that they had a history of playing against each other.

Speaking about the heads-up match, Gavrila praised Mystery Kid's performance and believed that he had better luck with the cards that day.

This victory also reaffirmed for Gavrila that live tournaments have an appeal that online poker cannot fully replace.

Besides the competition itself, he also enjoys interacting with other players at the poker table and experiencing the interactive atmosphere of the live competition.

King's Million EPC schedule continues: €1,150 Super Main Event concludes the event.

After Gavrila won the €250 Mini Main Event, there are still several key events to be completed at this year's King's Million EPC.

PokerNews will continue to track nine other key projects.

King's Million EPC Key Events to Follow

The €1,150 buy-in EPC Super Main Event will be the main focus of the second half of the series.

Gavrila kicks off King's Million EPC championship run

Viorel Gavrila emerged victorious from a field of 4,389 entries, and on the final day, he broke through three chip thresholds in succession, securing his first championship trophy at the 2026 King's Million EPC with a steady chip accumulation and a series of eliminations in the later stages of the final table.

The final hand of 9♥5♠ completed a full house on the river, defeating Mystery Kid's A♦K♥ and bringing this multi-day Mini Main Event to a close.

€125,500, the highest live tournament prize money of his career, and the Royal Scepter championship trophy.This is a significant achievement for Gavrila after increasing the number of live competitions in 2026.

With the Mini Main Event concluded, King's Million EPC will now move on to key events such as Deepstack, Mystery Bounty, PLO, and the Super Main Event to determine the other champions in this series.

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