Day 10 of the 2021 World Series of Poker Europe appeared to have gone off without a hitch. There were no dramatic schedule changes, and everything seems to be on track. Of course, the Czech Republic’s new Covid-related capacity limitations remain concerning, King’s Casino is managing it.
And still, so far, the 2021 WSOP Europe events are exceeding guarantees. New warnings about a new Covid-19 variant could impact attendance going forward, but the numbers have been solid thus far.
Let’s catch up on the latest winners and potential winners in ongoing tournaments before a new week begins.
Event 3: €1,350 Mini Main Event
The final nine players were finally able to play out their action on Saturday.
Action started with Pablo Finini tripling up and Vivian Saliba ousting Omid Kamali Novin in ninth place. Several players doubled or tripled up, but Finini finally busted to Alessandro Pichierri. Jack Sinclair doubled through Saliva, who departed in seventh. Van Brug kept chipping up, while former chipleader Ciro Perna lost ground, ultimately busting in sixth place to Van Brug. After former WSOPE Main Event winner Sinclair left in fifth, Pichierri followed.
Marius Gicovanu held a significant lead, but Emil Bise doubled through him twice. Gicovanu did oust Van Brug in third place and took the lead into heads-up. Bise doubled into the lead quickly, though, and it took only a few minutes for Gicovanu to risk it all and finish as the runner-up.
Bise claimed the third bracelet in WSOP history for Switzerland and his personal first. He did win a WSOP Circuit Main Event several years prior, but he wanted the bracelet. “It’s beautiful,” he said. “It’s a beautiful feeling, and I am very happy.”
This was the tournament with the most changes – times, dates, and even flight cancellations. But it finally did combine first flight survivors, and the resulting prize pool surpassing the guarantee. On that Day 2, the field thinned greatly. By the time just a few tables remained, Martin Kabrhel busted in 22nd place for €4,673, denied a shot at a third bracelet. And ultimately, the 11th place elimination of Nicolae Modrea for €10,747 stopped play with 10 competitors bagging chips.
Event 5: Day 2 of 3
€550 buy-in
NLHE Colossus (1RE/flight)
Total entries:
2,478
Registration still open?
no
Total prize pool:
€ 1,177,050
(€1M GTD)
Players paid:
308
Minimum payout:
€ 1,120
Winner payout:
€ 147,775
Chip leader:
Matteo Calzoni
Matteo Calzoni (Italy) 14.375M
Players remaining:
10
Riadh Farhat (France) 12.2M
Restart:
6pm Monday
Andrea Ricci (Italy) 9.075M
Zlatin Penev (Bulgaria) 6.45M
Fotios Ntamaris (Greece) 5.525M
Edmond Jahjaga (Kosovo) 4M
Roman Krahula (Czech Republic) 2.8M
Gabriele Re (Italy) 2.75M
Marijn van Rooij (Netherlands) 2.425M
Aurelio Reggi (Italy) 2.075M
Event 6: €1,650 NLHE/PLO Mix
Several hundred players tried out their skills at mixing Hold’em and Omaha, but only ten of them finished Day 2 with a chance of winning the bracelet. Moncef Karoui had the initial lead, but several initial double-ups and well-timed plays changed some of the leaderboard. The initial action also saw Mikkel Plum gain ground and oust Danny Covyn in tenth place. Claudio Di Giacomo busted Julien Sitbon in ninth and took over the chip lead. Karoui climbed back, though, by eliminating Manuel Fritz and taking a lot of Di Giacomo’s chips. Karoui took out Plum, and eventually Di Giacomo in fourth place and Carter Newhof in third.
Antoine Vranken doubled through Karoui as heads-up play began, and it didn’t take long from there for Karoui to push all-in. Vranken and his full house in an Omaha hand was good enough for the win. Afterward, Vranken told PokerNews that he only started playing Omaha a week ago. But he played his best and won. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s real now.”
This quick tournament started with a somewhat limited field of fewer than 200 entries and played down until just 62 remained. Maximilian Klostermeier took a third-place chip stack into that second and final day, following Didier Rabl and chipleader Dorel Eldabach.
Day 2 found Eldabach out before the money bubble, though. A bit later in the day, Dario Alioto busted in 16th place for €11,293, the same amount Rabl won for his 15th-place finish. Bjorn Verbakel departed in ninth place, just a few spots short of winning his second bracelet.
Klostermeier was the chipleader at the start of the final table, and Joni Jouhkimainen was close behind. Those two battled for the top spot, but when Klostermeier busted Jaroslav Peter in sixth place, his lead grew. The leader ousted Mikola Minkov in fifth, Armando D’Avanzo in fourth, and ERmanno Di Nicola in third. Jouhkimainen had only 2.82M chips to the 15.58 of Klostermeier when heads-up began, and the short stack wasted little time jamming with a solid hand. Klostermeier rivered a flush, though, to win it. He later said that he normally plays tournaments only for fun and as a break from cash games, but this was an “extra bonus.”
Event 7: Day 2 of 2
€5K buy-in
PLO (Unlimited RE)
Total entries:
184
Total prize pool:
€ 830,300
(€150K GTD)
Players paid:
28
Minimum payout:
€ 8,247
Winner payout:
€ 204,010
Final table results:
1st place:
Maximilian Klostermeier (Denmark) €204,010
2nd place:
Joni Jouhkimainen (Finland) €126,091
3rd place:
Ermanno Di Nicola (Italy) €88,520
4th place:
Armando D'Avanzo (Italy) €63,613
5th place:
Nikola Minkov (Bulgaria) €46,821
6th place:
Jaroslav Peter (Czech Republic) €35,317
7th place:
Vasil Medarov (Bulgaria) €27,317
8th place:
Veselin Karakitukov (Bulgaria) €21,681
Event 8: €2,500 Short Deck
Fewer than 100 players joined in the Short Deck fun, and only 20 of them made it through the first day with chips. Only the top 15 will make any money, and Day 2 will determine who they are. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier is one of the most famous faces in the final 20, though Roland Israelashvili is in there, too. The aforementioned Emil Bise holds the third-largest stack, with Julien Martini in fourth, but all will have to fend off Didier Rabl and his current chip lead.
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