Martin Kabrhel Wins the Mini Main Event

The Czech Republic poker professional Martin Kabrhel won the $1,000-entry Mini Main Event for $843,140 last night as he won the fourth WSOP bracelet of his at-times controversial career. The controversial player, whose catchphrases ‘Not like that!’ and ‘Casino... Royale!’ have either captured the imagination of poker fans worldwide or annoyed thousands of poker followers on a regular basis, beat Alexander Yen heads-up for the win.

Five players returned to the felt on the final day of the $1,000 Mini Main Event,

$1,000 Mini Main Event Final Table Results:

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1^st	Martin Kabrhel	Czech Republic	$843,140
2^nd	Alexander Yen	United States	$566,170
3^rd	Vadzim Lipauka	Belarus	$426,550
4^th	John Ishak	Hungary	$323,460
5^th	Bartlomiej Swieboda	Poland	$246,900
6^th	Lucas Lew	Argentina	$189,710
7^th	Allan Tirel	France	$146,740
8^th	Katie Lindsay	United States	$114,260
9^th	Christopher Davis	United States	$89,577

Scene Set for Main Event Drama

With an incredible 10,794 entries, the 75^th event of the 56^th annual WSOP, the $1,000-entry Mini Main Event, was the three-quarter mark for this year’s World Series. The Mini Main Event is often a good gauge for attendances in the Main Event, so the five-figure numbers could be good for Event #81 on the ticket - the $10,000-entry WSOP Main Event.

By the time the nine-man final table was reached in Event #75, a top prize of $843,140 was assured from the prize pool of $9,498,720.

Martin Kabrhel was the chip leader when the final table began, and quickly got to pushing his opponents from the felt. All-in with ace-seven, Chris Davis had the better of Kabrhel’s jack-ten, but a cruel board of T-8-3-A-J at first set Davis behind, then put him ahead again on the turn before snatching all hope away on the river, sending him home with $89,577 in ninth place.

Fans got another catchphrase as Katie Lindsay busted in eighth place for $114,260. All-in with king-queen, the better half of online poker legend Chris Moorman was crushed by Martin Kabrhel’s pocket aces.

“Not like that...!” Kabrhel quipped, to a combination of groans and giggles on the rail. No help came to save Lindsay, and she departed for $114,260, the biggest score of her career to date and one that puts her over $1 million in live tournament earnings.

Martin Kabrhel holding up bracelet in front of chips

It was the Frenchman Allan Tirel who busted next, as he moved all-in with king-jack of clubs and ran into Vazim Lipauka’s ace-king of hearts. The board of A-6-2-7-9 was no help to Tirel, who left with $146,740, as the Belarussian player’s hand rode all the way to the river with ease, vaulting Lipauka above Kabrhel in the counts.

Argentina’s Lucas Lew was the next to go, moving all-in with ace-five. He was some way behind Alexander Yen’s pocket eights, and the board of 9-6-2-K-4 made no difference to Lew’s hand, and he departed with $189,710 in sixth place.

Soon, five players became four. Polish player Bartlomiej Swieboda called off his stack with king-six but was wrong to do so, with Lipauka holding king-nine. A flop of Q-3-2 was no help at all to the at-risk Pole and after an eight on the turn and seven on the river, Swieboda left with $246,900 just outside the top four.

Hungarian player John Ishak missed out on the podium places when he too lost his stack with king-six. All-in with the hand in clubs, he was ahead of Kabrhel’s jack-deuce but a cruel board of Q-8-3 was followed by a nine on the turn and a ten on the river to give the Czech champion-in-waiting a runner-runner straight, sending Ishak to the rail with $323,460.

The Belarussian Vadzim Lipauka left in third place for $426,550 when he called off with king-four into Kabrhel’s ace-eight, and a board of A-A-9-6-9 gave Kabrhel the full house of aces over nines, meaning he went into the final battle for the bracelet with 457.5 million chips to Alexander Yen’s 190m.

Yen came back early in the heads-up, but for his tournament life, Kabrhel doubled up with pocket nines against ace-deuce and regained an almost 3:1 chip lead. In the final hand, Yen’s ace-four was dominated by the ace-king of Kabrhel, sending Yen home with $566,170 and awarding Kabrhel the top prize of $843,140.

“Not like that!” Kabrhel once again snarked, before slow-peeling his cards with his catchphrase ‘Casino Royale’. No drama came on the board and Kabrhel had his fourth WSOP bracelet.

“Everybody loves me!” the Czech pro laughed as he posed with his newest piece of jewellery. Asking the dealer if they could “add a few more diamonds” to the bracelet, the Czech Republic pro defended his at-times outlandish behaviour at the felt.

“Eight or ten people in the entire field didn’t like it [but] everyone else loved it.”

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Paul Seaton