The poker tournament action continues with 15 bracelets up for grabs at the WSOP Europe Oct. 26 – Nov. 16 at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic.
Prior to those events, the WSOP-Circuit (WSOPC) kicks off the 2022 international run on Sept. 21 at King’s. There are 10 confirmed stops with more to be announced soon.
“We’re very excited to host the biggest and most prestigious tournament series with the biggest guarantees in Europe without any limitations and struggles of the past two years,” King’s owner Leon Tsoukernik said in a news release. “Finally, also travel restrictions for players coming from the US have been lifted. We’re all set to deliver first-class service and hospitality for all poker players at King’s.”
WSOP Europe highlights
The WSOP Europe schedule includes more affordable tournaments for a wide variety of bankrolls. Buy-ins range from €350 to €50,000. Each tournament features a guaranteed prize pool, and the entire series guarantees at least €12 million will be up for grabs.
The €10,350 Main Event highlights the series with a €5 million minimum prize pool. Last year’s Main Event drew 688 entries, and a greater turnout is expected this year following the enormous success and record-breaking turnout at the 2022 WSOP in Las Vegas.
Here’s a look at the complete WSOPE schedule.
WSOP Europe 2022
Date
Event
Tournament
Buy-in
Guarantee
Nov. 10
11
Diamond High Roller
€50,000
€1,000,000
Nov. 11
12
Main Event
€10,350
€100,000
Nov. 13
13
PLO/NLHE Mixed
€1,650
€40,000
Nov. 14
14
Turbo Bounty Hunter
€1,100
€30,000
Nov. 15
15
Turboa Freezeout
€1,000
€30,000
WSOP launches international circuit
Caesars also released the WSOP Circuit international stops late last week. While the full tournament schedules aren’t yet available, official dates are now available.
WSOPC stops this year include Aruba, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and also Kings Resort in the Czech Republic. Tour locations beginning early next year also include Canada, Morocco, and St. Maarten.
“The World Series of Poker is ready to go international once again,” WSOP Senior Vice President and Executive Director Ty Stewart said. “Poker is bigger than ever and there has been a recent run of international champions in our Main Events. We’re excited to bring the once-in-a-lifetime poker experiences of the WSOP-C and WSOP Europe back to transcontinental players.”
WSOP officials will announce more circuit stops in the coming weeks as well. Here are the tournament locations and dates so far.
WSOP Circuit international stops 2022-23
Dates
Location
Sept. 21 – Oct. 11
King’s Resort (Rozvadov, Czech Republic)
Sept. 22 – Oct. 2
Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort (Aruba)
Oct. 11-23
Cintermex Convention Center (Monterrey, Mexico)
Oct. 18-28
Unique Hotel (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Nov. 2-14
The Star Sydney (Sydney, Australia)
Nov. 25 – Dec. 3
Holland Casino (Rotterdam, Holland)
Dec. 2-10
Enjoy Punta del Este Resort (Uruguay)
Jan. 11-23
Deerfoot Inn & Casino (Calgary, Canada)
Jan. 14-22
Es Saadi Marrakech Resort (Marrakech, Morocco)
March 22 – April 3
Casino Royale (St. Maarten)
Online events ahead?
No information has been released about online bracelet and championship ring events yet. In the past couple years, GGPoker has partnered with the WSOP for online circuit events as seen at WSOP.com in the US.
Stay tuned to PokerScout for future updates on any online WSOP series.
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With the Main Event now in the rearview mirror, most of the World Series of Poker has come to a close but there has been some big action over the last week. That includes big performances by some international competitors.
Players from France found the winner’s circle in the series’ final week including Julien Martini scoring bracelet No. 4. His countryman Gregory Teboul also won some gold and a massive payday as well.
The last week also produced winners from Canada, Latvia, Italy, the Netherlands, and more. Here’s a look at some of the action from last week.
Event #75: $777 Lucky 7s NLHE 7-Handed
This event kickstarted a nice run by French players. Gregory Teboul (pictured in lead image) captured his first bracelet in the Lucky 7s. That brought a huge score of $777,777 with the tournament drawing 6,891entries and a $4.7 million prize pool.
Just prior to this win, Teboul also won a $400 WSOP Daily Deepstack for $31,583 – not a bad few days in Sin City.
“I feel very, very well because it’s not nothing to win a tournament in Las Vegas,” he said after his bracelet win. “It’s my fifth year here and this was the good year.”
Event 78: $2,500 NLHE
Sebastien Aube, of Quebec City, Canada, made it to the top in this event for his first bracelet and $499,636. France’s Jilien Loire took second for $308,817. This was only Aube’s second WSOP cash and taking up the game again recently proved to be a nice decision.
“I played recreationally in my 20s and when I opened my last business in the pandemic, I came upon the MasterClass of Daniel Negreanu,” he said after the win. “I always liked the guy so was like, ‘Alright, let’s go.’ He really psyched me up. It’s the same recipe to succeed in poker as it is in business, so it really called to me.”
The tournament brought in 1,364 entries for a $3 million prize pool with France’s Axel Hallay finishing fourth for $162,627.
Julien Martini after his latest WSOP victory. (photos courtesy WSOP_
Event 79: $10,000 Razz Championship
It was another big day for a French player in this lowball championship. Julien Martini made his entry count, scoring his fourth bracelet for $328,906.
Martini’s previous WSOP titles came in Omaha Hi/Lo, Short Deck, and Eight-Game Mix. In 2018, he also took third in the Razz Championship for $134,587. This year’s tournament produced 125 entries for a $1.2 million prize pool.
China’s Yueqi Zhu took third for $149,958 and 2021 Main Event winner Koray Aldemir, of Germany finished fourth for $111,991. Brazilian poker pro and GGPoker ambassador Felipe Ramosfinished fifth for $84,683.
Online Event 10: $3,200 High Roller
Another Canadian found the top spot at the virtual WSOP tables. Julien Perouse, of Toronto, won his first bracelet for $324,767 and his fourth series cash, which all came in online events. Israel’s Gabriel Nastasa found third place for $137,055.
Event 80: $600 Mixed NLHE; Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack
A field of 2,107 entries produced a $1.1 million prize pool in this mixed action. Romans Voitovs, of Latvia, brought home his first bracelet and $158,609. Brazilian Francisco Baruffi finished fourth for $54,172.
Romans Voitovs wins his first bracelet and $158,609 after defeating 2,107 players in Event#80: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em; Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack!https://t.co/6n65FWyHjg
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 15, 2022
Online Event 12: $5,300 High Roller Freezeout Encore
Italy’sGianluca “Inmyhouse” Speranza found success in the penultimate online event. He locked up his first bracelet and $324,625 in an event featuring 245 entries and a $2.1 million prize pool. Japan’s Kazuki “hyahhoo3” Ikeuchi scored a fourth-place finish for $83,300.
A look at other winners
Several other players made deep runs in the series’ final week. In Event 77: $1,500 Mixed NLHE; Pot Limit Omaha, Canada’s Vincent Lam was fourth for $91,800. The United Kingdom’sRichard Kellett finished fifth for $68,274.
Johannes Straver, of the Netherlands, made a huge run in Event 81: $5,000 Freezeout NLHE. He took runner-up for $411,279. Hungary’s Peter Turmezey took third for $292,665 and UK’s Toby Lewis finished fifth for $154,806.
In Event 82: $800 Eight-Handed NLHE Deepstack, another UK player found a nice finish. Gary Whitehead secured second place for $168,093 and Ireland’s Marc MacDonnell was fourth for $95,487.
Tomasz Gluszko, of Poland, reached third place in Event 84: $3,000 HORSE for $87,687. In Event 86: $10,000 Six-Handed NLHE Championship, the Czech Republic’s Pavel Plesuv took runner-up for $509,674. Israel’s Barak Wisbrod scored fifth for $164,304.
India’sKartik Ved finished fifth in Event 87: $5,000 Eight-Handed NLHE for $172,103. In Online Event 13: $500 NLHE Summer Saver, Bulgaria’s Boris “goldenbracelet” Kolev also finished fifth for $29,738.
Tournament of Champions closes out WSOP
Only one event remains in the 2022 WSOP, the Tournament of Champions. The $1 million freeroll is open to all bracelet winners as well as all WSOP Circuit ring winners. Day 1 kicked off on Monday and the event concludes on Wednesday.
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A non-American came away as the World Series of Poker Main Event champion for the fourth year in a row on Saturday at Bally’s casino in Las Vegas. After topping a field of 8,663, Norway’s Espen Jorstad walked away as the latest winner in the biggest event in poker, earning the championship bracelet and $10 million.
The event saw nine days of play including three starting flights. The tournament produced an $80.8 million prize pool, the second-largest in series history.
“I think it’s going to mean more in a few days when it sinks in,” he told PokerGO after the victory. “Right now it just feels absurd. I was just so focused on this match, I came in today to just play poker. I tried not to think too much about what was at stake here – I was just trying to play the best poker.”
WSOP Main Event final table action
Reaching the pinnacle of the poker world certainly isn’t easy. Play carries on for days and brings plenty of mental and physical exhaustion. The event reached the final 10 players on Friday and then the final three battled it out to a winner on Saturday.
Jorstad defied some recent trends where Main Event chip leaders can’t turn that stack into a title. He returned tied as the leader on Friday and then also held the lead on Saturday.
Some savvy play and steering clear of any major mistakes helped Jorstad on his way to the title. Australia’s Adrian Attenborough, 28, and Argentina’s Michael Duek, 23, also returned to action on Saturday. Jorstad held twice the chips of Attenborough and four times as many as Duek.
Duek was the first player to fall, calling a river all-in shove from Attenborough. Duek held K♥8♦ on a board of Q♦10♣5♥K♠3♠. However, Attenborough tabled A♣J♣ for the Broadway straight.
Taking the title
When heads-up play began, Jorstad had about 50 million more chips than his opponent. The first hand brought plenty of controversy as Attenborough took about 18 minutes before making a decision. The hand saw a huge river bet and the Australian agonized over the hand.
The tank heard around the world.
Espen Jorstad strikes first in heads-up play after moving all in on the river and putting Adrian Attenborough in the cage with his bluff catcher.
Attenborough eventually sent his hand into the muck, but would bounce back. He eventually took the chip lead himself. That wouldn’t last and Jorstad recaptured the chip lead.
The final hand left Attenborough with another huge decision and this time he couldn’t get away from his cards. On a flop of 4♥2♥2♣, Attenborough checked the action with two pair, holding J♣4♠. Jorstad bet 4 million into the pot, only to see the Australian raise to 14 million.
Jorstad, with Q♦2♠, then three-bet to 32 million and Attenborough called. The 8♠ fell on the turn and Attenborough checked. Seeing a bet of 62 million, he made the call again.
The Q♣ on the river gave Jorstad a full house and he put Attenborough all in. Once again Attenborough faced a tough decision, but wasn’t able to get away from his two pair. He eventually called and faced the sad facts in front of him.
Jorstad’s rail cheered his victory and he represents the game as poker’s world champion over the next year.
“It feels very good,” he noted immediately after the win on the PokerGO stream. “It’s still sinking in.”
Poker’s world champion
Jorstad described his opponent as a tough competitor who wasn’t easy to tackle. He’d hoped one of the other players at the final table might match up with him instead.
“My opponent, Attenborough, was the one guy I didn’t want to meet heads up,” he said on PokerGO. “He’s the one who’s been giving me the most trouble for the whole tournament. But (today) I kept making good hands (at the final table), fortunately. The cards just fell in my favor today.”
The win makes it bracelet No. 2 for the Norwegian poker pro this summer. In June, he teamed up with PartyPoker ambassador Patrick Leonard for the $1,000 Tag Team event. Both men scored their first bracelet in that win.
Jorstad also found a second-place finish in a $320 online bracelet event at WSOP.com. He now also has the biggest prize in poker. Along with the cash, Jorstad also took home some impressive hardware.
The Main Event bracelet is composed of 500 grams of 10-karat white and yellow gold. The redesigned jewelry piece also includes 55.5 karats or 2,767 precious stones including rubies and black and white diamonds.
The Main Event may be complete but the WSOP doesn’t conclude until Wednesday, with several tournaments still underway. Here are the top payouts from the Main Event.
After an action-packed week at the World Series of Poker, several players found championship bracelets and the $10,000 Main Event reached the final 10 players in Thursday’s early morning hours.
The final 10 players are now battling for a top prize of $10 million, which will be streamed on PokerGO. In other action, players from Canada, South Korea, and the United Kingdom all found wins as well. Here’s a look at some of the recent tournaments from Las Vegas.
Main Event down to final table
Espen Jørstad
The Main Event has now reached the “unofficial” final table with 10 players returning for Day 8 on Friday. Players have an off day and scheduled media interviews on Thursday.
Just 35 players returned on Wednesday and were scheduled to reach the final nine. After a long day that stretched into Thursday morning, however, tournament officials stopped play with 10 players remaining.
Matthew Su
Leading the final table are Norway’s Espen Jorstad and Massachusetts’ Matthew Su. Both players have 83.2 million chips and are seeking their first bracelet. Here’s a look at the players’ chip stacks as well as the payouts for the winners.
WSOP Main Event final 10 players
Espen Jorstad, Norway – 83.2 million
Matthew Su, United States – 83.2 million
Matija Dobric, Croatia – 68.7 million
Aaron Duczak, Canada – 56 million
John Eames, United Kingdom – 55 million
Adrian Attenborough, Australia – 50.8 million
Michael Duek, United States – 49.8 million
Jeffrey Farnes, United States – 35.4 million
Asher Conniff, United States – 29.4 million
Philippe Souki, United Kingdom – 13.5 million
Main Event payouts
1st – $10 million
2nd – $6 million
3rd – $4 million
4th – $3 million
5th – $2.25 million
6th – $1.75 million
7th – $1.35 million
8th – $1.075 million
9th – $850,675 million
10th – $675,000
Jerry Li shows off his new bracelet. (photo courtesy WSOP)
Event 74: $1,500 Bounty Pot Limit Omaha Eight-Handed
Canada’s Pei “Jerry” Li came out on top in this event for his first bracelet and $190,219. Florida’s Nolan King finished runner-up for $117,545 and the later stages of heads-up play saw an interesting scenario.
As pots shipped back and forth in a long battle, the two players agreed to skip two levels later in the action.
“He’s a very aggressive player, but so am I, so it made it a fun time heads up,” Li said afterward.
That seemed to go his way as he eventually closed out the event. This tournament attracted 1,390 entries, producing a prize pool of $1.9 million. Finland’s Eemil Tuominen took fourth for $63,231 and Belgium’s Eric Lescot finished sixth for $35,561.
Event #76: $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty
Jinho Hong after his win. (photo courtesy WSOP)
Members of the Poker Hall of Fame all received a freeroll into this event. Each of those also had a bounty on their head corresponding with the year in which he or she was inducted.
The event also was held in conjunction with the announcement of the latest addition to the Poker Hall of Fame. Layne Flack was named as the latest addition and will be inducted posthumously following his death last year.
In the action at the tables, South Korea’s Jinho Hong took home his first bracelet and $276,067 top prize. It’s been a nice few weeks for Hong, who also won the $3,500 NLHE Championship at the Wynn Poker Classic in late June for $696,011.
“The win at the Wynn Summer Classic was a bigger cash, but the bracelet is a lot more meaningful to me and hopefully in the future, a lot more Koreans keep on trying to get the bracelet and hopefully our country grows (in regards to poker),” he said afterward.
The tournament produced a $1.5 million prize pool from 865 entries. Thailand’s Punnat Punsri finished runner-up for $170,615 with Germany’s Jakob Miegel taking third for $120,756.
Pavel Spirins, of Latvia, scored third for $63,225 and PartyPoker ambassador Yuri Dzivielevski continued a nice series run. The Brazilian finished sixth for $46,791 and also has a second, fourth, and fifth this summer.
Online Event 8: $7,777 Lucky 7s High Roller
England’s Harry “timexCNT” Lodge found the winner’s circle in this larger buy-in online poker event. He has produced several deep runs at the WSOP, but has always come up short of a bracelet.
That changed in this online event and he also took home $396,366. The event drew 161 entries for a $1.5 million prize pool.
A few other players have also found some nice scores recently. In Online Event 9: $1,000 NLHE Online Bracelet Championship, Dragos “luxifer03” Trofimov, of Moldova, finished second for $147,585.
The Main Event final table takes the spotlight in the coming days, but several other tournaments are set in the coming days before the end of the series on July 20. Here’s a look at the final events on the schedule:
$3,000 HORSE (Event 84) – July 15
$1,500 The Closer (Event #85) – July 15-16, two starting flights
$10,000 Six-Handed NLHE Championship (Event 86) – July 16
$5,000 Eight-Handed NLHE(Event 87) – July 16
Online Event 11: $777 Lucky 7ss Second Chance – July 17
$1,000 Super Turbo NLHE (Event 88) – July 17
Online Event 12: $5,300 High Roller Freezeout Encore – July 17
Online Event #13: $500 NLHE Summer Saver – July 18
Tournament of Champions $1 million freeroll – July 18
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With the Main Event now underway at the World Series of Poker, rounders from around the world are playing for the dream of winning the biggest event in poker.
As the action continues, several international players have scored some nice finishes in recent days. That included Team PartyPoker’s Patrick Leonard (pictured in lead image with tag team partner Espen Jørstad) grabbing his first bracelet.
Another PartyPoker ambassador, Yuri Dzivielevski, came just short of a bracelet as well. 888poker’s Vivian Saliba also found a nice finish in recent days. Here’s a look at some of the recent action from Las Vegas.
Event 51: $400 Colossus
Paul Hizer, 2022 Colossus winner.
A huge field turned out for this tournament again with 13,565 entries, building a $4.5 million prize pool. Paul Hizer, of London, England, took the bracelet for his first live poker tournament victory and the $414,490 top prize.
“Played many tournaments, had lots of deep runs,” he said afterward. “But I’ve never actually won a tournament outright. I don’t know if many people know that about me. I’m sure my close friends do.
“Maybe today was just written in the stars and I was meant to go all the way. I felt really confident, I felt like I had a really good game plan, and I’m just really thankful that it worked out.”
Hizer trailed Sam Laskowitz when heads-up play began, but he was able to complete the comeback. Laskowitz added a $256,170 payday for runner-up. France’sJordan Pelon finished third for $193,240.
Event 55: $1,000 Tag Team
The tag team event has become a popular WSOP tournament each year with plenty of excitement. That continued this year and the United Kingdom’sPatrick Leonard and Norway’s Espen Jørstad came out on top.
The pair earned a total of $74,042 each for their efforts. A member of Team PartyPoker, Leonard won his first WSOP bracelet and now has $2.8 million in live tournament winnings. Jørstad also scored his first bracelet as well.
Leonard said the two players split their time at the table well, providing some much-needed rest for later in the event.
“A lot of people had played solo for the last few days,” he said. “Some had played four days by themselves, whereas we’ve probably played about 50/50. We were fresh and taking hours in, hours out, and when I was out I was studying and I knew what to do coming in, so that was our biggest advantage.”
Jamie Kerstetter and Corey Paggeot found the silver medal for $45,756 each in an event that saw 913 entries for a $406,285 prize pool. Japan’s Yutaro Tsugaru and Taichi Ichikawa finished third for $65,059 each. Argentina’s Franco Spitale and Martin Pochat finished fourth for $46,904.
Event 57: $600 Deepstack Championship
This lower price point event also produced a nice field of 4,913 entries for a prize pool of $2.5 million. Hungary’s Tamas Lendvai won his first bracelet for $299,464.
Getting there wasn’t easy as he entered the final table on the shortest stack but turned things around in a big way. Germany’sFrank Reichel scored second place for $185,027.
Event 60: $10,000 Short Deck
Japan’s Shota Nakanishi found the top position in this slimmed-down deck action for $277,212. Short Deck has become more popular in recent years and all 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s are removed from the deck, making for plenty of action.
The tournament attracted 110 entries for a $1 million prize pool. Ben Lamb took runner-up for $171,331 with Brian Rast coming in third for $121,718.
Online Event 6: $500 NLHE Turbo Deepstack
The online action saw Bulgaria’s Martin “115FTW” Stoyanov secure his first bracelet for $132,783 at WSOP.com. Arkadiy “WBGTour” Tsinis finished runner-up for $81,870 in an event with 1,746 entries and a $785,700 prize pool.
Eli Elezra shows off WSOP bracelet No. 5 (photos courtesy WSOP)
Event 63: $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship
This popular event brings out some of poker’s biggest names with a poker legend coming out on top.
Eli Elezra earned his fifth bracelet for $611,362. The win was emotional for Elezra afterhis father passed away just over two weeks earlier.
“I wanted to win for him,” he said. “And I did it.”
The tournament brought in 284 entries for a $2.6 million prize pool. Chino Rheem finished runner-up for $377,855. The UK’s Robert Cowen continued his nice run in the series, finishing third for $271,219. He also had a win in the $50,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller earlier in the series for $1.4 million.
Event 67: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty
This quick-play tournament action saw Argentina’s Nacho Barbero rise to the top. He secured $587,520 and his first bracelet for the win. The tournament brought in a field of 419 entries for a $3.9 million prize pool.
“It feels amazing,” Barbero said. “I’m so happy. Literally, my dream in poker was to win one. It’s amazing. I’ve been coming since 2007, I think, or 2005. So many close ones and never could close it out. And, finally.”
Brazilian Fabiano Kovalski finished runner-up for $363,116 and Estonia’s Ilya Nikiforov took third for $254,791. Rob Hollink, of the Netherlands, finished fourth for $181,667.
A look at other big WSOP finishes
Plenty of other players have won big in recent days as well. In Event 54: $500 Salute to Warriors, Austria’s Patrick Pilkom finished third for $75,486.
The nice run for Team PartyPoker continued in Event 56: $50,000 Poker Players Championship. The tournament featured some big names among the top five including Party ambassador Yuri Dzivielevski.
The Brazilian poker pro finished runner-up for $895,614. Unfortunately for Dzivielevski, a big bluff against eventual winner Dan Cates backfired in the heads-up match.
The heads-up battle rages on in the $50K Poker Players Championship as @YuriNerdguy pulls the trigger on a bluff.@junglemandan has trip jacks and doesn't waste time calling to double, bringing the stacks back to even.
Japan’s Naoya Kihara took third for $639,257 and the United Kingdom’s Benny Glaser finished fourth for $464,420. Germany’s Johannes Becker found a fifth-place finish for $343,531.
In Event 62: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty, the Czech Republic’s Jan Bednar took fourth for $103,325. Canada’sHarpreet Padda finished fifth for $77,945.
In Event 64: $600 Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack, France’s Guillaume Soumier found a fourth-place finish for $69,501. 888poker ambassador Vivian Saliba, of Brazil, finished fifth for $52,795.
Event 65: $3,000 Freezeout NLHE saw Hong Kong’s Jeffrey Lo take third for $266,559. Event 66: $1,000 Mini Main Event saw several international players find nice finishes including:
2nd – Cosmin Joldis (Romania) $367,233
3rd – Kartik Ved (India), $275,593
5th – Kei Nitta (Japan), $158,515
In Event 68: $1,000 Million Dollar Bounty, Austria’s Wojciech Barzantny finished fourth for $268,550 and Canadian Michael Smith finished fifth for $206,250.
Upcoming tournaments
Those who busted out of the Main Event still have plenty of action to check out in the coming days. Here’s a look at tournaments running throughout the weekend.
$1,111 One More for One Drop (Event 71) – July 7, 8, 9 (three starting flights)
$1,500 Mixed: PLO Hi-Lo 8 or Better; Omaha Hi Lo; Big O (Event 72) – July 8
$1,500 Razz (Event 73) – July 9
$1,500 Bounty Pot Limit Omaha (Event 74) – July 10
As the action continues playing out in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker, international players continue finding some big wins and nice finishes over the last week.
That included Brazilian and Team PartyPoker ambassador Joao Simao scoring a huge payout and second WSOP bracelet. The last week also brought wins by players from Bulgaria, France, and Cyprus.
The coming weekend also brings the first flights in the $10,000 Main Event and another online bracelet event. Here’s a look at the latest WSOP action from Bally’s and Paris.
Event 53: $5,000 Mixed NLHE/PLO
Brazil continues to be a hotspot for online poker and the country is also seeing some nice wins in the live arena as well. PartyPoker ambassador Joao Simao (pictured in lead image, courtesy WSOP) became the latest this week, topping a field of 788 players for a score of $686,242 and career bracelet No. 2.
The tournament produced a $3.6 million prize pool. The mixed format featuring these two popular games brought some interesting dynamics for Simao at the final table.
“I had some very hard spots at the final table,” he said. “Some players were better than me in Hold’em, others were better than me in Omaha, but I felt that on average I had an edge because I play both well.”
Germany’s Marius Gierse took second place for $424,122 and another Brazilian, Dante Goya, finished fourth for $219,472.
Event 49: $2,000 No Limit Holdem
Simeon Spasov with his WSOP bracelet. (photos courtesy WSOP)
Bulgaria’s Simeon Spasov staged quite a comeback to score some hardware in this event. On the short stack entering the final table, he was able to rally for the win.
That included besting well-regarded Canadian pro Mike Watson in heads-up play. Spasov scored $527,944 in the only WSOP cash of his career. The event saw 1,977 entries for a $3.5 million prize pool with Watson taking home $326,296 for runner-up.
The final two tables featured quite an international cast of players including Brazil, Germany, Greece, South Korea, Bulgaria, Australia, Canada, Portugal, France, Belgium, and the United States. The other top five finishers included:
3rd – Daniel Custodio (Portugal), $239,679
4th – Ioannis Angelous Konstas (Greece), $177,761
5th – Walter Ripper (Brazil), $133,129
Event 48: $1,500 Eight Game Mix Six-Handed
Menikos Panagiotou
No player from the country of Cyprus had ever won a WSOP bracelet in the history of the series. That changed on Saturday when Menikos Panagiotou found the winner’s circle for $180,783.
The restaurateur served up some excellent poker skills to beat a field of 695, which produced a $927,825 prize pool. Before launching into the restaurant business, Panagiotou played poker professionally.
After leaving the game behind for a few years, he only began playing again recently. He was pleased to represent his country and bring home a win.
“It means a lot,” he said. “Although we are a small country with a small population, we actually have a lot of poker players. I can’t wait to go back to see all my friends because they’ve already started sending me messages, congrats and everything. It’s amazing.”
Chile’s Nick Yunis finished runner-up for $111,724.
Event 46: $5,000 Six-Handed NLHE
There was quite a French contingent cheering on countryman Jonathan Pastore at the PokerGO set on Friday. The good vibes may have helped and he came on ahead of a 920-player field for $771,765.
Jonathan Pastore collected some hardware and $771,765.
“Having all of my friends on the rail really helped me,” he said. “We are a big group of friends and poker players who live in Malta and came to play the World Series. Coming from the amateur poker circles in France, with all my friends around me, I feel I mixed those two worlds today and it’s beautiful.”
The event brought a $4.2 million prize pool. This is Pastore’s first bracelet and the biggest score of his poker career. Canada’sTamer Alkamli took third for $331,503 and Paraskevas Tsokaridis, of Greece, finished fifth for $167,882.
A look at other winners
More players may not have won bracelets, but found some deep runs and nice payouts. France’s Daniel Tordjman finished runner-up in Event 45: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha for $192,674. Italy’sBiagio Morciano took fourth in Event 47: $1,000 Seniors Championship for $244,664.
Event 50: $250,000 Super High Roller brought plenty of big names to the final table including Phil Ivey, Alex Foxen, and Spanish poker superstar Adrian Mateos.
Mateos ultimately finished fourth in the nosebleed-level stakes for $1.4 million. Foxen scored his first bracelet in the event for $4.6 million.
Thanks for all the nice words. This was a super fun tournament from start to finish. It was well worth the wait to get bracelet #1 in this one. Couldn’t do it without my two favorite beings pic.twitter.com/c6XNkGN5Ck
In Event 52: $2,500 Nine Game Mix Six-Handed, Brazil’s Andre Akkari found the runner-up spot for $135,848. The United Kingdom’sPhil Long finished third for $90,411.
A couple of European players also produced nice finishes in Sunday’s online bracelet event. Pavel Plesuv, of Prague, Czech Republic, finished runner-up in the $600 Online Deepstack Championship for $92,350. The UK’s Yudhishter Jaswal took fifth for $36,415.
Upcoming events
The week ahead brings more poker action including the start of the Main Event. Here’s a look at what to expect.
The last week has seen several international players rise to the top at the World Series of Poker. That included the United Kingdom’sRobert Cowen and Latvia’s Aleksejs Ponakovs both taking down scores of more than $1 million.
Ponakovs not only conquered a WSOP event but also conquered Phil Ivey in the process. It was a nice week with numerous international players finding wins and deep runs. Here’s a look at some of the action from Las Vegas.
Ponakovs tops Ivey for high roller win
Winning a bracelet is quite a bullet point for a poker player’s career. Doing it heads-up against Phil Ivey makes that even more special.
That’s exactly what Latvia’s Aleksejs Ponakovs (pictured in lead image, courtesy PokerGO) did in Event 42: $100,000 High Roller. After becoming his country’s first player to win a bracelet in November on WSOP.com, he now adds a second with a score of $1.9 million.
“I never had victory in live tournaments,” Ponakovs said. “Finally I did it. Nothing could be better at the moment.”
Ivey just missed out on his 11th bracelet, but earned $1.2 million for second place. The UK’s Ben Heath finished third for $805,024. The high roller action brought in 62 entries for almost a $6 million prize pool.
Brandes runs deep in PLO again – this time for gold bracelet
Fabian Brandes shows off his new WSOP hardware. (photo courtesy PokerGO)
The big summer continued for Germany’sFabian Brandes in Event 39: $3,000 Six-Handed Pot Limit Omaha. He took down the title for his first bracelet for $371,358.
Brandes, who now lives in Austria, topped a field of 719 players that produced a $1.9 million prize pool. He began the day second in chips and eventually faced off with Israel’s Leonid Yanovski, who began the day as chip leader.
“It was a roller coaster of a day,” Brandes told WSOP.com. “It is unreal to have the bracelet in my hand.”
For runner-up, Yanovski took home $229,529 and Hungary’s Ferenc Deak finished fifth for $76,880. This was Brendes’s second big PLO finish this summer. He took runner-up in the $25,000 High Roller PLO for $907,132 as well.
Six-max bracelet goes to Germany’s Ullman
Nino Ullman led the field with 55 players remaining in Event 33: $3,000 Six-Max NLHE and turned that run into his first bracelet and $594,079. The event brought in 1,348 entries for a $3.6 million prize pool.
Several German players manned the rail to cheer their fellow countryman on to victory.
“It’s nice to have them all here for the winner’s picture,” he said, “even if during the play it was more distracting than helping me actually, but I’m happy now.”
Chan grabs first WSOP bracelet
Event 35: $2,500 Mix Big Bet produced another first-time bracelet winner. Hong Kong’s Lok Chan added some gold and a top prize of $144,338. The 22-year-old learned to play when he was only 15 with some tutoring from his brother.
Chan is now planning on more series action this summer as well as the Main Event. The tournament attracted 281 players for a $625,225 prize pool. Canada’sDrew Scott finished runner-up for $89,206.
Cowen bags second bracelet, seven-figure payday
In high stakes PLO action, England’s Robert Cowen secured the title in Event 28: $50,000 High Roller Pot Limit Omaha event. The event attracted a 106-player field for a $5.1 million prize pool. Cowen won his second second bracelet for $1.4 million.
Cowen now has more than $2.8 million in live tournament winnings and his first bracelet came last year. He won a $3,000 PLO event for $280,916 and also found a 39th-place finish in the Main Event for $163,900.
Dash Dudley finished in second place for $861,442 and Bulgaria’s Veselin Karakitukov finished fourth for $458,016.
The last hand in the tournament produced some fireworks when Dudley rivered a flush. However, that wasn’t quite good enough as Cowen landed a full house.
Another night and another incredible finish at the @WSOP as Dash Dudley (@DashDudley) makes a flush on the river, but it's no good!
Robert Cowen makes a full house to take the title in Event #28: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller.
A look at other players finding some other winners
Several other international players have found deep runs in recent days. In Event 24: $1,000 GGPoker Flip & Go, Israel’s Rafi Elharar took runner-up for $116,050. Taiwan’s Pete Chen finished fifth for $47,760.
Yuri Dzivielevski, one of the world’s top-ranked online poker players and a partypoker ambassador, came close to his third bracelet. He finished fourth in Event 29: $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw for $37,379.
Dzivielevski made another deep run in Event 38: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship, finishing fourth for $71,315
Event 32: $1,500 HORSE saw Canada’s James Morgan finish runner-up for $121,195. Two Frenchmen earned top spots in Event 34: $1,500 Freezeout. Samuel Bifarella took the runner-up spot for $225,506 and Maxime Parys finished third for $164,469.
Longtime poker pro Chris Moorman, of the UK, just missed winning his third bracelet in Event 43: $500 Freezeout. The online poker legend scored $149,405 and now has $6.5 million in live tournament winnings.
Looking ahead
Plenty of action remains on the horizon in Las Vegas at Bally’s and Paris casinos. Here’s a look at some of the upcoming events.
$10,000 HORSE Championship (Event 44) – June 20
$1,500 PLO Eight-Max (Event 45) – June 21
$5,000 NLH Six-Max (Event 46) –June 21
$1,000 NLH Seniors (Event 47) – June 22
$1,500 Eight Game Mix Six-Max (Event 48) – June 22
$2,000 NLHE (Event 49) – June 23
$250,000 Super High Roller NLHE (Event 50) – June 23
$600 Online Deepstack (Event 5) – June 26 at WSOP.com
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It was a nice few days for international players over the last week at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Several players scored bracelets including China’s Tong Li, who took home the largest of those scores for $1.5 million.
Canada’sAlex Livingston struck gold for the first time as well and then promptly lost his new bracelet along the way. Austria’s Stefan Lehner also was among the big winners, taking his first bracelet for $558,616.
Here’s a look at some players on the international poker scene scoring hardware and winning big on the Vegas Strip.
Event 9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud
Livingston secured his first bracelet for $103,282 in this event. He now has $5.9 million in live tournament winnings.
Poker fans may recognize Livingston for finishing third in the Main Event in 2019 for $4 million. He made some news after winning the Stud event for actually losing his gold bracelet.
Bracelet has been found and returned by security, thanks everyone for the retweets and help. Shoutout to my haters and trolls in the comments. And yes, I am an idiot 🐋 https://t.co/Hgso0kUSDF
Another Canadian, Thomas Taylor, finished third for $44,112.
Event 14: $1,500 Six-Handed NLHE
Vive la France! Frenchman Leo Soma scored not just his first career WSOP cash, but also his first bracelet in this event.
The final day saw 16 players return and Soma was in the middle of the pack. He continued working his way back into contention throughout the day, eventually topping Thomas Schultz heads-up for the title and $456,889.
The tournament produced 2,392 entries for a $3.2 million prize pool. Schultz took home $282,358 for runner-up and Argentina’s Maximiliano Gallardo finished third for $203,451.
Event 16: $3,000 NLHE
Most players would love winning a half-million dollars. Austria’s Stefan Lehner (pictured in lead image, courtesy WSOP) did just that in this event, pocketing a nice $558,616.
This was his first bracelet and came after winning a WSOP Circuit ring in Aruba in December. Lehner detailed his road to victory, which included some major swings at the final table.
“I don’t have the words for it I think,” he told WSOP.com. “At the beginning I was second in chips but then I was short stacked all the time. So I played very well and I’m very happy that I have this [bracelet] now.”
The win came at a tough final table that included Alex Foxen, Joey Weissman, and David Miscikowski. Toby Boas scored runner-up for $345,244 in an event featuring 1,240 entries for a $3.3 million prize pool.
China’s Tong Li shows off his new WSOP bracelet. (photo courtesy WSOP)
Event 19: $25,000 High Roller PLO
Omaha players with some big bankrolls found their way into this tournament with China’s Tong Li coming out as champion. This marked not just his WSOP cash, but also his first bracelet as well with a nice $1.5 million also headed his way.
The tournament brought in 264 for a $6.2 million prize pool. Fabian Brandes finished runner-up for $907,132 and 2021 WSOP player of the year Josh Arieh finished third for $644,365.
Event 20: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw
Russia’s Denis Nesterenko took home the title and $108,250 in this lowball event. His previous best career cash was a win for $7,702.
This was Nesterenko’s first bracelet, but he also scored a WSOP Circuit ring in 202, also in 2-7 Triple Draw. The tournament saw 350 entries and a $467,250 prize pool. California’s Von Altizer took second place for $66,910.
A look at other players running deep at WSOP
Several other international players found some nice finishes over the last week as well. In Event 7: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Brazil’s Murilo Figueredo finished fourth for $80,671.
Event 10: $10,000 Dealers Choice Six-Handed Championship saw Japan’s Naoya Kihara finish fifth for $73,453. Thailand’s Punnat Punsri also ran deep in Event 12: $25,000 High Roller Eight-Handed with a third-place finish for $593,481
In online action, Italy’sGianluca “inmyhouse” Speranza notched third in the $400 Ultra Deepstack on Sunday for $50,218.
Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. also jumped in the WSOP action on Sunday as well. A longtime poker player, he is also a PokerStars ambassador when not on the pitch.
