The first gold bracelet of the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe has been presented at King's Resort in Rozvadov. This marks the seventh time Europe’s largest poker venue has hosted the series and will award 15 WSOP gold bracelets.
And claiming the first bracelet of the festival was Przemyslaw Szymanski, who emerged as the first champion after prevailing in Event #1: The €350 NLH Opener.
The tournament attracted 3,509 entries, narrowing besting last year's count of 3,503. Of those, 359 players made it through the Day 1 flights to secure a share of the €1,039,014 prize pool, with 20 players returning for the final day.
Dmitrij Fadeev, Szymanski, and Daniel Trunk were the top three stacks going into the final day, and the trio managed to each secure a seat at the final table.
Szymanski joined the ranks of over 30 Polish bracelet winners, marking a personal milestone as this is his largest tournament cash to date, according to Hendon Mob. He triumphed over Trunk in heads-up play to claim the €115,350 top prize, while Trunk had to settle for €80,150 as the runner-up.
Szymanski started the final day second in chips but faced a tough run leading up to the final table, entering as one of the shorter stacks. He initially lost some chips but then doubled up twice and won a few small pots before pulling off a significant double-up against Fadeev, hitting quad queens. He took the chip lead when his kings held against Alberto Speranzoni's jacks in a pot worth over 30,000,000.
From that point, Szymanski seemed to be in the zone, especially with the river working in his favor during the heads-up against Trunk. At one stage, they went all-in on the turn, where Trunk had trips and Szymanski held two pair, putting him in a precarious position. However, fortune smiled upon him as the much-needed ace appeared on the river.
Later, Szymanski reflected, "I was very happy when the ace came on the river, very, very happy."
After that pivotal moment, Trunk was left with a short stack. He doubled up again, but it wasn’t enough. In the final hand, he was again outdrawn by Szymanski on the river, ending his tournament run.
Szymanski, who usually plays tournaments with buy-ins up to €300, and the top twelve finishers also all secured tickets to the €10,350 WSOPE Main Event. Can Szymanski pull off a Cinderella story when the Main Event shuffles up and deals?
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Przemyslaw Szymanski | Poland | €115,350* |
| 2 | Daniel Trunk | Germany | €80,150 |
| 3 | Rostyslav Sabishchenko | Ukraine | €60,850 |
| 4 | Alberto Speranzoni | Italy | €47,250 |
| 5 | Dmitrij Fadeev | Germany | €37,550 |
| 6 | Georg Strebel | Switzerland | €30,650 |
| 7 | Antonio Menga | Italy | €25,700 |
| 8 | Viorel Gavrila | Romania | €22,050 |
| 9 | Jozsef Dobos | Hungary | €19,41 |
* Top 12 finishers also received an entry to 2024 WSOP Europe €10,350 Main Event
Twenty players returned to their seats for the finale, and that number decreased quickly. In less than 30 minutes, the tournament quickly progressed to the final two tables, setting the stage for an exciting showdown.
One of the most painful bust-outs came from Ferdinando Costagliola, who pushed all-in preflop with pocket nines, only to be snap-called by Georg Strebel holding ace-king. Costagliola flopped a full house, but the turn and river delivered a better full house for Strebel, forcing Costagliola to exit in eleventh place.
Daniel Kschammer was the final table bubble and he left with a payout of €17,425 as the field merged around one table.
Viorel Gavrila entered the final table second in chips but quickly lost momentum. He attempted to bluff Jozsef Dobos with a pair of tens, which backfired. Later, his pocket jacks couldn't withstand Fadeev’s ace-king. Gavrila was forced to go all-in with queen-six offsuit against Rostyslav Sabishchenko’s ace-ten. Failing to improve, Gavrila ended his run in eighth place.
Three-handed play was met when Antonio Menga, Georg Strebel, Fadeev and Speranzoni found themselves on the wrong side of the rail.
Sabishchenko emerged as the slight favorite, and for a long while, it seemed like he might secure the victory. However, he struggled to gain traction, frequently losing chips along the way. His run came to an end when his ace-high hand was unable to compete against Trunk's pocket pair.
Although Trunk enjoyed a considerable amount of luck throughout the tournament and proved to be a river-hitting master, it was ultimately that very river that cost him his tournament life. During the heads-up against Szymanski, Trunk found himself in a tough spot when Szymanski's rivered full house bested his trip fours.
In the final hand, Trunk held a pair of kings. However, Szymanski managed to make two pair on the final card of the tournament, securing the victory.
This wraps up PokerNews' live coverage of Event #1: €350 NLH Opener, but stay tuned — another 14 WSOP gold bracelets will be awarded over the next two and a half weeks here at King's Resort.
