A total of 688 entrants at the King's Casino in Rozvadov forked over €10,350 and took a shot at the 2021 WSOP Europe Main Event. When the dust settled, Czech Republic's Josef Gulas rallied from behind and edged out France's Johan Guilbert heads-up to win €1,276,712 and the coveted Main Event bracelet. The final table also included Alexander Tkatschew, Athanasios Kidas, Stanislav Koleno, Aleksandar Trajkovski, Thomas Denie, Ilija Savevski, and Brian Kamphorst.
Ship it to the Czech Republic. Say hello to the newest bracelet winner and the new World Series of Poker Europe Main Event champion -- Josef Gulas. He joins an exclusive list of players that won the WSOP Europe Main Event including Annette Obrestad, Phil Hellmuth, John Juanada, Adrian Mateos, Kevin MacPhee, Jack Sinclair, James Bord, Elio Fox, Marti Roca de Torres, Alexandros Kolonias, and Barry Shulman.
The €10,350 buy-in WSOP Europe Main Event attracted 688 runners and a prize pool worth over €6.5M. Only the top 104 places paid out with €1,276,712 set aside to the eventual winner.
The final day, aka Day 5, of the 2021 WSOP Europe Main Event began with seven players. Josef Gulas bagged the chip lead with 20.2M on the previous evening and he attempted to go wire-to-wire for the victory. The other six at the final table included Alexander Tkatschew, Johan Guilbert, Athanasios Kidas, Thomas Denie, Stanislav Koleno, and Aleksandar Trajkovski.
Late on Day 4, Brian Kamphorst from the Netherlands busted in ninth place, while Macedonia's Ilija Savevski was knocked out in eighth place, which paid out €125K.
Action began on Wednesday with a heck of a cooler. Holland's Thomas Denie woke up with 
but was ambushed by Athanasios Kidas' 
in the big blind. Neither player improved when the board ran out and pocket kings held up for Kidas. Denie hit the road in seventh place, which paid out €163,434.
With six to go, Short-stacked Aleksandar Trajkovski made a final stand with 
against Johan Guilbert's 
. Trajkovski flopped a pair of Kings, but Guilbert picked up a flush draw. Guilbert improved to a pair of sevens on the turn but the 
spiked on the river to complete his flush draw. Trajkovski was flushed out in sixth place, which paid out €217,854.
On a flop of 
, Stanislav Koleno got it all-in with 
against Josef Gulas and his 
. Koleno picked up a gutshot draw on the turn with the 
, but whiffed on the river. Piocket cowboys held up for Gulas and he won the pot. Stanislav Koleno earned €292,862 for a fifth-place performance.
It wasn't four-handed for very long before Guilbert seized the lead when is pocket Aces held up and doubled through former big stack Gulas. He went from the big stack to the shortstack.
Short-stacked Athanasios Kidas made a valiant final stand with 
but ran into Gulas' 
. Gulas flopped trip Aves and that's all she wrote. Greece's Kidas hit the road in fourth plac wich paid out €401,344.
With three to go, Alexander Tkatschew jousted with against Johan Guilbert's 
, but nether player was not all-in until the river. Tkatschew flopped top pair, while Guilbert flopped bottom pair and an Ace-high flush draw. Yet, they both checked the flop of 
. The turn was the 
, which filled in a flush for Guilbert. Tkatschew bet and Guilbert smooth called. The river was the . Tkatschew moved all-in with a pair of tens and Guilbert snap-called with the flush. Tkatschew was picked off in third place, which paid out €558,505.
With two to go and the clock way past Midnight in RozVegas, it came down to a battle between France and the Czech Republic. Josef Gulas was the "local hero" but trailing with only 18.5M compared to 50.3M from France's Johan Guilbert.
The two did not spar long before Gulas found a spot to double up and snag the lead. He took Big Slick into battle against Guilbert's . Both players turned a pair of Kings, but Gulas won the pot with an Ace-high kicker to stave off elimination. He took the lead 41.6M to 27.2M. The tides had turned.
After being on the ropes for a couple of hours, Guilbert stormed back and retook a slight chip lead with a flush against Gulas' straight. But that's as high as he'd get. Guilbert coughed up the lead when his 
lost to Gulas' 
. Gulas flopped two pair, which held up and he jumped out to a 2-to-1 lead. At that point, it was only a matter of time before he finished off Guilbert.
On the final hand, which occurred around 4am local time, Guilbert made a stand with against Gulas and his 
. Deuces were good until the 
spiked on the river and Gulas won the pot with a pair of eights.
For a second-place finish in the Main Event, France's Guilbert took home €789,031. Not too shabby, eh?
Josef Gulas from the Czech Republic binked the Main Event for his first bracelet victory and a hefty first-place prize worth €1,276,712.
2021 WSOP Europe Main Event
Buy-in: €10,350
Entrants: 688
Prize Pool: €6,536,000
Payouts: 104
Final Table Payouts and Results:
1 Josef Gulas (Czech Republic) €1,276,712
2 Johan Guilbert (France) €789,031
3 Alexander Tkatschew (Germany) €558,505
4 Athanasios Kidas (Greece) €401,344
5 Stanislav Koleno (Slovakia) €292,862
6 Aleksandar Trajkovski (Macedonia) €217,854
7 Thomas Denie (Netherlands) €163,434
8 Ilija Savevski (Macedonia) €125,052
9 Brian Kamphorst (Netherlands) €97,260
