Over at the King's Casino in Rozvadov, two more bracelets were awarded at the 2017 World Series of Poker Europe. Andreas Klatt took down Event #2 €550 PLO and faded a field of 523 runners for a €56K first-place score. It came down to a duel between two Germans: Andreas Klatt and Nico Ehlers. Alas, Klatt prevailed and knocked Ehlers out in second place. Meanwhile, the third event was a single-day turbo-charged event. John Racener final tabled Event #3 €1,100 NL Super Turbo Bounty, but busted in sixth place. Czech pro Martin Kabrhel previously won 2 WSOP Circuit rings in the last 18 months, but now you can add his first-ever WSOP bracelet to his growing list of accolades. Kabrhel outlasted 325 runners to win €53,557.
The World Series of Poker Europe awarded two more bracelets on Wednesday night at the King's Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. The second tournament on the docket, Event #2 €550 PLO finally played down to a champion in a record-setting PLO event. German players have been dominating nearly every aspect of poker right now… whether it's online poker, or global poker tours, or the super-elite high roller soirees. How deep are the Germans? Two German players got heads-up for the bracelet in Event #2 PLO with Andreas Klatt vs. Nico Ehlers. Neither were among the usual cast of high-ballin' characters you'd expect (e.g. Fedor Holz) to see at the final table. Andreas Klatt vs. Nico Ehlers.
Meanwhile, the first turbo event on the schedule, Event #3 €1,100 NL Super Turbo Bounty was a single-day event. John Racener, who started the day ranked #4 on the Player of the Year standings, went on another deep run in the Super Turbo. Racener settled on a sixth-place finish, but he made another WSOP final table. Racener moved into third overall in the 2017 POY race. Jesus Ferguson cashed in Event #3 and regained the top spot in the POY standings. Ryan Hughes dropped to second overall.
The final table for Event #3 lasted a little longer than anyone expected, but when the dust settled, a local pro prevailed. Martin Kabrhel, who is currently the third-winningest player from the Czech Republic, shipped Event #3 for his first bracelet. Martin Kabrhel has been on a monstrous run over the last 18 months. During that span, he won two WSOP Circuit rings, a WSOP bracelet, cashed in five WSOP events this past summer in Las Vegas, and was a runner-up in not one, but two high roller events at Aria just before the WSOP began. I do not know how to speak Czech, but I think “Kabrhel” means “run good.”
WSOP Europe - Event #2 €550 PLO
Germany's Andreas Klatt outlasted a healthy field of PLO enthusiasts…. 523 of them. It was an all-Germany heads-up affair with fellow German Nico Ehlers finishing in second place. The total prize pool in this PLO donk-fest passed a quarter mil.
Klatt had a sensational run in Monte Carlo earlier this year during the PokerStars festivities with a pair of six-figure cashes and a total of $600K in winnings. Klatt binked the PokerStars National Championship for €151,445 and then nearly won the PokerStars Championship Main Event. Klatt had to settle on a runner-up in performance for €403K score (after he lost a heads-up battle against Raffaele Sorrentino from Italy).
Another deep run for Sergio Fernandez, who took third in Event #1 MONSTER STACK. This was his second final table in two events. The Spanish pro busted in fifth place.
France's Edouard Mignot busted first at the final table. Followed by Poland's Krzysztof Magott, local player Michal Maryska, and Vasile Stancu from Romania.
After Fernandez was knocked out in fifth place, a pair of Greeks were among the final four, along with two Germans. Ah, that's as high as the Greeks would get. Greece's Theodoros Aidonopolos was dunzo in fourth place and fellow Greek, Georgios Zisimopoulos, busted in third place.
The PLO bracelet was a showdown between two Germans: Andreas Klatt vs. Nico Ehlers. After about ninety minutes of play, Klatt dusted off Nico. For a runner-up finish, Ehlers earned €34,860. Klatt shipped the bracelet and walked away with a lion's share worth €56,400.
Notables who cashed included... Kristen Bicknell, James Ankenhead, Dario Alito, Pierre Neuville, Felipe Ramos, Barney Boatman, Phil Hellmuth, Fabrice Halleux, Alex Lakhov, Daniele Primerano, Ivo Donev, Jani Vilmuen, Martin Frank, Vivian Saliba, Alex Foxen, and Jesus Ferguson.
2017 WSOP Europe - Event #2 €550 PLO
Entrants: 523
Prize Pool: €250,909
Payouts: 70
Final Table Results:
1. Andreas Klatt (Germany) €56,400
2. Nico Ehlers (Germany) €34,860
3. Georgios Zisimopoulos (Greece) €23,979
4. Theodoros Aidonopolos (Greece) €16,809
5. Sergio Fernandez (Spain) €11,985
6. Krzysztof Magott (Poland) €8,700
7. Michal Maryska (Czech Republic) €6,433
8. Vasile Stancu (Romania) €4,847
9. Edouard Mignot (France) €3,722
Event #3 €1,100 NL Super TURBO Bounty
The third event on the docket was Event #3 €1,100 NL Super TURBO Bounty. Czech pro, Martin Kabrhel, won a WSOP Circuit event at Rozvadov in April... and he followed up that victory with an actual WSOP bracelet win. Kabrhel faded a field of 325 Turbo bracelet hunters. The total prize pool topped €214K and Kabrhel earned a first-place payout worth €53,557.
Martin Kabrhel had a great summer in Las Vegas, where he cashed in 2017 WSOP five different times (including one final table appearance) and he was a runner-up at two High Roller events at the Aria for two six-figure scores in excess of $420K combined.
Martin Kabrhel went into the final table as the chipleader and John Racener in the middle of the pack. Also advancing to the final table... Philipp Caranica, Salvatore Camarda, Liran Twito, Yves Kupfermunz, Georgios Koliofotis, Bernd Gleissner, and Viktor Kovachev.
Racener was hoping to pad his POY points after his sensational summer at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas. He began the day in third place. Racener couldn't get much going at the final table. He managed to get among the final six players, but that's where his deep run in Rozvadov ended. Short-stacked Racener attempted to triple up, but busted in sixth place.
Salvatore Camarda was dunzo in third place, which set up a heads-up fracas between Germany's Philipp Caranica and Martin Kabrhel. Germany had already shipped a bracelet a few hours earlier in Event #2. But could they win two?
Alas, Martin Kabrhel had other plans. The local Czech pro picked off Philipp Caranica heads-up to win the bounty, the tournament, and the bracelet. He had won two WSOP Circuit rings in the last 18 months. You can add a bracelet to his growing list of accolades.
Mike Leah bubbled off the final table in tenth place. Phil Hellmuth went deep in his quest to pad his bracelet count, but the Poker Brat busted in 11th place.
Other notables who went deep and cash included... Kristen Bicknell, Jesus Ferguson, Romain Follet, Felipe Ramos, Brandon Cantu, Yehuda Cohen, Vivian Saliba, Ivo Donev, Benjamin Benoit, and Luis Dono.
Jesus Ferguson cashed in another WSOP Europe event. Jesus regained the lead in the WSOP Player of the Year race. Ryan Hughes was in first place for a hot minute before Jesus regained his top spot. With Racener's run in Event #3, he moved into third overall. At press time, John Monette was not in attendance in Rozavadov. Instead, Monnette was enjoying great seats at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA for the other World Series… the World Series of Baseball.
WSOP Europe - Event #3 €1,100 NL Super TURBO Bounty
Entrants: 325
Prize Pool: €214,337
Payouts: 49
Final Table Results:
1. Martin Kabrhel (Czech Republic) €53,557
2. Philipp Caranica (Germany) €33,094
3. Salvatore Camarda (Italy) €22,159
4. Liran Twito (Israel) €15,168
5. Yves Kupfermunz (Belgium) €10,620
6. John Racener (USA) €7,609
7. Bernd Gleissner (Germany) €5,582
8. Georgios Koliofotis (Denmark) €4,195
9. Viktor Kovachev (Bulgaria) €3,232
