WSOPE: Shaun Deeb proclaimed Player of the Year; Main Event underway; Martin Kabrhel wins the Super High Roller
The World Series of Poker Europe at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic is on its final stretch with Event #10: €10,350 No Limit Hold’em Main Event underway. Prior to that, bracelet #9 went to the host country’s own Martin Kabrhel, and the undisputed champion of WSOP Player of Year race was none other than Shaun Deeb. We’ve got those stories for you below.
Shaun Deeb wins WSOP Player of the Year
Shaun Deeb was crowned the 2018 WSOP Player of the Year champion. Deeb came to WSOPE already leading the POY race after producing superb results in Las Vegas. He cashed in a stunning 15 events with two of those victories to earn bracelets #3 & #4. In Rozvadov, Deeb pumped in another four deep runs, just missing a sixth gold by one spot at the €1,650 Pot Limit Omaha / No Limit Hold’em Mixed event. With 5,073.92 points accrued, and no one able to catch up, Deeb was awarded the distinguished title.
Since his career began, Deeb’s total earnings at the WSOP have climbed to US$4,290,081. That includes WSOPE and Circuit events. His largest win and his only seven-digit payout came this summer after winning the US$25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller event for US$1,402,683.
To honor his achievement, Deeb joins other WSOP POY winners up on the walls of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino with his face on a banner. He will also receive a free entry to the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event in 2019.
Came home to find this waiting for me @crashleyonfire says they were happy I was home just not happy to take photo pic.twitter.com/qhmsf50kmF
— on hiatus (@shaundeeb) October 30, 2018
Main Event draws 534 entries with Dario Sammartino in the lead
The €10,350 No Limit Hold’em Main Event is underway with 165 players entering Day 3 out of the 534 total entries. Though the overall attendance is a smidge higher than last year, it certainly didn’t come without a scare. The two starting days only produced a combined 341 entries – 140 for Day 1A and 201 for Day 1B – suggesting the possibility of a huge overlay with 500 entries needed to meet the €5 Million guarantee. Day 2 late registration solved all that, dragging in 193 more to surpass the guarantee and settle at €5,073,000.
Among the many notable players still in contention was Dario Sammartino who bagged the most at the end of Day 2. Day 1A chip leader Marco Slacanac remained consistent claiming second rank, and in third position was Jack Salter. All three were the only players with stacks over 1M which is minimum 200x the big blind. Day 1B chip leader Adrian Mateos is also through to the next round.
14 bracelet winners are in the lineup, among them are Chris Ferguson, Kristen Bicknell, David Peters, and Ryan Reiss – the 2013 WSOP Main Event champion.
As for the Asian contingent, many have fallen. Among those back for another day are bracelet winners Hong Kong’s Anson Tsang and Israel’s Timur Margolin. China has six players holding up the flag, Jia Tang, Ming Xi, Xixiang Luo, Yunsheng Sun, Quan Zhou, and Yang Zhang. And for Malaysia, Jun Wah Yap and Wai Leong Chan are still in the running.
Day 3 will see the money distributed. 81 places get paid. The eventual winner is slated to earn the only six-figure payout of €1,122,239. We will have the update for you as it completes.
Martin Kabrhel wins the €100K Super High Roller
Two years ago, Martin Kabrhel was just one of many European pros battling it out in the worldwide poker arena. That all changed after his performance last year where he piled in a long list of impressive achievements both in Las Vegas and in his home country of Czech Republic, even winning his first WSOP bracelet on home turf.
Now on everyone’s radar, Kabrhel continued to bring in the marks in 2018. Several days ago, he shipped the biggest win of his live tournament career by outlasting the 95 runners of the €100K Super High Roller event. He defeated David Peters at heads up to earn a second career gold bracelet and the massive €2,624,340 (~US$2,990,000) first prize. This latest victory gave the host country, Czech Republic, their first bracelet of the ongoing series.
2018 has become even more fruitful than last year for the young Czech. Prior to the WSOPE, Kabrhel also won two ring events at the WSOP International Circuit in Rozvadov. He jumped from 3rd to 1st in The Hendon Mob’s Czech All Time Money List.
Final table payouts
1 – Martin Kabrhel: €2,624,340
2 – David Peters: €1,621,960
3 – Julian Thomas: €1,116,308
4 – Mikita Badziakouski: €789,612
5 – Dominik Nitsche: €574,406
6 – Jan-Eric Schwippert: €430,218
7 – Adrian Mateos: €331,943
8 – Michael Addamo: €264,110
Article by Tricia David
Related news
2021 WSOP: Spotlight on Shaun Deeb, Ben Yu, Ka Kwan Lau, Steve Yea, Abhinav Iyer, Nicholas Julia, Robert McMillan, Doyle Brunson, Sammy Farha
The 52nd World Series of Poker has provided plenty of thrilling stories as players continue to pursue the coveted bracelets. The past two days witnessed golden performances by four players. Shaun Deeb banked seven figures and his fifth career bracelet, Ben Yu captured his fourth, Nicholas Julia and Robert McMillan each locked up their first. […]
People News: Poker Brat Phil Hellmuth called out following outburst; Shaun Deeb’s safety concerns at the Rio; Jennifer Tilly returns to new Chucky series
In this column, we deliver you the latest and most interesting news and gossip from our favourite poker people. Poker Brat Phil Hellmuth called out following outburst Fifteen-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth has yet again made poker headlines, surprisingly not for a win but for a recent outburst in this Monday’s World Series of Poker […]
WSOP POY Bombshell: Negreanu’s title retracted due to data error
The official Twitter account of the WSOP dropped the explosive tweet yesterday which revoked Daniel Negreanu’s 2019 POY title and handed it to Robert Campbell. Thanks to a sharp-eyed Russian journalist by the name of Alex Elenskiy, the Player of the Year crown for 2019 now rests on the right head. Data discrepancy changes the […]
WSOPE 2019: Hellmuth runner up to Besim Hot; Kahle Burns wins first bracelet; Negreanu leads Player of the Year race
Since WSOPE 2019 landed in Rozvadov, some of the best poker players in the world have been battling to get their hands on one of the final WSOP bracelets to be awarded this year. The gold bracelets are enough incentive for most players to make the trip, but for some players there is something else […]
Up and down; Michael Soyza crushing on Natural8 as Shaun Deeb wins eighth WCOOP
The last week has seen numerous major tournament series’ moving towards their Main Event finales, with players seeking to make the most of their dwindling opportunities to win big before tournament festivals come to an end. Predictably, the WCOOP headlines have been stolen by one familiar name, but WCOOP Main Event winner “BigBlindBets” has borrowed […]
