WSOPE: High Roller events steal the show

WSOPE One Drop: Massive victory forDominik Nitsche

Dominik Nitsche is certainly no stranger to winning bracelets, having already amassed three of them before this event, all in Hold’em tournaments. His first bracelet came in a huge field of 4,620 back in 2012, and he followed that up by winning the WSOP National Championship in 2014. Just two weeks later, he won another WSOP $1,000 event, outlasting another huge field of 2,043.

His latest bracelet takes his tally to four, after he defeated 131 players to win the WSOPE High Roller One Drop event. This event commanded a buy in of €111,111 (US$128,843), which created a prize pool of €12,980,000 (US$15,125,913). With Charlie Carrel, Christoph Vogelsang and Steffen Sontheimer all finishing in the top 10, Nitsche had his work cut out at the final table. Despite that fact, he successfully navigated his way through to claim the bracelet, taking home €3,487,463 (US$4,064,026) for his efforts.

Return of the WSOP Big One for One Drop announced

While players always enjoy the €111,111 One Drop events, there is always a desire to see the biggest tournament of all roll back into town. Those prayers have now been answered, as the $1 million buy in Big One for One Drop has been announced as part of the WSOP 2018 schedule. With three instalments of this event having already been played, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Colman and Elton Tsang stand as the only players to have won the event. The most recent edition in 2016 saw 28 ‘non-professional’ players compete, but this time, the event will once again be open to all. All who have $1 million spare, that is. There are only 48 seats available for the event next summer, with Leon Tsoukernik having already reserved one of the seats. The One Drop Foundation has raised $20 million for charity since 2012, through its partnership with the WSOP.

High Roller title and triple crown for Niall Farrell

The High Roller events were once again providing headlines at the WSOPE as UK pro Niall Farrell added his name to the illustrious list of players who have achieved the live triple crown. Having already won an EPT title and a WPT title, the WSOP bracelet was the final piece of the puzzle missing for Farrell. He managed to finally claim a bracelet and complete the triple crown in this year’s €25,000 (US$28,990) High Roller. This festival, which took place in the Czech Republic, provided the golden moment for Farrell, as he picked his way through a field of 113 players to pick up his first WSOP bracelet, after 7 years spent chasing one. Along with the coveted bracelet, he will also be packing €745,287 (US$864,227) into his suitcase for the flight home.

WSOPE Super High Roller

The €25,000 Super High Roller saw a relatively small field of 21 players begin proceedings, with no bracelet being on the line in this event. Despite the limited size of the field, the quality on display was clear to see. Bertrand ‘Elky’ Grospellier, former WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson, four-time bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche, three-time bracelet winner Adrian Mateos, Ole Schemion and Bryn Kenney were all in contention. For all the great professional players involved in this event, it was relative amateur Dan Shak who swept the field aside, with Mikita Badziakouski finishing 2nd place, and Bryn Kenney taking 3rd. Certainly no stranger to High Roller events, Shak managed to win a few big pots towards the tail end of the final table to seize control, and never relinquished his lead. He may not take home a bracelet for this victory, but he will undoubtedly be happy with the €210,112 (US$243,644) he received for 1st place.

Article by Craig Bradshaw