The field on Day 1a has grown to 262 players so far through the first 20 minutes of the day. New arrivals include defending champion Omar Eljach, Viktor Blom, Daniel Rezaei, and Event #1 champion Lukas Pazma.
Ercan Yildiz and Kacper Pawlowski built a pot of around 8,000 heading to the 8♠A♠6♠ flop, where Pawlowski bet 2,000 in the cutoff.
Yildiz called under the gun and the 4♣ fell on the turn. Pawlowski bet another 7,000 and Yildiz again called.
The river came the 10♦ and Yildiz checked over to Pawlowski, who paused for a moment before tapping the felt. Yildiz then turned over A♣K♣ for top pair and Pawlowski mucked to surrender the early big pot.
Timothy Friese opened to 800 first-to-act and was called by Marek Tomes in the big blind.
Tomes check-called a 1,500 bet from Friese on the Q♥3♦J♣ flop and then both players checked on the K♣ turn.
The 3♣ completed the board and Tomes overbet the pot for 15,000. Friese thought a bit before sending his hand into the muck — conceding the pot to Tomes.
Giuseppe Zarbo opened to 700 first-to-act and was three-bet to 2,500 by Diego Montone directly behind him. Action folded around to Stefano Aprile, who called cold from the big blind. Zarbo then made it 10,700 to go, which got a fold from Montone and a call from Aprile.
Aprile check-called an 8,500 bet from Zarbo on the 6♠A♥4♣ flop and then both players checked down on the 4♠ turn and 7♦ river.
Aprile turned over J♠J♥, which was best against the 10♣10♦ of Zarbo and Aprile dragged a nice pot early.
A tradition that began more than 15 years ago continues today when the €10,350 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event begins at noon local time.
Every 12 months, the best players from around the world descend on King’s Resort in Rozvadov to chase the title that can either pad the resume of an established pro or elevate someone new into the pantheon of the game’s greats. It was the event that catapulted 18-year-old Norwegian teenager Annette Obrestad into poker superstardom when she won the inaugural version in 2007, still the youngest to win a WSOP bracelet. Adrian Mateos was just 19 when he won a decade ago, kicking off a career that has since seen him amass nearly $40 million in live winnings. Marti Roca turned a €220 satellite ticket into €1,115,207 when he won in 2017, while Omar Eljach’s run as one of the hottest poker players on the planet began a year ago when he took down the title.
Past WSOPE Main Event Champions
Year
Champion
Entries
Prize
Runner-Up
2007
Annette Obrestad
362
£1,000,000
John Tabatabai
2008
John Juanda
362
£868,800
Stanislav Alekhin
2009
Barry Shulman
334
£801,603
Daniel Negreanu
2010
James Bord
346
£830,401
Fabrizio Baldassari
2011
Elio Fox
593
€1,400,000
Chris Moorman
2012
Phil Hellmuth
420
€1,022,376
Sergii Baranov
2013
Adrian Mateos
375
€1,000,000
Fabrice Soulier
2015
Kevin MacPhee
313
€883,000
David Lopez
2017
Marti Roca
529
€1,115,207
Gianluca Speranza
2018
Jack Sinclair
534
€1,122,239
Laszlo Bujtas
2019
Alexandros Kolonias
541
€1,133,678
Claas Segebrecht
2021
Josef Gulas
688
€1,276,712
Johan Guilbert
2022
Omar Eljach
763
€1,380,129
Jonathan Pastore
At the other end of the spectrum, Phil Hellmuth captured his 13th WSOP bracelet in this event in 2012. John Juanda, another Poker Hall of Famer, emerged from one of the longest heads-up duels in WSOP history to capture his fourth bracelet in 2008. Poker industry veteran Barry Shulman waged a memorable battle with Daniel Negreanu in 2009 that finally saw the CardPlayer Magazine publisher end up with the title. Jack Sinclair, a year after making the Main Event final table in Las Vegas, did it again in 2018 but finished on top this time.
Another player will join this illustrious list of champions in six days’ time. The journey begins with Day 1a, where players begin with 100,000 and will play seven 90-minute levels. There is a break after every level and a 90-minute dinner break at the end of Level 4 around 7 p.m. Players are allowed a single reentry, with late registration remaining open until the start of Level 13 on Day 2.
Event Schedule
Date
Day
Start Time
Nov. 10
Day 1a
12 p.m.
Nov. 11
Day 1b
12 p.m.
Nov. 12
Day 2
12 p.m.
Nov. 13
Day 3
12 p.m.
Nov. 14
Day 4
12 p.m.
Nov. 15
Day 5
12 p.m.
A packed house is expected over the next two days. More than 350 qualifiers are anticipated on Day 1a alone, with more to follow in the coming days. Last year’s event shattered the all-time record with 763 entries, and this year has a strong chance of being even bigger.
The wait is finally over. One of the most prestigious events on the poker calendar kicks off today, and PokerNews is tagging along for the entire journey until one player makes their mark on the WSOP record books.