The Brazilian 888poker professional and PokerStake player Vivian Saliba won her first-ever WSOP bracelet last night in Rozvadov, scoring a huge return on players investments as she took home the title in Event #4 of the WSOP Europe festival. Conquering a final table featuring players such as Samuel Albeck, Eran Carmi and Markus Anheier, Saliba got the job done heads-up to win gold at the World Series of Poker for the first time.
Pot Limit Omaha Proves Popular Once Again
With 229 entries, the event had a prizepool well in excess of $400,000, which for a €2,000 ($2,230) buy-in, was quite remarkable. This is Rozvadov, the plain border town on the line between Czech Republic and Germany which is transformed whenever the WSOP Europe comes to town, and it becomes a poker paradise few can resist, including GGPoker Global Ambassador Daniel Negreanu.
With 35 players making the money, players such as Alessandro De Michele (28th for $4,605), three-time bracelet winner Anson Tsang (25th for $4,835) and Hungary’s Ferenc Deak (12th for $5,688) all came close to the final table without making the cut. When the final nine were reached, it was the Hong Kong bracelet winner Hokyiu Lee who led the remaining players. Lee, the only former bracelet winner at the final table, had 2,875,000 chips, well clear of second-placed Markus Anheier with 1.6 million, with Saliba was back on just 1.05m in fifth place.
First to bust was the short-stacked David Sosic. Shoving for 665,000 chips pre-flop with 
, he began ahead of Samuel Albeck’s 
but couldn’t hold as a board of 
ran out to five Albeck trip kings and send Sosic to the rail with $7,785.
Saliba Starts Her Charge
Hokyiu Lee took further control next when he busted Milan Skacel in eighth place for $9,590. Skacel began with paired sevens and fours in the hole but Lee’s drawing hand had two diamonds and the flop of 
gave him the nut flush. Skacel needed runner-runner help which was immediately snuffed out on the 
turn as the field was reduced to seven.
Next to go was Eran Carmi as extended period of play without an elimination was ended by Vivian Saliba starting her ascent to the summit. Carmi shoved on a flop of 
with aces in the hole but Saliba had 
and hit the 
for a nut straight on the turn, taking the Israeli Carmi out of the running for $12,265.
Despite earlier proving strong enough to take out a player, Germany’s Albeck dropped short. All-in against two players, Albeck would have lost to Lee’s pocket aces but in the end fell to Markus Anheier’s rivered full house with tens full of queens. That pot not only took out Albeck for $16,170 but catapulted Anheier into a more prominent position as Lee’s influence over the final table proceedings was irretrievably halted.
Another German player lost out in fifth as Thomas Hueber was busted for $21,970 with 
as Alen Sabic made trip jacks to survive as the Bosnian managed to hold onto his stack at the expense of the other player who was short-stacked at the bottom of the chipcounts.
Excitement and Relief
“I’m very competitive and not even tired right now, I’m hyped!”
With four players left, Sabic was unable to hold onto the coattails of the other players. He moved all-in with 
on a flop of 
but was called by Anheier with a flush draw and little else. Sabic was ahead but had to survive a flush draw on turn and river and while the 
on 4th street kept him alive, the on the river ended matters in the German’s favor, sending Sabic home with $30,890.
Three-handed play lasted some time and each player had moments when they looked in control the others when they were the player at risk. Saliba got a vital double-up with pocket tens before then seeing Anheier take out Lee in third for $44,720. Lee was behind pre-flop but flopped an open-ended straight draw. Inconsequential threes on turn and river sent the Hong Kong player home, however, as Anheier went into the final battle with 4 million chips, some way short of Saliba’s stack of 7.4 million.
Both players grabbed the lead heads-up but when Saliba was all-in with 
on a flop of 
against Anheier’s flopped two-pair, an on the turn completed Saliba’s flush. Only a full house would deny the Brazilian her first-ever WSOP bracelet but Anheier missed his out son the 
river as Vivian Saliba became a World Series of Poker champion! Afterwards,
“I was just like ‘OK, please don’t come second’,” Saliba told PokerNews after the event. “I was really aiming for the bracelet. I feel happy, but to summarize my feelings in one word, it’s relieved!”
Saliba was excited after winning the event – an effort that took 17 hours of Pot Limit Omaha poker.
“It was a real marathon,” she agreed. “We played a lot yesterday and I went to bed around six in the morning. I could concentrate thanks to my experience and motivation, just because I really, really wanted to win. I’m very competitive and not even tired right now, I’m hyped!”
Congratulations to Vivian Saliba, whose latest success has taken her past a million in live earnings and makes her a WSOP winner!
| WSOP Europe €2,000 Event #4 Pot Limit Omaha Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Vivian Saliba | Brazil | $101,925 |
| 2nd | Markus Anheier | Germany | $66,575 |
| 3rd | Hokyiu Lee | Hong Kong | $44,720 |
| 4th | Alen Sabic | Bosnia & Herzegovina | $30,890 |
| 5th | Thomas Hueber | Germany | $21,970 |
| 6th | Samuel Albeck | Germany | $16,170 |
| 7th | Eran Carmi | Israel | $12,265 |
| 8th | Milan Skacel | Czechia | $9,590 |
| 9th | David Sosic | Croatia | $7,785 |
Headline photograph by Tomáš Stacha for PokerNews and the WSOP Europe.
