Omar Eljach Wins 2022 WSOP Europe Main Event for $1.3 million

The 2022 World Series of Poker Europe’s showstopper has been won by Swedish player Omar Eljach after an epic heads-up match against Jonathan Pastore. Winning his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet, Eljach also took home the €1.3 million top prize and a ticket into the 2023 WSOP Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.

Boatman’s Battle Over Early

The eight players who began the final all knew that with over a million dollars the difference between a min-cash and the top prize on offer, there was a lot on the line. The first player to leave was the overnight chip leader from earlier in the event, as French player Alexandre Reard bowed out for a cash worth €138,702.

Reard was all-in pre-flop, four-bet shoving with but running into Omar Eljach’s . The flop of set the tone for the hand, leaving Reard stranded to anything other than a runner-runner miracle, and after the turn landed, it was all over, Reard standing as the ineffectual hit the river.

It was the British poker legend and co-founder of The Hendon Mob, Barny Boatman, who made it to seventh place but no further. The double WSOP bracelet winner cashed for €180,867 in agonising fashion, too. Raising it up pre-flop with , Boatman was called by Shaun Deeb, whose hit the flop of so hard he almost bounced off the canvas. The turn of and river of changed nothing and the British poker hero exited outside the top six.

It was the Austrian player Armin Rezaei who busted in sixth place, cashing for just shy of a quarter of a million euros when he lost to the eventual bracelet winner. All-in with , Rezaei was flipping against Eljach’s for his tournament life. The flop of immediately set Rezaei behind, and after the turn and river, the Austrian was on the rail.

Deeb Defeated Late Again

With five players left, the race was very much on for the title. The latest player to bust was Paul Covaciu, as the Romanian exited for a score of €321,838 four places short of becoming the WSOP Europe champion. Calling a raise with , Covaciu was tossing a coin pre-flop, with Lithuanian Vladas Tamasauskas holding . The flop of was no help to Covaciu’s hand, but he moved all-in just the same, receiving a swift call from his Lithuanian opponent, and after the board double-paired with a tur and river, the Romanian found himself on the rail.

Covaciu’s conqueror Tamasauskas was the next to leave in spite of winning that hand. As Shaun Deeb took over the table, Tamasauskas found himself heading for the door, as he lost out in a big pot against Jonathan Pastore. The French player shoved with pre-flop but although he started out behind his caller Tamasauskas with . On the flop, Pastore vaulted into the lead, with setting the Lithuanian behind, albeit with a straight draw too. The turn immediately relegated that straight draw to irrelevance, before a on 5^th street ended the hand, sending play three-handed.

Shaun Deeb had controlled huge periods of the final table, but he was the man to bust in third place. Having worked his way into a big lead where his stack was as much as both of his opponents combined, it all went wrong for the American after a series of pots going against him. Calling off his stack with , he started his final hand well ahead of Eljach after the Swede shoved pre-flop from the small blind with . That all changed on the flop, however, and a turn and river ended affairs in the Frenchman’s favor.

It was an epic heads-up where both men had the chip lead on several occasions, but eventually, Eljach took the lead and found a premium hand at exactly the right time. Pastore shoved pre-flop with and Eljach was more than happy to call with , riding out the board of to become the WSOP Europe Main Event champion, following in the footsteps of poker legends such as Phil Hellmuth, Adrian Mateos and John Juanda.