Sokratis Linaras Wins WSOP Europe Mini Main Event for $333,000

The Greek player Sokratis Linaras won the World Series of Poker Europe’s Mini Main Event for a top prize of $333,000 after beating Daniel Lehmann heads-up. The tournament, which may only cost $1,500 to play but has the same structure and feel of the WSOPE Main Event that will begin in just a few days’ time, saw 1,729 entries and a prizepool of $2.14 million at King’s Casino in Rozvadov.

Early Eliminations Trim the Final Table

With the final table beginning at eight players, by the time the players reached that point, they had been at the felt for several days. The chips were generally shallow, with the average chips stack just 32 big blinds, with only three players above that waterline. Chip leader was Daniel Lehmann, the Norwegian player starting with 82 big blinds. Jamel Ghizaoui (59BB) and the eventual winner Linaras (50BB) were the ones chasing the chip leader down.

The first two players of the final eight to depart were the two members of the final table representing Germany. All-in with on a flop of , Francis Klar was at risk when Daniel Lehamnn called with chasing a flush draw. That came in on the turn, leaving Klar with only a straight flush draw to survive. That didn’t come in on the river and Klar left for a score of $43,150.

Klar’s countryman Aleksej Grenz was soon to follow his countryman, cashing for $53,700 in seventh place after the Lebanese player Georges Chehade got the better of him in a cooler. Grenz’ shove with for an effective stack of 13 big blinds was perfectly standard, but the German had run headlong into a brick wall, Chehade calling with . The board of kept Chehade ahead, sending Grenz to the rail and reducing the field to six players.

Chehade Goes from Hero to Zero

Chehade may have eliminated Grenz, but his no limit hold’em rollercoaster ride eventually kicked him off at the next stop. Calling off his stack in the big blind with , he was wrong to do so as Omar Eljach had shoved with a bigger stack from the small blind with . A queen-high board with no eight sent the Lebanese player home in sixth place for a score of $67,150.

Out in fifth place, Mongolian Bayar Saran cashed for $85,500 as he became the first final table victim of Sokratis Linaras on his march to glory. Saran called off his stack with but again he was way behind the aggressor in the hand, the imperious Linaras. He held and after a king on the flop, two queens on turn and river said goodbye to Saran in fifth place.

Out in fourth place for $111,000 was the aforementioned Eljach, who lost his chips to  Daniel Lehmann. The Norwegian opened with and then called Eljach’s shove with . The flip didn’t go Eljach’s way as despite hitting a straight draw on the board by the turn, as a river ended his hopes of a double-up and consigned him to an exit outside the podium places.

Linaras Wins Legendary Bracelet

Three remained in the hunt for the Mini Main Event title and top prize of $333,000 but while Linaras led, he wasn’t to have it all his own way. Lehmann battled into the lead, but the Greek player, undeterred, determined to eliminate the other player in the mix, Jamel Ghizaoui from France. The latter called off his stack with but although he started ahead of Linaras’ , it didn’t stay that was on the board, as Ghizaoui cashed for $146,800.

Heads-up, the stacks were almost even, with Linaras holding 87 million chips to Lehmann’s 85.9 million. Lehmann initially took the lead but a bullying bet on the river with just jack-high in his hand helped Linaras regain control, Lehmann folding a gut-shot draw with the superior hand of ace-high and relinquishing the lead in the process.

Soon, the tournament was over. On a board of , Lehmann shoved with a complete bluff of . That was the wrong thing to do with Linaras holding the nut flush with , and he made the call to win the WSOP Europe Mini Main Event and his first-ever WSOP bracelet in the process.