WSOP Europe 2022: Opening Three Events Produce Three First-Time Winners

The World Series of Poker has arrived in Rozvadov, the small town on the border between Czech Republic and Germany. With the world’s biggest travelling poker circus comes the prospect of 15 WSOP bracelet events – but who will win them?

The first three events are in the bag and despite the presence of some big names, three first-time bracelet winners celebrated becoming the envy of the poker world.

Fabio Peluso Wins NLHE Opener for €95,670

The first event of the 2022 World Series of Poker Europe festival cost €350 to play and attracted an incredible 2,454 entries. With a prizepool well in excess of €730,000, two Italians ended up battling for the bracelet as it took three days to find a winner. Peluso, who hails from the tiny Italian town of San Nicandro Garganico, has already had a very profitable year, coming second in Monte Carlo in the FPS Main Event of April, where he won a career-high score of $228,545.

This time out, he landed his first bracelet in his third career WSOP cash. The final table of nine players began with four Italian players making up almost half the remaining field, but after Brazilian player Gabriel Baleeiro left in ninth place for €8,809, that number was reduced as the popular poker player Simone Andrian left in eighth place for €11,254, his 6♥6♦ dominated and destroyed by chip leader Dennis Wilke’s A♠A♦.

It was the only Czech player to make the first final table of the series who busted next, as Miroslav Navratil departed in seventh place for €14,509. His all-in with 10♦10♣ was called by Carlo Savinelli with A♦Q♦ and the board of 9♣8♥7♦8♦3♦ was favorable to the Italian in cruel fashion, handing Savinelli a runner-runner flush and skittling the home crowd’s pick.

Italy vs. Germany in Final Six Drama

Exactly half the remaining six players were Italian, with the other half all German. Gennaro Proscia reduced Italian hopes when he crashed out in sixth place, his A♠A♣ taken out in dramatic fashion by the eventual winner Fabio Peluso. He called Proscia’s four-bet shove holding A♥K♥ and while he remained behind after the K♣7♥4♣ flop, the 3♥ turn was followed by the K♦ on the river, giving Peluso trips to send Proscia home with €18,875.

A trio of German eliminations followed as Dennis Wilke went in fifth from hero to zero, his Q♥J♥ shot down by Savinelli’s A♣10♥ for €24,773. Next out was Kevin Fluegel, who cashed for €32,801 in fourth place, his A♦K♥ outrun by Peluso’s Q♣J♦ when the board came Q♥J♣4♦J♥A♣ to give the Italian chip leader an unassailable full house by the turn.

Stefan Vogt went out in third place for €43,813 after his Q♥10♥ was unable to overtake Savinelli’s A♦9♥. The A♣J♣8♦ flop was followed by an 8♣ turn and J♥ river. That left Savinelli with 31.6 million and Peluso with just 17.5 million chips, but those roles were about to become reversed.

It took just 30 minutes of play for that role reversal to take place as Peluso took charge of the final duel, his recent form proving more valuable than the years of experience Savinelli had on his side. Eventually, Savinelli’s A♣7♣ couldn’t hit against the 5♦5♣ of Peluso to leave the latter celebrating a famous win as the first WSOP bracelet winner of the 2022 festival, claiming a top prize of €95,670. Savinelli had to be satisfied with €59,032.

“I have been playing a lot more live poker in the past year,’ said Peluso afterwards. “I used to play only online and I have now been playing professionally for about two years. I have been studying a lot and discussing spots with my poker friends.”

Peluso not only took home the gold and the biggest prize on offer, but he’s the first of 15 bracelet winners this WSOPE series to win entry into the $1 million free-entry 2023 Tournament of Champions which will take place following the 2023 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.

Phung Claims German Title after Almaas Goes Close

The second event of the series, the €550-entry Pot Limit Omaha Event #2, was won by German player Helmut Phung as he outlasted a field of 566 entries. The nine-handed final table saw local anti-hero Martin Kabrhel bust out first as the controversial trash-talker barely got his opening lines out before his exit in ninth for €4,057.

Next to go was Bosnian player Misel Bosancic for €5,210, before Polish pro Bartlomiej Staszczak left the event in seventh place for a score worth €6,815. Andreas Zampas lost his stack to Jakob Madsen in sixth place for €9,078 as the latter flopped the nut straight to skittle the Greek player. With five players left, no-one had less than 17 big blinds or more than 47 with Phung the leader.

After French player Greg Sellam left in fifth place for €12,310, Madsen found it was his turn to run out of luck, as his opponent Martin Almaas called a ten out of the air on the turn to knock him out for €16,987. Down to three, it would be Pascal Foged who missed out on taking on his compatriot heads-up, instead busting to Phung, as his A♠K♦Q♣5♠ lost to Phung’s 9♥5♣4♥3♣ with the chips committed pre-flop. “I hope I can win one time because I get very bad cards at the final table all the time,” Foged said shortly before fulfilling his own prophecy to bust.

That left Phung with 11 million chips, a stack that dwarfed Almaas’ own pile of 3.3 million. Heads-up was a brief and brutal affair, Phung’s flopped flush trumping Almaas’ own flush at the last. That gave Almaas the consolation prize of €34,051, with Phung claiming the top prize of €55,132 and the WSOP gold bracelet which he won for the first time in his career.

Savevski Slays Schoss Heads-Up for Maiden Gold

The third event of the 2022 WSOPE saw Macedonian Ilija Savevski claim the €245,319 top prize in the €1,350 buy-in Mini Main Event, which mirrors the €10,350-entry Event #12 which kicks off on the 10^th of this month. The final table was an entertaining affair, with nine players battling it out for over €750,000 that remained at that point.

French player Clement Cure was the first to go, his prize of €21,162 also coming with a 2022 WSOP Europe Main Event ticket like all the final table players would receive. Cure found his 3♠3♥ no match for Peter Kamaras’ A♠A♥, with the board of Q♣9♥4♠8♥J♦ no help to the Frenchmen.

Only one Italian player made this final table and Emanuele de Lemmi crashed out early in eighth place, busting for €27,109 when his K♦J♦ couldn’t triumph against Stefan Schoss’ Q♣10♣, a board of Q♦10♥3♦2♥8♥ seeing all the money go in on the turn and miss De Lemmi’s straight and flush draws on the river.

Out in seventh place was the Portuguese player Braz Fagundes Junior, whose result of €35,124 was bettered by the first South Korean final table player in sixth place, as Yunho Choi cashed for €46,027. Choi’s K♣3♣ was drawing live against Savevski’s A♦10♥, but the board of 10♠6♦2♥8♠4♠ took it away from the South Korean in dispiriting fashion.

Of the final five players, three players hailed from Germany, but one of them was to bust next. Jochen Kaiser was that man as he busted in fifth for €60,990. Kaiser’s K♦9♥ was drawing dead to the river against Savevski’s Q♦10♣ on a board of Q♠10♥3♣10♠ and the 6d river meant nothing as another combatant was swept away.

Kamaras was the next player to be eliminated, missing out on the podium places when his chances ended in the same hand as the third-place finisher Dennis Magro. Kamaras had A♦4♣, while Magro held 10♣10♦, but both of the lost their stacks to Savevski’s K♦Q♦ when the board of J♥6♦4♠8♣K♠ broke two hearts on the river.

That gave Savevski a crucial lead, as his 78.8 million chips faced off against Schoss with 64 million. The final hand came about soon after, with Savevski’s K♣4♣ ahead of Schoss’ K♦5♣ on the flop of K♠8♥4♠ when the chips went in. A turn of 7♣ and river of 3♠ later and the Macedonian Savevski was a first-time bracelet winner for €245,319, Schoss taking the runner-up prize of €151,554.

This article originally appeared on PokerStake.com