Just three years after turning from online poker player to live tournament winner, Simone Andrian won the major title of his career as he went wire-to-wire to become the 2024 WSOP Europe Main Event champion. Taking a top prize of $1.42 million, more than his career earnings to date, the Italian went into the final table as leader and beat Estonia’s Urmo Velvelt heads-up to claim the title at King’s Casino in Rozvadov.
Camosci Departs First
Heading into the final table, there was an Italian at the top and bottom of the remaining six players. Simone Andrian was top of the leaderboard with more than double the chips of anyone else, but at the opposite end of the spectrum, his countryman and friend Enrico Camosci was struggling.
Camosci it was who busted first, claiming $237,300 when he fell in sixth place. Starting the final table with just 18 big blinds, Camosci shoved pre-flop with 
and needed to hit against the 
of his caller Velvelt. A flop of 
gave Camosci the nut flush draw to go with his two over but with a world of outs, he missed them all on the 
turn and 
river to exit.
Next to go was David Hochheim, as the German cashed for $324,750 in fifth place. All-in pre-flop for 24 big blinds with , Hochheim was well behind his caller Simone Andrian, who snapped him off with 
. A flop of 
kept Andrian in the lad and a 
turn and 
river confirmed the German’s exit outside the top four.
Ilani Run Out of Rozvadov
With four players left, Polish player Mariusz Golinski saw a great spot to get back into the action when he looked down at 
with just 12 big blinds to his name. Simone Andrian had an easy enough call with 
and his dominating hand prevailed across the 
board, as Golinski turned a gutshot but failed to hit on the river, busting in third place for $453,800.
The stacks could hardly have been more different between the two chip leaders and the sole remaining player with very little, as Simone Andrian (39.3m) and Urmo Velvelt (31.4m) were way clear of Ran Ilani with just 6 million to his name. The Israeli player needed a miracle to survive and sadly for him, he wasn’t able to achieve it.
While he doubled once, Ilani never got back into it enough to threaten the leaders, eventually five-bet shoving with . Velvelt was his caller with and the classic flip went the way of the Estonian when a board showing 
played out to send play heads-up and scupper Ilani’s chances for a third-place score of $645,150.
Andrian Fulfils His Destiny
Heads-up, Velvelt’s run up the charts had given him the lead with 40,375,000 chips to Andrian’s 36,425,000. Two pots without showdown led to the lead switching hands, before Velvelt got a little back to draw almost dead level. Andrian raised pre-flop with ace-eight but folded to Velvelt’s four-bet with pocket eights. It was the correct fold but made Andrian an almost 2:1 dog in the fight.
Two-pair and a great bluff with absolutely nothing put Andrian back in the battle and while several pots then went the Estonian’s way, giving him a 5:1 lead, those earlier victories have Andrian the chips to cling onto his hopes of glory. Hero-calling correctly allowed him back into the match as he made a brilliant call with just a pair of fives by the river. Another two pair flipped the lead entirely and Andrian used a 4:1 lead much better than his opponent,
Andrian four-bet with 
and called off the shove from Velvelt with 
to leave him five cards from the title. A clean board of 
played out and Andrian celebrated with his friends as he became the 15th WSOP Europe Main Event champion, beating 767 other entries to win a career-high $1.42 million top prize and the WSOP bracelet.
“It’s amazing [and] by far the biggest score of my career,” Andrian told PokerNews in the aftermath of the event. “I couldn’t be more happy. I’ve been playing here a lot and to have that kind of score here feels special. Playing heads-up super deep, with 100 big blinds each, it’s tough. Usually, you don’t get to play super big pots.”
Crediting his supporters for maintaining his belief when he was down to just 25 big blinds, Andrian’s superb title-winning performance made him a deserving 2024 WSOPE champion and wrapped the event series at King’s Casino in Rozvadov in association with GGPoker.
| WSOP Europe €10,350 Main Event Final Table Results: | |||
| Position | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Simone Andrian | Italy | $1,421,500 |
| 2nd | Urmo Velvelt | Estonia | $933,850 |
| 3rd | Ran Ilani | Israel | $645,150 |
| 4th | Mariusz Golinski | Poland | $453,800 |
| 5th | David Hochheim | Germany | $324,750 |
| 6th | Enrico Camosci | Italy | $237,300 |
| 7th | Robin Berggren | Sweden | $176,050 |
| 8th | Luka Bojovic | Serbia | $133,400 |
Photography by Tomáš Stacha for PokerNews in Rozvadov at the World Series of Poker Europe.
