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Just when we though that the 2018 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) was reaching its finale with only the €10,350 Main Event left to play out, the series surprised us with the fast-paced €100,000 LEON’s High Roller! Named after the host and owner of the King’s Casino, Rozvadov, Leon Tsoukernik, the event pulled in 33 entries. After nine hours of play, Malaysian pro Ivan Leow (cover image) emerged as the champion and took home his career-first WSOPE title and a hefty payday of €1,251,455.
Leow reached the nine-player final table with the fifth-largest stack and masterminded the eliminations of Tony G and Dominik Nitsche. He faced two-time WSOP bracelet winner Martin Kabrhel in the heads-up play and bested the Czech pro to post his first win at this series.
Several big names featured in the event including David Peters, Timothy Adams, Matthis Eibinger, Mikita Badziakouski, Ole Schemion, Stefan Schillhabel, and Adrian Mateos, who all busted before reaching the money.
With only the top five spots assured payouts, winner of the €25K High Roller Michael Addamo bubbled the final table.
Final Table Chip Counts
1. Martin Kabrhel – 12,610,000
2. Dominik Nitsche – 6,285,000
3. Michael Soyza – 3,625,000
4. Manig Loeser – 2,600,000
5. Ivan Leow – 2,460,000
6. Sam Trickett – 2,425,000
7. Tony G – 1,820,000
8. Jun Wah Yap – 595,000
9. Wai Leong Chan – 580,000
Final Table Recap
Right at the start of the nine-handed final table, Wai Leong Chan shipped all in for his last 580,000 from the hijack and Michael Soyza glanced at his cards and snap-called from the big blind. Soyza tabled and Chan turned over . The flop fell and Chan kept his lead. The turn kept status quo, but on the river , Soyza hit a pair of sevens to win the pot and eliminate Chan in ninth place.
Another early elimination took place during level 9, when Sam Trickett opened to 225,000 from the cutoff with and Martin Kabrhel 3-bet to 695,000 on the button, holding . Kabrhel picked up a set of nines on the flop which left Trickett drawing dead. The turn improved Kabrhel to quads, making the river inconsequential as Trickett’s run ended in eighth place.
Fresh from his fifth-place finish in the €100K Super High Roller, Dominik Nitsche yet again reached the final table of the €100K LEON’s High Roller and was seen in the thick of the action when he brought about the elimination of Jun Wah Yap in seventh place. Yap, who was one of the shorter stacks at the table, jammed from the button with and Dominik Nitsche woke up with in the small blind. The rundown missed both players, prompting Yap to exit the final table.
The infamous money bubble tag fell on Germany’s Manig Loeser who moved all-in for his last 325,000 from the big blind. The action folded to Michael Soyza who called from the small blind.
Manig Loeser
Michael Soyza
The board ran and Soyza found a pair of aces on the turn which resulted in Loeser’s sixth place exit.
Immediately after the money bubble burst, the first players to finish in the money were Tony G and Dominik Nitsche. In a double elimination orchestrated by Ivan Leow, Nitsche shoved all-in for his last 250,000 and received calls from Tony G and Soyza. Leow re-shoved all-in for over 5,000,000 and Tony G called for his last 850,000, while Soyza folded. Leow held , Tony G had and Nitsche showed . The community cards revealed . Leow’s ace-queen held up to eliminate Nitsche in fifth place and Tony G in fourth place.
Down to three-handed play, Kabrhel shipped all-in from the button with and Michael Soyza called with his last 1,500,000 from the small blind holding . Leow called with his pocket rockets to see the board open . Failing to better his hand, Soyza busted out in third place.
Martin Kabrhel (18,125,000) started the heads-up play as chip leader against Ivan Leow (14,875,000), but soon thereafter surrendered the lead to the latter. On the final hand of the event, Leow raised to 1,000,000 on the button and Kabrhel moved all-in for his last 7,500,000. Leow qucikly called with , putting Kabrhel at risk holding . The board ran and Leow picked out three-of-a-kind jacks on the turn against Kabrhel’s flopped pair of nines. Leow claimed his maiden WSOPE title, along with €1,251,455 in prize money.
Final Table Results (EURO)
1. Ivan Leow – €1,251,455
2. Martin Kabrhel – €773,457
3. Michael Soyza – €521,471
4. Tony G – €351,579
5. Dominik Nitsche – €237,038
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Image/Content Courtesy: wsop.com