2015 WSOP Europe Day 5: Fast Denies Gale Third Bracelet, and Stacked Omaha Final Table
It was Day 5 of the 2015 World Series of Poker Europe in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, and an extremely exciting day of poker at that. Three events were scheduled to be in action, but much of the focus fell on Event #2: €550 "Oktoberfest" No-Limit Hold'em that was playing down to a winner. Also taking place was Day 2 of Event #3: €3,250 Eight-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha and the start of Event #4: €1,650 "Monster Stack" No-Limit Hold'em.
Fast Denies Gale Third WSOP Gold
The biggest story of the day was without a doubt Dietrich Fast. He won the second gold bracelet awarded at this year's WSOP Europe, and he had to fight off history in order to do it.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dietrich Fast | Germany | €157,749 |
| 2 | John Gale | UK | €97,804 |
| 3 | Rodrigo Caprioli | Brazil | €73,699 |
| 4 | Vojtech Cervinka | Czech Republic | €56,278 |
| 5 | Steve O'Dwyer | United States | €43,409 |
| 6 | Adrian Apmann | Austria | €33,808 |
| 7 | Sandro Wuest | Switzerland | €26,587 |
| 8 | Jorn Winter | Germany | €21,115 |
| 9 | Harry Lodge | UK | €16,935 |
When Fast found himself heads up for the title, it was against none other than two-time bracelet winner John Gale. Following a three-year hiatus from poker that was the result of a brain tumor, Gale came back to the game this summer to win his second gold bracelet. On Monday in Berlin he was looking for his third.
Fast began the final table fourth in chips, well behind the top three stacks. Leading the way was Gale. After seven eliminations that included star Steve O'Dwyer's bust out in fifth place, Fast took the chip lead into heads-up play against Gale. From there, it took a lot of small pots and heavy grinding, but Gale eventually worked his way into the lead. But then, on Hand #95 according to reports from the event, Fast moved back in front. Just a couple hands after that, Fast extended his lead, and Gale couldn't last much longer than that.
The 108th hand of the heads-up match was Gale's last, as his K♣6♣ couldn't come from behind to give the Brit a double against Fast's A♠J♣. With that, Gale had to settle for a second-place finish worth €97,804.
Fast earned the victory, his first piece of WSOP gold, and €157,749 in prize money.
"It's overwhelming," Fast told PokerNews moments after the win. "It feels really nice. I can't describe it in words. It's unbelievable.
To read more about Fast's epic victory, click here to read the winner's story.
"The Italian Pirate" Has His Sights On More Loot
Max Pescatori has his sights set on more WSOP hardware to add to his collection, as the four-time gold bracelet winner found himself headlining the final table of Event #3: €3,250 Eight-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha was reached. After Monday's action, just eight players remained from the 161-player starting field, and Pescatori finished with 142,500 in chips.
Atop the counts was Denmark's Mikkel Plum with a stack of 482,000, and there's plenty of star power still left in the field.
Roberto Romanello ran his Day 1 chip lead into a final table appearance, while Mike Leah, Ismael Bojang, and Benjamin Pollak also reached it. All remaining players have locked up €13,445, and there's €126,345 up top for the champion.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikkel Plum | Denmark | 482,000 |
| 2 | Richard Gryko | UK | 444,500 |
| 3 | Roberto Romanello | UK | 320,500 |
| 4 | Mike Leah | Canada | 315,000 |
| 5 | Lawrence Lazar | USA | 289,000 |
| 6 | Ismael Bojang | Austria | 232,000 |
| 7 | Benjamin Pollak | France | 195,000 |
| 8 | Max Pescatori | Italy | 142,500 |
Day 2 of the event was an important one, as only the top 20 players would reach the money from the 31 that returned. Falling short of a cash on the bubble was none other than 2010 WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Duhamel. According to reports, his Q♦J♣10♣10♠ lost to fellow Canadian Leah's A♣9♣8♦6♥ after the money went in on the 10♥6♣3♣ flop. The turn was the 7♦, and the river was the 5♠ to finish Leah with a straight.
From there, some of the notables to cash were Nicholas Palma (20th - €5,015), Dermot Blain (15th - €5,905), Maxim Panyak (13th - €7,075), and Barny Boatman (9th - €10,680).
The final eight players will return at 12 p.m. local time on Tuesday to play to a winner.
Koop Leads Monster Stack After Day 1
Niko Koop bagged up 130,000 in chips after Day 1 of Event #4: €1,650 "Monster Stack" No-Limit Hold'em, and he led the 177 players heading into Day 2.
With a field of 575 entries on Day 1, a prize pool of over €800,000 was generated. Registration will remain open until the start of Day 2, so the field size and prize pool should increase even more.
Other notables to advance from Day 1 included Stefan Jedlicka (125,500), Marc MacDonnell (124,000), Thomas Butzhammer (112,600), and Yorane Kerignard (106,300). On the flip side of things, some of those who busted out on Day 1 were Greg Merson, Shaun Deeb, Theo Jorgensen, Dominik Nitsche, Jeff Lisandro, Davidi Kitai, and Stephen Chidwick.
Action will resume at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews.com from now until Oct. 24 as we continue to provide coverage from the 2015 WSOP Europe.
Want to stay atop all the latest in the poker world? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
