Who Will Become the 2019 WSOPE Main Event Champion at King’s Resort?
Table Of Contents
The 2019 World Series of Poker Europe festival is in full swing at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic where a staggering €22 million is guaranteed to be won before the final event crowns its champion in November.
Each and every one of the 15 bracelet-awarding events is immense, but one tournament always stands out from the crowd: the WSOP Europe Main Event.
Past WSOP Europe Main Event Champions
| Year | Champion | Winning hand | Prize | Entrants | Runner-up | Losing hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Annette Obrestad | 7♥7♠ | £1,000,000 | 362 | John Tabatabai | 6♦5♠ |
| 2008 | John Juanda | K♠6♣ | £868,800 | 362 | Stanislav Alekhin | A♣9♠ |
| 2009 | Barry Shulman | 10♠10♣ | £801,603 | 334 | Daniel Negreanu | 4♠4♦ |
| 2010 | James Bord | 10♦10♥ | £830,401 | 346 | Fabrizio Baldassari | 5♠5♥ |
| 2011 | Elio Fox | A♦10♠ | €1,400,000 | 593 | Chris Moorman | A♥7♠ |
| 2012 | Phil Hellmuth | A♥10♦ | €1,058,406 | 420 | Sergii Baranov | A♠4♣ |
| 2013 | Adrian Mateos | A♠K♣ | €1,000,000 | 375 | Fabrice Soulier | 9♦8♦ |
| 2015 | Kevin MacPhee | A♦4♦ | €883,000 | 313 | David Lopez | K♥K♣ |
| 2017 | Marti Roca de Torres | Q♥5♦ | €1,115,207 | 529 | Gianluca Speranza | 10♠8♦ |
| 2018 | Jack Sinclair | Q♥9♣ | €1,122,239 | 534 | Laszlo Bujtas | J♦7♠ |
The first WSOP Europe festival took place in the British capital London and was unique in that it was spread across three casinos. The Main Event attracted 362 players and when the dust settled it was online sensation Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad who emerged victoriously.
Obrestad defeated John Tabatabai heads up for the £1 million top prize and a coveted WSOP bracelet. In winning, Obrestad became the youngest-ever winner of a WSOP bracelet at the age of 18 years and 364 days as all Las Vegas winners have to be at least 21-years-old.
Tabatabai and Obrestad would later become teammates for Betfair Poker. Obrestad has since left the poker world and has a popular makeup channel on YouTube while Tabatabai is now focused on his business interests.
John Juanda triumphed in the 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event after he brushed aside the Russian grinder Stanislav Alekhin. First place was worth £868,800 to Juanda who outlasted 362 players on his way to victory.
Negreanu Narrowly Misses Out
The following year saw Daniel Negreanu narrowly miss out on another bracelet. Negreanu found himself heads up against CardPlayer magazine owner Barry Shulman. A monster hand turned the battle on its head. The pair was all in on a 5♦8♦J♣ flop, Negreanu holding Q♣J♦ and Shulman A♠A♥. The J♥ on the turn had it nearly locked up for Negreanu, but the A♦ landed on the river to put the ball back in Shulman’s court. Negreanu shoved a few hands later with pocket fours only to see Shulman call with tens and flop a set for the victory.
James Bord won the last WSOP Europe Main Event held in London and banked the £830,401 top prize. Bord sent Italian pro Fabrizio Baldassari to the rail in second place when his pocket tens prevailed against the Italian’s lesser pocket fives.
The year 2011 saw the WSOP Europe festival take place in Cannes on the French Riviera. The change of scenery gave the Main Event a shot in the arm as 593 players bought in. Elio Fox was the last man standing and he collected €1,400,000 for his win. Fox busted online superstar Chris Moorman heads up to win his first bracelet. Rumors have it that the heads-up duo struck a deal because Moorman has been quoted as winning seven figures in that event, although official records show he netted €800,000.
Hellmuth Becomes First Player to win the WSOP and WSOPE Main Events
Cannes was again the place for the seven bracelet events of the 2012 WSOP Europe and its Main Event was won by one of the biggest names in world poker: Phil Hellmuth. Hellmuth was relentless heads up against Sergii Baranov and when Baranov finally played back at “The Poker Brat,” Hellmuth had the goods.
Hellmuth would have won the WSOP Player of the Year title in 2012 but Greg Merson won the WSOP Main Event in Vegas in November to scupper those plans.
Another change of venue happened in 2013 as the Casino Barriere in Enghien-les-Bains hosted the festival. A certain Adrian Mateos, then a fresh-faced 19-year-old, beat seasoned French pro Fabrice Soulier one-on-one for the title. Mateos scooped €1 million and has since become one of the most-feared players of his generation.
There was no WSOP Europe in 2014 and 2016 as it was decided Europe and Asia-Pacific would have WSOP festivals on a bi-yearly basis. This meant 2015 was the next time the WSOPE rolled into town, stopping in Berlin, Germany.
American Kevin MacPhee, who won a European Poker Tour title in Berlin in 2010, won this Main Event for €883,000.
WSOP Europe Calls King's Resort Home
King’s Resort in Rozvadov has been the host venue for WSOP Europe since and it has gone from strength-to-strength. 2017 saw Spain’s Marti Roca de Torres beat Gianluca Speranza heads up for the bracelet and €1,115,207. Torres hasn’t set the poker world alight since this victory, cashing in only a handful of events, but Speranza made history by winning back-to-back SCOOP Main Events online at PokerStars.
Jack Sinclair is the reigning WSOP Europe Main Event champion having won in 2018. The popular British pro came out on top of a fight with Hungary’s Laszlo Bujitas to claim the €1,122,239 top prize and his first WSOP bracelet.
Remaining 2019 World Series of Poker Europe Schedule
| Date | Time | Event Number | Tournament | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 17 | 2 p.m. | 3 | €1,350 Mini Main Event No-Limit Hold'em B | €551,750 |
| Oct. 17 | 4 p.m. | 5 | €2,500 8-Game Mix | €250,000 |
| Oct. 18 | 2 p.m. | 3 | €1,350 Mini Main Event No-Limit Hold'em C | €551,750 |
| 4 p.m. | 6 | €25,500 Short Deck High Roller | €2,500,000 | |
| Oct. 19 | 4 p.m. | 7 | €1,100 Turbo Bounty Hunter No-Limit Hold'em | €200,000 |
| Oct. 20 | 3 p.m. | 8 | €25,500 Platinum High Roller No-Limit Hold'em | €1,000,000 |
| 4 p.m. | 9 | €1,650 PLO/NLHE Mix | €200,000 | |
| Oct. 21 | 4 p.m. | 10 | €25,500 Mixed Games Championship | €1,000,000 |
| Oct. 22 | 2 p.m. | 11 | €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha | €200,000 |
| Oct. 23 | 2 p.m. | 12 | €100,000 Diamond High Roller No-Limit Hold'em | €5,000,000 |
| Oct. 24 | 4 p.m. | 13 | €2,500 Short Deck | €250,000 |
| Oct. 25 | 12 p.m. | 14 | €10,350 Main Event A | €5,000,000 |
| Oct. 26 | 12 p.m. | 14 | €10,350 Main Event B | €5,000,000 |
| Oct. 28 | 6 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em A | €1,000,000 |
| Oct. 29 | 6 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em B | €1,000,000 |
| Oct. 30 | 6 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em C | €1,000,000 |
| Oct. 31 | 12 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em D | €1,000,000 |
| Oct. 31 | 6 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em E | €1,000,000 |
| Nov. 1 | 12 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em F | €1,000,000 |
| Nov. 1 | 6 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em G | €1,000,000 |
| Nov. 2 | 12 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em H | €1,000,000 |
| Nov. 2 | 6 p.m. | 15 | €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em I | €1,000,000 |
This year’s WSOP Europe Main Event shuffles up for the first time on October 25th and everything points to it being massive. More than 135 Main Event seats have been won by players at King’s Resort over the past year so the €5 million guaranteed prize pool could very well be blown out of the water.
You can find out if that happens by tuning into the PokerNews Live Reporting pages through the 2019 WSOP Europe festival at King’s Resort.
