Four Champions Crowned During 2019 Unibet Open Tour

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Dec 12, 2019 4 min read Last updated Dec 19, 2019

The 2019 Unibet Open tour is done and dusted and the organizers can be proud of what Unibet Poker’s flagship live poker tour achieved during the past 12-months. Four massive events crowned a quartet of champions and more than €1.5 million was paid out when all was said of done.

Romania, the United Kingdom, sunny Malta, and Paris were the four locations the 2019 Unibet Open dropped anchor in and each of the four events saw their champions return home with bankroll-boosting prizes.

2019 Unibet Open Tournaments

Unibet Open Ski Edition

The Unibet Open Ski Edition took place in Romania and saw 366 players exchange €1,100 for the chance to become the first Unibet Open champion of the 2019 tour.

As you would expect, the tournament was dominated by players from the host country with seven of the nine players at the final table calling Romania home. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a Romanian national who emerged victoriously despite them making up seven of the nine players at the final table.

Martin Soukup was the man who spoiled the party when he defeated Romania’s Marius Alexandru Gicovanu heads-up to lock up the €71,000 first-place prize and get his hands on the winner’s trophy. It was the second Unibet Open Main Event title Soukup won, the first coming when he won the 2016 Unibet Open Malta title

Gicovanu can be proud of his second-place finish and he has €45,310 reasons to be happy with himself.

Unibet Open London

After Romania the Unibet Open tour headed to the British capital, London, and what a Main Event it was. The buy-in was adjusted to £990 to make up for the difference in currency values and 456 players bought in for that sum.

Just like in Romania, the host country’s players made up the majority of those at the final table. Vamshi Vandanapu busted in ninth for £7,600 with Damian Bell going two places deeper and collecting £11,900 for his seventh-place exit.

It was then a British 1-2-3 as they dominated proceedings. Third-place and £33,950 made its way to Andrew Christoforou, which set up an enticing heads-up clash between Ben Winsor and Daniel James.

Winsor was far the more experienced player but that experience didn’t count for much as James defeated him heads-up to get his hands on the coveted Unibet Open trophy and a cool £80,200. Winsor had to console himself with the £48,600 runner-up prize.

Unibet Open Malta

The United Kingdom birthed another Unibet Open champion when the tour headed to sunny Malta. While the 327-strong field was the smallest of the 2019 Unibet Open tour, there was still €327,000 up for grabs and the final three finishers secured the lion’s share of that princely sum.

Each of the finalists locked up €6,890 and all but two of them won five-figure sums. A deal was struck when the tournament was three-handed and this trio shared €146,750.

Christopher Heidelbacher was credited with finishing third and he won €44,800. Italian star Luca Beretta fell at the final hurdle and banked €48,550 which left the UK’s Alan Carr to collect the €53,400 top prize and the adoration of his peers.

*reflects a three-handed deal

Unibet Open Paris

Unibet saved the best for last when a massive field of 480-players bought into the Paris leg, which brought the curtain down on the 2019 tour.

As soon as Algeria’s Omar Lakhdari bought in they may as well have handed him the trophy. Lakhdari has been in incredible form during 2019. From 10 events played in France, Lakhdari had managed five final tables with four of those results being outright victories.

Lakhdari defeated France’s Quoc Le heads-up to bank his sixth victory of the current year and a massive €89,070 prize. It was a result that pushed his lifetime winnings ever closer to the $1.7 million mark.

Where Will the Unibet Open Visit in 2020?

The 2020 Unibet Open schedule is yet to be announced but we expect at least four stops. We will pass on any information the second we receive it.

In the meantime, why not download Unibet Poker via PokerNews? It is the online poker site of the tour and the only place you can qualify for the Unibet Open.

All new Unibet Poker players receive a €500 welcome bonus that releases into your account when you hit specific rake targets. Check out the table below for all the juicy details:

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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