Josef Gulas Jr Wins the 2021 WSOP Europe Main Event (€1,276,712)

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Dec 09, 2021 3 min read

The coveted gold bracelet in Event #14: €10,350 WSOPE Main Event will remain on home soil as Josef Gulas Jr defeated Johan Guilbert in heads-up. In the 2021 edition, a new attendance record for the WSOP Europe Main Event was set as 688 entries created a prize pool of €6,536,000, surpassing the previous record by 95 entries. Only the top 104 spots were paid and Gulas earned the far biggest payday of his career so far and walked away with the top prize of €1,276,712.

He has become the eighth player from the Czech Republic to win a WSOP gold bracelet and more than half of the victories were recorded on home soil. Martin Kabrhel won both of his career bracelets at the King's Resort, which has also been the home casino for Gulas as well.

Final Result 2021 WSOPE Main Event

"It's an incredible feeling. I am truly thankful and happy," an overwhelmed Gulas said in the interview after his victory. "It was a perfect tournament with a very nice structure in the best casino in Europe. Just incredible!"

During the entire festival, he only entered Event #1: €350 Opener and then spent the days on the cash game tables while waiting for the Main Event to start, for which he had an entry locked up thanks to his third place finish in the €250 IPS Main Event this past June. He would have entered the Main Event via direct buy-in anyways as the many ticket winners at King's Resort promised a big field but instead did so at a bargain.

"It's an incredible feeling. I am truly thankful and happy"

"It is something incredible, I would wish it to everyone. Everyone should participate and play in such circumstances, to feel the atmosphere and the feel of the final table," the winner said with regards to the special atmosphere on the live-streamed final table.

When asked what he will do with the money, Gulas was pretty certain he was going to build a house and save the remainder of the money. The 24 year old, who was railed by his family, usually sells cars but a career change may be in order. His father who bears the same name, was right there when everything unfolded and came up a few spots short of the money after bowing out on Day 3.

Runner-up Guilbert, also known under his online moniker "YoH ViraL", has become one of the most popular streamers and vloggers in Europe and padded his bankroll with a consolation prize of €789,031. The Frenchman resides in Malta and recently entered the fray in international High Roller competitions where he notched up six-figure cashes. Two years ago, Guilbert was heads-up for the coveted gold bracelet as well and missed out on the maiden victory in Event #36: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout.

Another three of the final eight players joined eventual champion Gulas in the event thanks to winning an entry to the flagship tournament in competitions with buy-ins below €500. Ilija Savevski earned €125,052 in 8th place, Thomas Denie collected €163,434 for his 7th place and Stanislav Koleno scored a payday of €292,862.

Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL

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