Hakim Zoufri Wins Inaugural €3,500 WSOP International Circuit Rotterdam High Roller (€69,888)
After two days of playing, Hakim Zoufri conquered a stacked 65-player field to win the inaugural €3,500 WSOP International Circuit Rotterdam High Roller for €69,888. It's the first time ever the WSOP International Circuit is visiting The Netherlands, and the final table was dominated by the Oranje men, with eight out of nine representing the nation's red, white and blue. Zoufri forfeited his short stack at the start of the day, opting to reenter instead, and rode his new stack all the way to a WSOP Circuit ring.
Freek Scholten ended up in second place for €43,189 after a bold bluff with ten-high went wrong. Well-known Dutch high roller Govert Metaal finished in 3rd place and cashed €28,636. The only non-Dutch player at the final table, Niko Mykkanen, finished 4th for €20,277. Famous Dutch TV host and journalist Alberto Stegeman became 6th and cashed €12,174.
Final result
| Position | Player | Country | Prize in € | Prize in $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hakim Zoufri | Netherlands | €69,888 | $83,671 |
| 2 | Freek Scholten | Netherlands | €43,189 | $51,707 |
| 3 | Govert Metaal | Netherlands | €28,636 | $34,284 |
| 4 | Niko Mykkanen | Finland | €20,277 | $24,276 |
| 5 | Kees van Brugge | Netherlands | €15,262 | $18,272 |
| 6 | Alberto Stegeman | Netherlands | €12,174 | $14,568 |
| 7 | Firoz Mangroe | Netherlands | €10,260 | $12,278 |
After 59 entries on the first day, 6 more players entered at the start of Day 2 at 4 p.m. local time, before late registration was closed. One of the players to do so was Hakim Zoufri, who finished the first day with a mere 2,300 - one big blind - in chips. Zoufri opted to forfeit his current stack and reentered with a fresh 25,000 stack to work with. It turned out to be one of the best decisions Zoufri has ever made.
It was a feast for those who follow the Dutch circuit, as many of the nation's best players showed up to battle for the coveted WSOP Circuit Ring. Joris Ruijs, one of the strong, young talents The Netherlands boasts, fell in the early stages after losing most of his stack by running queens into Kees van Brugge's pocket kings. Joep van den Bijgaart, Luuk Gieles, Farid Chati, WSOP Bracelet winner Rob Hollink, WPT Tournament of Champions winner Farid Yachou, and Tobias Peters all ended up empty-handed at the rail as well.
Seven players would end up in the money, and it was Raoul Refos who became the last player to miss out on a cash. Holding ace-ten, Refos shoved over a raise from Zoufri. The 2016 Master Classics of Poker champion called with pocket fives and held up to knock Refos out. Although Refos officially ended up outside the money, all other players agreed beforehand to give the bubble €500 each, which meant Refos got his buyin back from the other players.
Firoz Mangroe finished 7th (€10,260) after four-bet shoving pocket nines into pocket aces. Dutch TV host and journalist Alberto Stegeman, who started the day as the chipleader, ended up in 6th place (€12,174). After losing ace-queen against nine-eight earlier, Stegeman moved in with ace-queen. Zoufri once again found pocket fives and once again won to eliminate the Dutch celebrity, who's a well-known poker aficionado.
Kees van Brugge fell shortly after in 5th (€15,262) by shoving ace-seven into pocket kings. The only non-Dutch player at the final table, Niko Mykkanen, saw his run end in 4th place (€20,277). After turning a wheel with ace-trey, Mykkanen bet and called a shove from Zoufri on a board containing three diamonds. Zoufri had bottom set with a diamond draw and completed the flush on the river. High roller fixture Govert Metaal added another €28,636 to his lifetime winnings of over $2 million dollar. Short stacked, Metaal moved in with ace-nine, and this time it was Scholten holding pocket fives to win.
After thirty minutes of trading small pots back and forth, the heads-up all ended in the first big hand. Holding ten-four, Scholten three-bet preflop and barreled it off on a king-five-trey-queen-nine board. Zoufri called the all-in shove with queen-ten on the river to capture his first WSOP Circuit ring and the first place prize of €69,888. As runner-up, Scholten received €43,189.
That's all from the €3,500 High Roller in Holland Casino Rotterdam. Wednesday at 2 p.m. local time, Day 1b of the €1,650 Main Event will commence, and PokerNews will provide live coverage of this four-day event until a winner is crowned on Saturday night.
