2023 WSOP Europe

Event #7: €1,650 NLH 6-max
Day: 1
Event Info

2023 WSOP Europe

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a9
Prize
€143,100
Event Info
Buy-in
€1,650
Prize Pool
€705,375
Entries
495
Level Info
Level
35
Blinds
150,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Players Info - Day 1
Entries
495
Players Left
120

Besmir Hodaj Bags Day 1 Chip Lead in Event #7: €1,650 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max

Level 14 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Besmir Hodaj
Besmir Hodaj

120 players can still dream of winning a gold bracelet as they qualified for Day 2 of Event #7: €1,650 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max of the 2023 World Series of Poker Europe at King’s Resort in Rozvadov.

495 entrants were recorded in this 2023 edition, which is more than last year’s 413 runners. Thus, the prize pool is larger, with €705,375 that will be shared tomorrow. The payout details will be announced at the start of Day 2.

At the end of Day 1, Besmir Hodaj is in the lead with 620,000 chips, nearly one full average stack ahead of the rest of the Top 5, which includes Jacopo Achille (495,000), Maor Zaharagi (465,000), two-time bracelet winner Barny Boatman (455,000) and Ting Yi Tsai (425,500).

Day 1 Top Ten Chip counts

RankPlayerCountryChip countsBig blinds
1Besmir HodajItaly620,000207
2Jacopo AchilleItaly495,000165
3Maor ZaharagiIsrael465,500155
4Barny BoatmanUnited Kingdom455,000152
5Ting Yi TsaiTaiwan425,500142
6Miroslav FormanCzech Republic416,500139
7Frederik ThiemerGermany401,000134
8Jorge UfanoSpain400,500134
9Christian DuerschlagGermany324,500108
10Dennis WilkeGermany320,000107

Miroslav Forman was lucky enough to hit a straight on the river to crack aces in the last levels. Thanks to this pot, he ends the day with 416,500 chips. Frederik Thiemer (401,000) and Jorge Ufano (400,500) also qualified with big stacks, along with Andrea Dato (255,000), Daniel Koloszar (188,500) and Ruslan Volkov (166,500), who holds the average stack. Carlo Savinelli (157,000), Virgile Turchi (130,000), Joao Tomas (117,500) and Nils Pudel's stacks (104,500) will be slightly smaller, but still big enough to wrestle.

Miroslav Forman
Miroslav Forman

A few WSOP bracelets winner are in the race too (nine in total) with Fabio Peluso (218,500) or Renji Mao (149,500). However, most of them have smaller stacks, such as France's Jonathan Pastore (76,000) and Julien Sitbon, who doubled up in the last level (57,000), Ori Hasson (46,500), and Antoine Vranken (39,000).

Julien Sitbon
Julien Sitbon

Day 2 is scheduled to begin on November 7 at 1 p.m. local time and play down until a winner is crowned. Play will resume on Level 15, which features 1,500/3,000 blinds with a 3,000 big blind ante with 40-minute levels and a 15-minute break every three levels.

Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the action until we know the name of the next WSOPE gold bracelet winner!

Tags: Andrea DatoAntoine VrankenBarny BoatmanBesmir HodajCarlo SavinelliChristian DuerschlagDaniel KoloszarDennis WilkeFabio PelusoFrederik ThiemerJacopo AchilleJoao TomasJonathan PastoreJorge UfanoJulien SitbonMaor ZaharagiMiroslav FormanNils PudelOri HassonRenji MaoRuslan VolkovTing Yi TsaiVirgile Turchi

Sitbon Doubles Through Giudice

Level 14 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Julien Sitbon
Julien Sitbon

All the chips went into the middle preflop with Julien Sitbon at risk for 38,000 in the small blind. He was covered by Giovanni Giudice on the button.

Julien Sitbon: AA
Giovanni Giudice: 55

Sitbon was a huge favorite to take down the pot and the completed board of 943A9 improved the Frenchman to a boat, whilst Giudice took a huge dent to his stack.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Julien Sitbon fr
Julien Sitbon
83,000
83,000
83,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Winamax
Profile photo of Giovanni Giudice it
Giovanni Giudice
47,000

Tags: Giovanni GiudiceJulien Sitbon

Straight on the River for Forman

Level 14 : Blinds 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Miroslav Forman
Miroslav Forman

On a K9J3 with roughly 100,000 chips in the pot, Miroslav Forman in the small blind was into the tank after Simone Pascucci shoved for 98,000 in the hijack.

It took a long moment for Forman to make a decision, but he eventually called.

Simone Pascucci: AA
Miroslav Forman: QJ

Pascucci was on his way to double up with aces. But the 10 landed on the river to complete Forman's straight and send Pascucci to the rail.

Simone Pascucci
Simone Pascucci
Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Miroslav Forman cz
Miroslav Forman
500,000
348,500
348,500
Profile photo of Simone Pascucci it
Simone Pascucci
Busted

Tags: Miroslav FormanSimone Pascucci

Kabrhel Doubles Through Hodaj in Eerie Silence

Level 13 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Martin Kabrhel
Martin Kabrhel

With 26,000 in the middle on a flop of 976, an unusually subdued Martin Kabrhel moved all in for 31,000 from the hijack. Besmir Hodaj check-called without hesitation.

Martin Kabrhel: A8
Besmir Hodaj: KK

Hodaj was ahead with pocket cowboys, but Kabrhel picked up an open-ended straight draw. The 7 on the turn was a brick, but the A on the river gave Kabrhel top pair and secured a double up. Not a word was uttered by the two-time bracelet winner throughout the exchange. Has Kabrhel turned over a new leaf?

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Besmir Hodaj it
Besmir Hodaj
297,000
244,000
244,000
Day 1 Chip Leader
Profile photo of Martin Kabrhel cz
Martin Kabrhel
88,000
WSOP 3X Winner

Tags: Besmir HodajMartin Kabrhel

Teusl Stays

Level 13 : Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Jessica Teusl
Jessica Teusl

Down to 24,000 chips, Sandro Zarriello shoved from the cutoff, and so did Jessica Teusl with her last two blinds on the button. In the big blind, Renji Mao hesitated, but eventually folded A8.

Jessica Teusl: K9
Sandro Zarriello: 77 

"I can read the board," Mao said when he saw the board 2Q934 which made Teusl more than triple up.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Igor Falkovsky by
Igor Falkovsky
280,000
280,000
280,000
Profile photo of Renji Mao cn
Renji Mao
145,000
145,000
145,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Sandro Zarriello at
Sandro Zarriello
20,000
20,000
20,000
Profile photo of Jessica Teusl at
Jessica Teusl
9,000
9,000
9,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Jessica TeuslRenji MaoSandro Zarriello

Duerschlag Sends Kim to the Rails

Level 12 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Hyunsup Kim
Hyunsup Kim

With 22,000 in the middle on a flop of 766, Hyunsup Kim bet 20,000 from the big blind. Christian Duerschlag in the small blind check-raised to 50,000, which Kim called.

The 2 came on the turn and Duerschlag immediately moved all in. Kim counted his chips and realized that he had less than Duerschlag. The Korean opted to make the call for a huge pot.

Hyunsup Kim: 1010
Christian Duerschlag: JJ

Both players had an over pair, but the German was best. The 3 completed the board and Duerschlag won the huge pot, whilst Kim headed to the exit

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Christian Duerschlag de
Christian Duerschlag
272,000
272,000
272,000
Profile photo of Hyunsup Kim kr
Hyunsup Kim
Busted

Tags: Christian DuerschlagHyunsup Kim

Schulz Eliminated by Boyaciyan

Level 11 : Blinds 800/1,600, 1,600 ante
Robert Schulz
Robert Schulz

Robert Schulz was in the hijack when he shoved for 8,200. He was called by David Boyaciyan in the small blind.

Robert Schulz: AJ
David Boyaciyan: AK

Both players smiled after the flop 105Q which gave them a flush draw. But the 7 on the turn and the 2 on the river didn't change anything, so Schulz was eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of David Boyaciyan nl
David Boyaciyan
185,000
125,000
125,000
Profile photo of Robert Schulz de
Robert Schulz
Busted
WSOP 1X Winner

Boatman Continues to Assert Dominance

Level 10 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Barny Boatman
Barny Boatman

Barny Boatman bet 2,600 from under the gun and was called by Virgile Turchi in the cutoff. Andrea Dato on the button raised to 9,400.

Boatman gave a stern look to Dato and responded with a four-bet to 40,000. Turchi and Dato both folded before Boatman could place his chips into the middle.

Boatman has enjoyed a golden renaissance in the last couple of years. Since the pandemic, Boatman has enjoyed four WSOP final tables, including a 7th place finish in the 2022 WSOPE Main Event for €180,867. The wily veteran will be looking to convert this massive chip stack into a third WSOP Bracelet.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Barny Boatman gb
Barny Boatman
455,000
55,000
55,000
Profile photo of Andrea Dato it
Andrea Dato
165,000
15,000
15,000
WPT 1X Winner
Profile photo of Virgile Turchi fr
Virgile Turchi
31,500
-10,000
-10,000

Tags: Andrea DatoBarny BoatmanVirgile Turchi

Maricuta Knocks Out Vogrinec

Level 10 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Dan Maricuta
Dan Maricuta

Joining the action on the K929 turn, Matjaz Vogrinec checked and subsequently reluctantly called a bet worth 45,000 by Dan Maricuta. That led them to the 2 river on which Vogrinec checked again from under the gun. Maricuta pushed all-in for his opponent to ask for a count, which turned out to be for 86,400 total.

Vogrinec called all-in after a minute and then tried to muck his cards when Maricuta tabled the J9 for nines full of deuces.

"Showdown," Maricuta demanded and the dealer flipped over the A10 of Vogrinec, who left the tournament seconds later.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Dan Maricuta ro
Dan Maricuta
295,000
Profile photo of Matjaz Vogrinec si
Matjaz Vogrinec
Busted

Tags: Dan MaricutaMatjaz Vogrinec

Straight Flush for Tomas

Level 10 : Blinds 600/1,200, 1,200 ante
Joao Tomas
Joao Tomas

Hertsel Levy opened to 2,500 from the button, then called Joao Tomas' three-bet to 9,500 in the small blind.

The dealer fanned a flop of 345, and Tomas continued with a bet of 4,500. Levy immediately moved all in and Tomas snap-called.

Hertsel Levy: QJ
Joao Tomas: A2

The 8 landed on the turn, then the 2 on the river to give a straight flush to Tomas. The dealer counted both stacks, but Levy was slightly covered, so he was eliminated.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Traian Stanciu ro
Traian Stanciu
183,000
Profile photo of Joao Tomas pt
Joao Tomas
79,000
37,000
37,000
Profile photo of Rehman Kassam gb
Rehman Kassam
16,000
Profile photo of Hertsel Levy il
Hertsel Levy
Busted

Tags: Hertsel LevyJoao Tomas