Entries 6237
Let’s start with the freeze-frame below, which is related to the final act of the tournament when the Polish player Iakub Skurzynski, after a heads-up that lasted less than a cigarette, can let out a liberating scream as he realizes he has just accomplished a feat:
“It’s indescribable,” Iakub recounts in the heat of the moment, “I think I gave my best right at the final table, and I am very happy with how I managed the situation.”
Pressed by questions from our colleague Jack Bonora, he reveals he is a professional e-sports player: “Now I don’t know what will happen, whether I will focus more on poker for a while or decide to invest in e-sports. It’s all still so hard to believe!”
A victory that brings the Polish player €306,554 in prize money after reaching a monetary deal at 3 left, plus the €97,800 reserved for the winner and, last but not least, a €10,350 ticket for the next WSOPE Main Event.
A hint of bitterness, though sweetened by widespread joy, goes to the runner-up, Julien Combier, with whom we had the pleasure of having a nice chat at the end of the tournament:
“Reaching the final heads-up, just a double-up, would have been enough, and I could have made it,” Julien admits with regret and joy. “But it’s okay. I even started crying in the end.
There were so many emotions, so many messages from those following me, and a four-day adventure in which I probably slept a couple of hours a night for the entire duration of the tournament. I’m exhausted! That’s also why tears came to my eyes, just imagining what I could do with this money after all this effort…
I am self-taught and study alone. After closing my business, I dedicated myself to poker 100%, studying and playing online with great results. This second place was unimaginable until a few days ago; it will give a significant boost to my growth process as a player. Now, I want to focus on this even more!”
The final table
1. 🇷🇴 Mario - 78,000,200
2. 🇭🇷 Ivan Karlo Banic - 44,100,000
3. 🇷🇴 Nicolae Andrei Mihai - 41,400,000
4. 🇵🇱 Iakub Skurzynski - 18,700,000
5. 🇷🇴 Adrian Cazacu - 56,600,000
6. 🇫🇷 Julien Combier - 64,700,000
7. 🇨🇿 Pepa G. - 45,500,000
8. 🇨🇿 Michal Schuh - 20,900,000
They started again with 8 players this afternoon, with “Mario” having a clear lead over everyone thanks to a stack of 78 million chips and the others trailing behind. The one in desperate need of a double-up was the tail-ender, Czech Michal Schuh, who at blinds 600K/1.2M, with 14x effective, decided to raise from UTG with A-J offsuit, finding a call from the BB by “Pepa G.”
On 5♥️ 2♥️ 8♠️, “Pepa G” check-calls Schuh’s 1/4 pot c-bet, who opts for a second barrel on the 5♦️ turn which pairs the board. “Pepa G”, with a 6-5 suit, decides to raise, putting his opponent all-in (Schuh still has 8BB to play).
After over two minutes “in the tank,” Schuh makes the call: “Pepa G.” thanks him upon seeing Schuh’s cards as Schuh is already drawing dead on the turn, with the 3♦️ on the river just for the cameras. The Czech has to settle for €43,500 (+ WSOPE Main Event Ticket).
The fall of “Mario” is nothing short of sensational, from potential winner to seventh-place finisher. The first warning comes when he loses a coin-flip against Skurzynski, 10-10 vs. A-Ks, and a K on the turn settles the contest. Then, the twist.
At 800K/1.6M blinds, “Mario” opens from UTG with A-K and a 43x stack, Skurzynski from BTN 3-bets to 7M, the blinds fold, and “Mario” 4-bets to 17M. Skurzynski 5-bet shoves, and “Mario” adds 25x to the call.
The board 4-7-3-J-9 gives the Polish player a 90M pot, leaving “Mario” with 19x. A few hands later, he loses seven blinds to Combier, defending the blind with 9-6o and hitting two pair on A♣️9♠️6♠️Q♠️8♣️, with Combier completing a flush with Q♠️ J♠️ and forcing a fold on the river.
With his 11BB, “Mario” finds himself going all-in with A-Jo a few hands later, only to run into Skurzynski again, who, with A-A in CO, just calls, hoping for someone to squeeze with a strong but not premium hand. No one does, and they go to a showdown: 9-5-9-7-10 doesn’t help the Romanian, who goes from undisputed chip leader to being eliminated in 7th place. “Mario” takes home €56,000 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket.
During the same level, the elimination of the Day 1 I Turbo chip leader, Croatian Ivan Karlo Banic, occurs. He engages in the classic “check-call check-call check-call/muck” after defending with J-J against Mihai’s UTG open with 9-9.
The texture is 2-8-4-9-3 rainbow, which seems sufficiently “safe” for the Croatian. However, Banic miscalculates as Mihai isn’t trying to force the hand at all but has hit a nice set on the turn and is trying to get maximum value. Mission accomplished.
Banic is left with a handful of blinds and will be eliminated in the subsequent hands with K-10 vs. Skurzynski’s K-Q. Sixth place will still earn him a prize of €72,000 (+ WSOPE Main Event Ticket).
With five players remaining, Skurzynski pulls ahead and aggressively attacks the table. On a UTG open with K-Jo, Romanian Adrian Cazacu, sitting next to him, decides to 3-bet shove with 3-3 from CO, finding a call from the Pole after the other players fold.
The board 5-8-6-J-8 sends Skurzynski into orbit, relegating Adrian Cazacu to 5th place for €96,000 (+ WSOPE Main Event Ticket).
The end for “Pepa G.”, the fourth-place finisher, is noteworthy. A few minutes after Cazacu’s elimination, he knocks down Frenchman Combier with 10-10 vs. A-Q, leaving him with practically nothing.
First, K-6 > 2-2, then A-6 > Q-Q, and Combier recovers the stolen chips by winning two showdowns one after another. The double-up against Skurzynski with 9-9 > A-7, bringing him back to 20x, is of little use as the action is frenetic, and we’re 5-handed with the blinds now at 2.5 million.
Skurzynski has over half the chips in play and opens with Q-9 offsuit from BTN. Combier is in the SB with 10-10 and astonishingly folds, leaving the task to “Pepa G.” who, with 13x, goes all-in from the big blind upon seeing a K♦️ and a 10♦️. Skurzynski calls, indifferent to the ICM pressure, and the cards are revealed.
The board 2-4-5-3-9 cruelly condemns “Pepa G.” and sends him to collect the €126,500 (+ WSOPE Main Event Ticket) prize reserved for the fourth-place finisher.
Combier is short-stacked and needs to score two double-ups before laying the groundwork for a monetary deal. The pay jumps are significant, and Mihai seems poised to take the lead; the three decide to distribute the remaining prize pool as follows: €237,709 to Combier, €306,554 to Skurzynski, who is second in chips, and €335,937 to Mihai, with €97,800 reserved for the tournament winner.
As often happens in these situations, the first to go out is the largest shareholder of the deal, specifically Nicolae Andrei Mihai. First, he takes a “quads” hit against Combier, who defends the blind with 2-2 and places an anthology-worthy value bet on the river, with a size greater than the pot, which confuses the Romanian, inducing him to make a hero call with middle pair.
In reality, the Romanian manages to climb back up and return to the chip lead, but something in his mindset has changed, and this is evident from a 3-bet pot, which succeeds with K-3 off. In a blind war against Skurzynski, the first slip-up occurs limp with Q-8s, isolation raised by Skurzynski with A-Ks, and a call.
After a nice check-to-check on the flop, 5-4-4, Mihai bets on the turn, a 2, about 60% of the pot, and Skurzynski calls, finding himself in the same situation on the 10 river. Mihai polarizes by betting 70% of the pot, and Skurzynski finds the strength to make a hugely significant hero call with Ace high.
Mihai feels the blow, and a few hands later, on a BTN open with K-J, he poorly digests Skurzynski’s 3-bet shove with K-K and decides it’s time for the moment of truth: the board 6-2-2-A-5 leaves no room for doubt, and Mihai finishes in third place with €335,937 (+ WSOPE Main Event Ticket).
In the final heads-up, most of the chips are on the Polish side, and within a few hands, they reach the decisive showdown: 2-2 for Skurzynski and K-Q for Combier, who, ironically, faces the very hand that sent him to paradise an hour earlier.
However, this is not the day when Iakub Skurzynski succumbs easily to showdowns, and indeed, the board J-8-6-8-5 grants him the final victory. Julien Combier settles for €237,709 (+ WSOPE Main Event Ticket), while Iakub Skurzynski takes home €404,000 and changes and the satisfaction of winning the richest low-buy-in tournament in European poker history.
Results
🥇 🇵🇱 Iakub Skurzynski €306,554 + €97,800 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket
🥈 🇫🇷 Julien Combier €237,709 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket
🥉 🇷🇴 Nicolae Mihai €335,937 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket
4. Pepa G €126.500 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket
5. Adrian Cazacu €96.000 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket
6. Ivan Banic €72.000 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket
7. “Mario” €56.000 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket
8. Michal Schuh €43.500 + WSOPE Main Event Ticket
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