3 days ago4 min read

🇮🇹 Gennaro Proscia wins Pirates' Poker Treasure Mystery Bounty!

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Do you remember “The Goal of the Century,” or rather, what went down in history as such: Maradona, single-handedly against all of England?

The final table victory by Gennaro Proscia at the Pirates’ Poker Treasure Main Event could be summed up in a similar way: two opponents taken down in one move—the double elimination of Pfarrer Alfonso and Juan Velasco Farre, the latter being second in chips at the time.

A fearless run through to the 3-handed phase, a feint to take on the last opponent, a subtle flick to outplay the keeper, and the trophy secured—or the ball in the net, if you prefer. Scroll until 2:09:46 ⏬

Top Bounty

A brief but necessary note before discussing the final table: the €75,000 top bounty (including a ticket for the WSOPE Main Event) was claimed by the 15th-place finisher, the German player Schippe. Here's the video.

Final Table

After the elimination of Maksym Knyzhenko in 10th place at the hands of Samuel Todisco (A-K < A-A), the nine finalists gather around the same table. Below the group photo, you can find the updated chip counts.

Seat 1- 🇩🇪 Steffen Peter Moedl 10.300.000

Seat 2- 🇮🇹 Samuel William Todisco 25.700.000

Seat 3- 🇮🇹 Gennaro Proscia 52.500.000

Seat 4- 🇫🇷 Egmen Orhan 7.100.000

Seat 5- 🇳🇱 Jan Djikstra 15.600.000

Seat 6- 🇩🇪 Mr. Karotte 15.700.000

Seat 7- 🇪🇸 Juan Velasco Farre 21.200.000

Seat 8- 🇨🇿 Rada Prema 5.300.000

Seat 9- 🇩🇪 Pfarrer Alfonso 6.200.000

The first to leave the table was Czech player Rada Prema, left with just 3BB after a few hands (with blinds starting at 400K/800K and an 800K ante), forced to move all-in more due to mathematics than choice.

A ninth-place finish secured the remaining eight players a seat in the upcoming WSOPE Main Event, as tickets were awarded from the eighth position onward (four of which were included in the Top 4 bounties, for a total of 12 when factoring in those given at the final table).

Eighth and seventh places, as mentioned earlier, belong to Pfarrer Alfonso and Juan Velasco Farre (the winner of the last Sharkbay in Velden). This hand propelled Gennaro Proscia even further ahead in the chip count, already holding a significant lead over the rest: “Juanito” opened to 3M at T800K with Q-Q and an effective stack of 32x, while Gennaro defended with A♦️ 8♦️ from the big blind (with a stack of over 80x).

The flop came 2♦️ 3♥️ 4♦️. Juan bet close to the pot, and Gennaro shoved all-in with a nut flush draw, a gutshot straight draw, and three outs guaranteed by his Ace. Juanito tanked and eventually called. The turn brought a red card, but it was a heart, while the river was red as well—but not the suit the Spaniard wanted to see. Meanwhile, the German, who shoved all-in with A-Qo for just over 2BB, celebrated securing his ticket at the very last breath.

After the elimination of “Mr. Karotte,” who was also quite short-stacked, came a remarkable comeback by Steffen Peter Moedl. The German’s fate seemed sealed when he went all-in with A-8 against the K-K of Dutch player Jan Dijkstra, holding just 3.5BB.

However, an Ace on the flop turned the tables, bringing Moedl back to just under 10BB. Proscia remained the dominant chip leader, with most other players around 10x, except for Samuel, who quietly held onto his 25BB, waiting for others to knock themselves out.

Not too long after, it was the Frenchman Egemen Orhan’s turn to exit. Known as “Ege,” as fans in the live stream chat affectionately called him, he managed a few unexpected double-ups that kept him alive until five players remained. However, his tournament journey ended here, although his €28,000 prize (plus some bounties) was a great reward for a €360 buy-in event.

Dutch player Jan Dijkstra soon followed, becoming one of Moedl’s two victims in less than 10 minutes. Moedl entered the 3-handed phase with a stack substantial enough to propose a deal.

Somehow, an agreement was reached (if you missed it, watch the video interview linked above 😜), and play continued 3-handed, with Gennaro holding a massive lead over both opponents. There was no need for a flashy “hand of the gods” to seal the deal; two well-timed value bets were enough to secure the trophy and the first-place prize.

For the record, Samuele couldn’t find a fold on a 2-6-2-A-6 board in a small blind vs. big blind dynamic with his A-x (Gennaro had a full house with 2-5). Moedl, left with 8BB on the river, eventually tossed his final chip into the pot, closing the game in Proscia’s favour.