WSOP Weekly: European Series Underway With Two Bracelet Winners, Negreanu Joining Action
The online bracelet hunting may have concluded, but the live action returned last week with the World Series of Poker Europe now underway at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic.
After a week, two players have secured their first bracelets. The series runs through Nov. 16 and features 15 bracelet events.
The €10,350 Main Event highlights the festival and kicks off on Nov. 11. As events play out, another well-known player will soon join the mix. Six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu plans on jumping in the action this week. Here’s a look at some of the headlines from the series so far.
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Event 2: €550 Pot Limit Omaha Eight-Max
The Omaha action featured the second-straight bargain buy-in, bringing in 566 entries for a €268,850 prize pool. Germany’s Helmut Phung, 30, took the chip lead into the final table and never relinquished that. He scored his first bracelet and a top prize of €55,132.
“My plan was to win the tournament and to put a lot of pressure on the other players,” he said afterward. “I played with them on all the different tables and knew what to expect.”
Helmut Phung shows off his bracelet after winning the opening event at the World Serief of Polker Europe. (photo courtesy WSOP)
This was only Phung’s third career series cash, all coming in WSOPE events. The win greatly ballooned his live tournament record, which now stands at more than $84,000.
Norway’s Martin Almaas finished runner-up for €34,051, the largest score of his career.
Some classic Hold’em action kicked off the series at the lowest buy-in level on the schedule. That brought in 2,454 entries for a €734,359 prize pool.
When the action reached heads-up play, a pair of Italians battled for the top spot. Fabio Peluso (pictured in lead image, courtesy WSOP) ultimately found the winner’s circle for €95,670. His only previous WSOP cash came in the same event in 2021.
The win comes after another big finish earlier this year. In April, Peluso took runner-up in the PokerStarsEuropean Poker Tour €1,100 Main Event in Monte Carlo for €217,340. Some recent focus on his game has apparently paid off.
“I have been studying a lot and discussing spots with my poker friends,” he said. “And of course the run-good helps too.”
Carlo Savinelli took runner-up for €59,032 and now has more than $274,000 in WSOP winnings. The Italian now has almost $1.4 million in live tournament winnings overall.
Daniel Negreanu heading to Rozvadov
With his eyes on another bracelet, Daniel Negreanu announced last week that he’d be heading to King’s as well. He even listed a staking package online for players to back the Canadian-born poker pro.
Look for Negreanu to debut in a Rozvadov field this week.
“Come and get it!” he noted on Twitter on Oct. 29. “I’m heading to WSOP Europe next week and here’s your chance to get a piece and have a sweat.”
On the Brandon Adams Podcast recently, the GGPoker ambassador discussed his own preparation for massive series like the WSOP. That includes some changes to his workout routine during the series.
Fresh off a win in the Super High Roller Bowl, he’ll be looking for another win in Europe. That turned around a year that was set to be his biggest losing year in poker. Negreanu now has almost $50 million in live tournament winnings.
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Upcoming events
Plenty of big tournaments await players in the coming weeks. After three starting flights, the €1,350 Mini Main Event reaches Day 2 on Thursday.
The €550 Colossus also kicks off on Thursday and should bring in a huge field as seen at the annual live series in Las Vegas and in the recent WSOP Online at GGPoker.
For those with much bigger bankrolls, the €25,000 Platinum High Roller also gets underway on Monday. Here’s a look at the remaining schedule.
