A roadblock was thrown at the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe at King’s Resort, located on the German border in the Czech Republic, as the Czech government announced new regulations that ordered bars and clubs to close their doors at 10 p.m.
The regulations were introduced as a reaction to the record-breaking number of coronavirus cases which were reported at 27,717 new cases on Thursday, November 25 alone.
King’s Resort immediately reacted to the new restrictions by reassuring the poker community that both the WSOP Europe and the upcoming EPT Prague are still planned to take place in their entirety. The only immediate big change announced thus far is that the starting time for some WSOP Europe events has been pushed forward to 10 a.m.
More changes could be announced in the future as the Czech government has already hinted that there could be more regulations in the near future and have already gone as far as canceling the popular Christmas market.
Players will still need to prove they were either vaccinated or have recently recovered from the coronavirus in order to participate.
That being said, the WSOP Europe rolls on with three bracelets already awarded.
Antonello Ferraiuolo Wins WSOP Europe Event #1: €350 Opener
The WSOP Europe Event #1: €350 Opener offered players a path for a WSOP bracelet at one of the cheapest price points around. The event proved to be popular with 1,789 entries generating a huge €535,358 prize pool.
A first-time bracelet winner was guaranteed by the time the final table was reached. Not only were players playing for WSOP glory along with a €77,570 top prize but the top three finishers were also awarded an added a seat to the WSOP Europe Main Event valued at €10,350.
Levent Efe entered the final table with the chip lead but soon after Narcis Nedelcu took control to secure a huge chip lead with six players remaining. However, Nedelcu blew up his stack with four players remaining to double up eventual champion Antonello Ferraiuolo before hitting the rail in fourth place and the stacks were fairly even between Farraiuolo and Efe in heads-up play after Ion Tabcaru was ousted in third place.
Efe took a small lead but this didn’t last long. Farriauolo three-bet jammed with big slick on a queen-queen-four flop and took a huge lead after Efe folded while also holding big slick. Ferrariuolo secured his first bracelet after his aces held against ten-nine suited.
Event #1: €350 Opener Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Antonello Ferraiuolo | Italy | €77,570* |
| 2 | Levent Efe | Israel | €47,939* |
| 3 | Ion Tabacaru | Romania | €35,229* |
| 4 | Narcis Nedelcu | Romania | €26,157 |
| 5 | Logi Laxdal | Iceland | €19,623 |
| 6 | Roberto Bizaj | Switzerland | €14,876 |
| 7 | Gal Aviv | Israel | €11,397 |
| 8 | Marius Gicovanu | Romania | €8,826 |
| 9 | Andy Schlegel | Germany | €6,909 |
*Top three players awarded an added WSOP Europe €10,350 Main Event seat.
Bjorn Verbakel Wins WSOP Europe Event #2: €550 Pot-Limit Omaha (€59,250)
Omaha was alive and well at King’s Resort with Event #2: €550 Pot-Limit Omaha attracting 623 entries to generate a €295,925 prize pool.
Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Martin Kabrhel was easily the biggest name at the final table but bluffed off most of his stack to the eventual winner Bjorn Verbakel before bowing out in eighth place to guarantee that the Event #2 champion would be a first-time bracelet winner.
Verbakel doesn’t appear to be one of Kabrhel’s fans despite parlaying his opponent’s ill-timed bluff into a victory a few hours later for his first bracelet along with the €59,250 top prize.
"He is just an annoying guy, everybody agrees on that, I guess. I already played with him once before and he is always acting like this, talking all the time and slowing down the game," Verbakel said to PokerNews about Kabrhel.
Event #2: €550 Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Bjorn Verbakel | Netherlands | €59,250 |
| 2 | Zhao Feng | Singapore | €36,617 |
| 3 | Ken Beckers | Belgium | €25,530 |
| 4 | Richard Toth | Hungary | €18,111 |
| 5 | Alfredo Vega Meister | Spain | €13,078 |
| 6 | Tobias Peters | Netherlands | €9,615 |
| 7 | Mikkel Plum | Denmark | €7,200 |
| 8 | Martin Kabrhel | Czech Republic | €5,494 |
Samuel Stranak Wins WSOP Europe Event #4: €2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (€101,764)
Another first-time bracelet winner was crowned in Rozvadov with Samuel Stranak shipping Event #4: €2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for €101,764. The event attracted 241 entries to generate a €423,557 prize pool.
A bracelet was guaranteed to be awarded to Slovakia after Day 1 chip leader Ian Bradley hit the rail in third place leaving friends Stranak and Alan Sabo battling it out for the bracelet.
The heads-up battle witnessed the chip lead bounce back and forth before Stranak took control and eventually eliminated Sabo to seal the title.
"We were joking about it before but what are the odds? One million to one?" a delighted Stranak said to PokerNews about playing heads-up against Sabo. "It was an amazing experience, I almost cried when I got heads-up with this guy. I am sad that I didn't get the bracelet but I am very happy for him."
Event #4: €2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Samuel Stranak | Slovakia | €101,764 |
| 2 | Alan Sabo | Slovakia | €62,894 |
| 3 | Ian Bradley | United Kingdom | €44,044 |
| 4 | Vasil Medarov | Bulgaria | €31,484 |
| 5 | Amir Mozaffarian | Germany | €22,982 |
| 6 | Krasimir Yankov | Bulgaria | €17,140 |
| 7 | Stanislav Parkhomenko | Bulgaria | €13,065 |
| 8 | Ermanno Di Nicola | Italy | €10,185 |
Stay tuned at PokerListings for more updates about the WSOP Europe.
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Images by Dan Maxwell & Tomáš Stacha
