Marius Schneider delivered an exhilarating finale to the 2024 World Sequence of Poker Europe, capturing his first-ever bracelet in Occasion #15: €550 Nearer at King’s Resort in Rozvadov. Schneider’s outstanding run earned him a career-best rating of €44,000, as he overcame a troublesome heads-up battle in opposition to Romania’s Tiberiu Tirca, who took dwelling €28,800 for his career-high money.
Schneider’s win was much more outstanding as a result of he nearly didn’t play. The evening earlier than, he thought of skipping the ultimate day after beginning with one of many shortest stacks. After discussing it along with his pals, he determined to play Day 2, and he might be extraordinarily happy that he did, as he’s now the proud proprietor of a WSOP bracelet.
Last Desk Outcomes
Winner’s Response
“Surreal,” was the primary phrase from Schneider after capturing his first WSOP bracelet. “I feel I used to be thirty ninth in chips in the beginning of the day, and I didn’t suppose I’d make it this far. Profitable it… it’s fairly surreal, to be sincere,” he admitted.
For Schneider, poker has all the time been a interest, and the considered profitable a bracelet felt distant. “It was type of a dream however so unreachable that I by no means thought a lot about it,” he mirrored. “I am really a scholar proper now in Germany, so my focus is on that, however I’m certain I’ll play extra poker sooner or later.”
Including to the disbelief, Schneider nearly didn’t play. “My pals and I have been actually drained, and final evening we even considered leaving as a result of I had such a brief stack. Fortunately, we determined to remain, so I’ve to thank my pals for that.” have been Schneider’s closing phrases.
Day 2 Motion
A complete of 473 entries have been logged throughout the 2 opening flights, producing a prize pool of €222,310. Out of these, simply 58 gamers secured their spot in Day 2. Nevertheless, notable names like Sergiu Covrig (seventeenth), Gab Yong Kim (thirty seventh), Wing Po Liu (53rd), and Ilija Savevski (fifty fifth) all fell wanting the ultimate desk.
Day 2 started with Jacob Amsellem main the pack, bringing a towering stack of precisely a million chips into play, properly away from De Han Kim in second, who had 669,500. Amsellem’s momentum continued as he dispatched Pawel Zawadowicz, whose ace-king was no match for the Cowboys of the French participant. Amsellem continued to knock out opponents, together with Arshavir Hakobya and Michele Tocci, however, because the event neared the ultimate two tables, he hit a tough patch. His downfall got here in Stage 27 when his ace-five couldn’t overcome Kim’s ace-queen, leaving him to exit in thirteenth place.
Martin Kabrhel, one of many chip leaders when play obtained underway, made an early surge up the leaderboard. He turned journeys in a hand in opposition to Amsellem, extracting a large river guess that propelled him even increased. Kabrhel then caught one other break when his ace-nine cracked the pocket kings of Torsten Kowalke, eliminating the German participant in sixteenth place.
At one level, Kabrhel sat comfortably atop the chip counts. Nevertheless, a collection of powerful palms quickly introduced him again to actuality. He first doubled up Catalin Diac in a blind-on-blind confrontation, then made what he declared because the “best laydown in poker historical past” in opposition to Musa Jusaj.
His misfortune continued when an ill-timed shove left him on fumes, with Schneider seizing the chip lead. Schneider’s time on the high was short-lived, although, as in a dramatic three-way pot, Ran Shahar’s queen-nine cracked the aces of Karl Strasser, concurrently sending Joerg Schneegass to the rail. Shahar then capitalized on his momentum, choosing up pocket kings to eradicate Strasser in tenth place, which set the stage for the ultimate desk.
Diac got here into the ultimate desk in final with simply ten large blinds, and he quickly had zero after his ace-six bumped into the pocket queens of Ib Poulsen, who made quads. Kabrhel shortly adopted as he referred to as a flip shove from Tirca with a pair and a flush draw holding jack-ten, however bricked the river as Tirca’s ace-king held up on the ace-high board.
Ron Jeda noticed his pocket nines go down in flames as he couldn’t maintain up in a flip in opposition to Schneider’s queen-jack, which left the German participant with over a 3rd of the entire chips in play. Shortly after, Shahar gained a commanding stack, eliminating Jusaj when his pocket tens bested his opponent’s ace-ten. With each Schneider and Shahar holding huge parts of the chips, the ultimate desk dynamics have been set to be intense.
5-handed play stretched over two ranges, and regardless of Shahar beginning Stage 30 with a wholesome stack, his event journey ended abruptly earlier than the shut of Stage 31. Hand after hand, the chips slipped away, and his luck ran dry. In his last hand, Shahar limped from the small blind with king-five and located himself all-in on a five-four-three flop. Schneider, holding three-deuce, was trying to lengthen his chip and accomplished a straight when an ace hit the flip, sending Shahar to the payout desk in fifth.
At this stage, Schneider managed roughly two-thirds of the chips in play and appeared poised to assert the bracelet. Nevertheless, his momentum stalled in a giant pot in opposition to Tirca. Schneider, holding eight-seven, flopped an open-ended straight draw, and three-bet shoved the flop. Tirca, with queen-ten and a flopped pair of queens, made the decision and watched the board brick out, which allowed him to shut the hole and pull inside placing distance.
In the meantime, Kim had been nursing a brief stack for a lot of the day. Though he managed to double up throughout four-handed play, his luck quickly ran out when his ace-ten couldn’t maintain up in opposition to Schneider’s jack-seven after each obtained their chips in preflop, with Schneider turning a seven to seal Kim’s elimination.
Poulsen quietly navigated his technique to a podium end regardless of beginning the ultimate desk in the midst of the pack. The Day 1a chip chief finally shoved with queen-ten for his final eight large blinds however bumped into Tirca’s ace-ten. The board supplied no assist, forcing Poulsen to accept third place.
Tirca entered heads-up play with a slender seven-to-five chip lead over Schneider, a margin he steadily elevated by profitable a number of small pots. Together with his benefit rising to almost three-to-one, Tirca may clinch the title when he flopped high pair with king-nine and obtained the chips within the center. Sadly for Tirca, Schneider held pocket aces and doubled up, reclaiming the chip lead he had held earlier.
Schneider’s time as chip chief was short-lived, as Tirca shortly chipped away and regained management shortly after dropping it. Making use of relentless stress, Tirca left Schneider struggling for solutions. Earlier than lengthy, the chip lead swung again to a three-to-one benefit in favor of the Romanian participant.
Nevertheless, Schneider by no means gave up and located an enormous double-up after he referred to as a three-bet shove with ace-king and held in opposition to the king-six of Tirca. Moments later, it was throughout as Tirca obtained in his previous few large blinds with eight-three and was put in danger by the king-four of Schneider. A king on the flop all however sealed the deal, and Schneider erupted into celebration along with his rail. It was a fantastic effort by Tirca, however he needed to accept second.
