Max Neugebauer Wins Largest-Ever World Series of Poker Europe Main Event

Each of the previous three World Series of Poker Europe €10,350 buy-in no-limit maintain’em primary occasions have set area dimension information. That pattern continued in 2023, as this 12 months’s working noticed a seven p.c improve on final 12 months’s 763-entry area, with 817 turning out blowing the €5,000,000 assure to create a closing prize pool of €7,761,500 ($8,300,148). In the tip, it was 26-year-old Austrian former skilled basketball participant Max Neugebauer who closed out the win in fashion.

The closing hand of the match noticed Neugebauer a hero name with third pair dealing with a multi-barrel bluff that resulted in river shove by his heads-up opponent, Eric Tsai. After some tense time within the tank, Neugebauer discovered the spectacular name to win the match, locking up his first WSOP gold bracelet and the highest prize of $1,590,000.

This was by far the most important stay match rating for Neugebauer, blowing away his $27,000 payday for a seventh-place end in a $2,500 buy-in occasion in a Venetian DeepStack Championship Poker Series this summer season.

On high of the {hardware} and the cash, Neugebauer additionally took house a lot of rankings factors due to this large victory. The 2,280 Card Player Player of the Year factors he secured, when mixed with the 270 he took house for that beforehand talked about final-table end in Las Vegas, are sufficient to maneuver him into 113th place within the 2023 POY race standings introduced by Global Poker. With 1,250 PokerGO Tour factors, Neugebauer additionally surged into nineteenth place on the 2023 PGT leaderboard.

This match performed out over the course of two beginning flights and 4 extra full days of motion. Plenty of massive names had been among the many 123 gamers to make the cash, together with two-time bracelet winner Daniel Dvoress (109th), two-time bracelet winner Manig Loeser (98th), current bracelet winner Tobias Peters (93rd), two-time bracelet winner and final 12 months’s champion of this occasion Omar Eljach (89th), 2020 WSOP Online primary occasion winner Stoyan Madanzhiev (67th), bracelet winner Leon Sturm (58th), Viktor Blom (fifty fifth), two-time POY award winner Stephen Chidwick (forty fourth), four-time bracelet winner Adrian Mateos (forty second), three-time bracelet winner Anson Tsang (thirty sixth), and poker triple crown winner Davidi Kitai (thirty third).

The closing day started with eight gamers remaining. Tsai was within the lead whereas Neugebauer sat in third chip place to begin. Alf Martinsson was the primary to fall, together with his final ten blinds getting into with A-3 dealing with the pocket tens of Michele Tocci. With tens full of sixes by the river, Tocci scored the knockout to ship Martinsson house in eighth place ($156,880). Ruslan Volkov’s run got here to an finish in seventh place ($204,580) when his pocket tens had been unable to carry up towards the A-10 suited of Kasparas Klezys, who spiked an ace on the flip and held from there to slender the sphere to 6.

After three hours of six-handed grinding, two eliminations occurred in comparatively speedy succession. The first noticed Michael Rocco’s pocket aces maintain up towards the A-5 of Nils Pudel, who had three-bet shoved over Rocco’s button open from the massive blind. Pudel earned $270,300 because the sixth-place finisher.

The very subsequent hand, Rocco opened from the cutoff with A-9 after which four-bet shoved for 28 massive blinds efficient over the three-bet of Tsai from the button. This time, Tsai had picked up two aces. He referred to as and held to take an enormous chunk out of Rocco’s stack.

Rocco quickly acquired all-in, shoving from the massive blind towards a small-blind limp from Tocci, who as soon as once more had pocket tens. Rocco’s A-7 was unable to return from behind and Rocco was eradicated in fifth place. The American poker professional earned $361,460 for his second final-table end of the sequence. Just over per week earlier, he positioned second within the €25,000 excessive curler for one more $386,900. These two massive scores have elevated his profession earnings to greater than $4.7 million.

Neugebauer overtook the lead throughout four-handed motion. He added to his benefit by busting Kasparas Klezys, who shoved his final 10 massive blinds with Q-8 from the small blind. Neugebauer referred to as with Okay-J and made two pair to pull the pot. Klezys earned a career-high payday of $491,840 for his deep run.

The subsequent massive conflict noticed Tocci limp from the button with pocket sixes after which name a 13-big-blind shove from Tsai, who had pocket deuces within the small blind. The board ran out AA1023 and Tsai turned a full home to double by means of Tocci, leaving him on fumes. He someway discovered pocket jacks on the subsequent deal and acquired all-in towards the Okay-4 of Neugebauer, who drilled a king on the river to eradicate Tocci in third place. The Italian was awarded $677,340, by far the most important money on his resume.

With that, Neugebauer entered heads-up play holding 64,100,000 to Tsai’s 17,400,000. Tsai was capable of shut the hole a bit within the early going, however was nonetheless nicely behind when the beforehand talked about dramatic closing hand arose.

With blinds of 300,000-600,000 and a big-blind ante of 600,000, Tsai min-raised from the button with J9. Neugebauer referred to as out of the massive blind with J8 and the flop got here down Q87. Neugebauer checked together with his second pair and Tsai wager 1,000,000 together with his gutshot straight flush draw. Neugebauer referred to as and the A rolled off the deck on the flip.

Neugebauer checked once more and Tsai unleashed an overbet of 6,300,000 into the pot of 5,000,000. Neugebauer referred to as and the 4 accomplished the board. Neugebauer checked for a 3rd time and Tsai, who had missed fully, moved all in for 16,000,000. Neugebauer mulled over the large choice for over two minutes earlier than flicking in a chip and saying a name. Just like that, it was throughout.

Tsai, a poker vlogger from Taiwan, earned $944,460 because the runner-up, bringing his lifetime earnings to greater than $1.4 million.

Here is a have a look at the payouts and rankings factors awarded on the closing desk:

Photo credit score: WSOP / Tomas Stacha.