The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe is currently underway at King’s Resort in Rozvadov and has already crowned two champions. Poland’s Przemyslaw Szymanski won the kickoff Event #1 of WSOP Europe, securing his first bracelet and a six-figure prize of €115,350. Meanwhile, Ukrainian young-gun Volodymyr Kokoulin collected his first gold bracelet in Event #2, crossing the $100k mark in live career earnings. Here is a recap of the first two events of the 2024 WSOP Europe.
WSOPE Event #1: €350 No-Limit Hold’em Opener Recap
The kickoff tournament of the 2024 WSOP Europe drew 3,509 entries, generating a total prize pool of €1,039,014. Only the top 359 players received a payout from the million-euro prize pool with the eventual winner Przemyslaw Szymanski claiming the lion’s share.
Twenty players made it to the final day, but it took just 30 minutes to narrow the field to two tables. Przemyslaw Szymanski entered the final day second in chips but had to overcome many obstacles to emerge victorious. He held a middling stack going into the final table.
Josef Dobos was the first player to exit, finishing in 9th place for €19,407. Viorel Gavrila, who entered the final table as the chip leader, quickly lost his stack and ended in 8th place. Gavrila moved all-in holding Qc-6h, only to run into Rostyslav Sabischenko’s Ac-10d. Sabischenko’s hand held up, sending Gavrila out in the 8th place for €22,050.
Antonio Menga followed Gavrila to the rail, finishing in 7th place and adding €25,700 to his career earnings. Daniel Trunk, who extended his chip lead, sent Georg Strebel out in 6th place for €30,650 after Strebel’s Ad-5d failed against Trunk’s ace-king.
The five-handed play lasted for some time until Dmitrij Fadeev bowed out in 5th place, collecting €37,550. During the five-handed action, Szymanski doubled through chip leader Daniel Trunk to increase his stack.
Szymanski then took the chip lead by winning a massive pot against Alberto Speranzoni, sending him to the danger zone. Speranzoni couldn’t recover from that loss and gave his remaining chips to Trunk. Speranzoni earned €47,250 for his 4th-place finish.
Three-handed play lasted for an hour, with short-stacked Rostyslav Sabischenko trying to hang on. He eventually moved all-in with Ac-9s, only to face Trunk’s pocket sixes. The pocket sixes held on a rainbow board, eliminating Sabischenko in 3rd place for €60,850.
Heads-up
Heading into heads-up play, Trunk held the chip lead over Szymanski, but it didn’t last long. Szymanski doubled up with his ace-king against Trunk’s inferior 6c-4s, leaving Trunk with a crumbling stack.
Though Trunk managed a small double-up, it didn’t take long for Szymanski to secure victory. In the final hand, Szymanski shoved with 9c-3c, and Trunk called with Kc-4d. The board ran out Jd-Ks-3s-Ah-9s, and Szymanski won the hand with two pairs. Trunk finished as the runner-up for €80,150, while Szymanski earned his first WSOP bracelet and a six-figure payday of €115,350.
2024 WSOP Europe Event #1: €350 No-Limit Hold’em Opener Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Prize (Euro) |
| 1st | Przemyslaw Szymanski | €115,350* |
| 2nd | Daniel Trunk | €80,150 |
| 3rd | Rostyslav Sabishchenko | €60,850 |
| 4th | Alberto Speranzoni | €47,250 |
| 5th | Dmitrij Fadeev | €37,550 |
| 6th | Georg Strebel | €30,650 |
| 7th | Antonio Menga | €25,700 |
| 8th | Viorel Gavrila | €22,050 |
| 9th | Jozsef Dobos | €19,410 |
*The top 12 players also received a WSOP Europe Main Event seat.
Volodymyr Kokoulin Takes Down WSOP Europe Event #2: €550 Pot-Limit Omaha
Event #2 attracted 642 entries at King’s Rozvadov, generating a total prize pool of €301,740, with payouts going to the top 97 players. The final 8 players returned to the final day for the televised final table.
The US poker pro Damjan Radanov was the short stack at the final table and was the first to exit, finishing in 8th place for €5,100. Di Giacomo then secured his second knockout, eliminating Andrei Shpak in 7th place (€6,800).
Austria’s Stefan Kostner got involved in a three-handed battle against Hristiyan Banov and Tomasz Kozub. Unfortunately, his hand didn’t improve, and Banov scooped the pot, sending Kostner out in 6th place for €9,200.
Ivan Nikolov followed shortly after, finishing 5th for €12,600. After his elimination, Volodymyr Kokoulin was on the verge of busting out, but the turn and river saved him with a flush, while Claudio Di Giacomo was left short. Di Giacomo soon busted in 4th place, earning €17,800.
Three-handed play lasted for over an hour until Tomasz Kozub eliminated Hristiyan Banov in 3rd place, setting up heads-up play.
Kokoulin held a massive chip lead going into the heads-up match, and Kozub couldn’t overcome the deficit. In the final hand, Kokoulin three-bet, putting Kozub all-in. Kozub revealed Jh-Jc-8c-5d, while Kokoulin showed Qs-Qh-7d-4s. The board ran out 2d-6s-7c-5h-8d, giving Kokoulin a straight and sealing his victory. Tomasz Kozub finished as the runner-up, earning €37,400, while Volodymyr Kokoulin became the 14th Ukrainian player to win a WSOP gold bracelet.
2024 WSOP Europe Event #2: €550 PLO 8-Max Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Prize (Euro) |
| 1st | Volodymyr Kokoulin | €56,100 |
| 2nd | Tomasz Kozub | €37,400 |
| 3rd | Hristiyan Banov | €25,500 |
| 4th | Claudio Di Giacomo | €17,800 |
| 5th | Ivan Nikolov | €12,600 |
| 6th | Stefan Kostner | €9,200 |
| 7th | Andrei Shpak | €6,800 |
| 8th | Damjan Radanov | €5,100 |
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Source: WSOP
Image Credit: WSOP
