Home win: In the biggest WSOPE Main Event ever held, Josef Gulas Jr. – a local car salesman – carried home the trophy this night, winning over €1.2 million in prize money.

Key Facts: WSOPE Main Event 2021

• Venue: King’s Casino Rozvadov
• Buy-In: €10.350
• Players: 688 Entries
• Prize Pool: €6.536.000
• Winner: Josef Gulas Jr.
• Prize Money 1st place: €1.276.712

The biggest WSOP Europe Main Event of all times

The WSOP Europe was held for the fourth time in a row at the King’s Casino in Rozvadov on the Czech-German border. After the tournament had to be cancelled last year due to the pandemic situation, the tables where very crowded this year. However, the organisers had to pay tribute to the pandemic this year as well and had to adhere to strict closing hours.

Nevertheless, the WSOP Europe and especially the Main Event was a complete success. With 688 entries, a new record was set and the number of players was significantly higher than in previous years. The prize pool was more than 6.5 million euros and the winner received almost 1.3 million euros.

This is how the number of participants in the WSOP Europe has developed since the first event in 2007:

WSOP Europe Final

The final day of the Main Event started with only 7 players and Josef Gulas was already in the lead. Close on his heels was the German player Alexander Tkatschev.

During the first hours of the final, the lead changed several times and at times Gulas found himself at the bottom of the chip count. However, Gulas was able to hold his ground and eliminated the Greek Athanasios Kidas with an all-in before the flop with A J . Kidas was on the losing end with K Q after two aces appeared on the flop.

German Alexander Tkaschev was then eliminated by Johan Guilbert, who was the clear chip leader at this point with a 3:1 lead going into the heads-up.

But Guilbert’s lead didn’t last very long. Gulas found A K on the button and only limped. Guilbert raised to 4 big blinds with K Q and Gulas now re-raised to almost 14 big blinds. Guilbert then pushed all his chips into the middle and Gulas called the all-in (effectively around 40 big blinds). Johan Guilbert was the clear underdog in the showdown and lost after the board failed to help him sufficiently.

The game then swung back and forth, with Josef Gulas initially extending his lead, but then losing a substantial pot with a weak straight against a flush and Johan Gilbert was briefly back in front. Then however, Gulas was lucky to take down a huge pot with A 5 against A J on a A 6 5 flop.

After that hand, the Czech’s victory was only a formality and in the end it was a mundane coin flip that decided the tournament. With A 8 Josef Gulas shoved all-in from the button for effectively 16 big blinds and Johan Guibert called with 2 2 . The board gave Gulas the help he needed: K J 3 7 8 . With the eight on the river, the Czech’s victory was certain. Johan Guilbert from France was eliminated in second place and received more than three quarters of a million euros in prize money.

The 24 year old Josef Gulas Jr. who works as a car sales man and satellited into the tournament for only €250 was railed by his family and humbled by the victory: “It’s an incredible feeling. I’m really grateful and happy,” he said in an interview shortly after his victory. “It was a perfect tournament with a very nice structure in the best casino in Europe. Just incredible!”

Gulas was particularly overwhelmed by the atmosphere at the final table: “This is something incredible, I would wish this on everyone. Everyone should participate and play in such circumstances to feel the atmosphere and the feeling at the final table.”

Final result WSOP Europe Main Event 2021

Bilder: Tomáš Stacha / pokernews