The first high-buy-in event of the 2023 World Series of Poker Europe has found its champion in Canada's Daniel Dvoress, who earned the second WSOP bracelet of his career by winning Event #8, €25,000 NLH GGMillion$, at Kings Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic.
Dvoress earned €600,000 for the victory after eliminating Las Vegas pro Michael Rocco during heads-up play. Rocco, also a prior WSOP bracelet winner, collected €365,000 for the second-place finish. Occasionally controversial Czech star Martin Kabrhel, a two-time bracelet winner himself, finished third for €260.000.
Day 1 leader James Chen exits short of the money
Day 1 chip leader James Chen endured a much rougher Day 2 and busted short of the payout spots, as did numerous stars including Betrand Grospellier, Felipe Ketzer, Chris Brewer, Stephen Chidwick, and Viktor Blom. Nacho Barbero ended up as the event's bubble boy, exiting in 15th spot.
Meanwhile, Kabrhel moved forward in the counts and built an early lead, amassing a stack of over 12.4 million in chips when the nine-player final table was set. Rocco, in ninth place when the day began, had moved into second spot with nearly 9.6 million in chips. Eventual winner Dvoress reached the final in fifth spot with just under 4.5 million, not far behind Sweden's Niklas Astedt and France's Cedric Schwaederle, who both brought more than five million in chips to the final.
Three-way battle for GGMillion$ title emerges
Several short-stacked players managed early doubles but the fast-paced action, including the use of a shot clock, meant the bustouts still occurred apace. Jerry Oedeen, Tamas Adamszki, and Schwaederle led the parade, followed by Astedt, Leonard Maue and Gab Yong Kim. Dvoress's knockout of Kim in fourth gave him a commanding lead as three-handed play arrived, as he held a little over half the chips in play.
Rocco pulled into a virtual tie with Dvoress shortly into three-handed play, but a collision between Dvoress and Kabrhel sent Kabrhel to the rail and gave Dvoress another big lead as heads-up play arrived. Dvoress had pocket nines to Kabrhel's king-queen when the chips went in pre-flop, and Kabrhel moved ahead on a J-K-2 flop. A six on the turn missed both players, but Dvoress spiked his nine for a set on the river, the two-outer ending Kabrhel's run.
The end came soon after in another all-in, pre-flop collision. Dvoress had the best of it with A-8 against Rocco's 10-9, and a 2-2-2-6-8 runout gave Dvoress the knockout and the GGMillion$ title.
The €25K GGMillion$ tourney drew 89 total entries from 42 unique players and built a €2,079,930 prize pool. The top 14 players made the money. The final-table finishers in Event #8, €25,000 NLH GGMillion$, were as follows:
- Daniel Dvoress (Canada) - €600,000
- Michael Rocco (United States) - €365,000
- Martin Kabrhel (Czech Republic) - €260,000
- Gab Yong Kim (South Korea) - €189,000
- Leonard Maue (Germany) - €140,300
- Niklas Astedt (Sweden) - €106,600
- Cedric Schwaederle (France) - €82,900
- Tamas Adamszki (Hungary) - €66,200
- Jerry Oedeen (Sweden) - €54,100
Featured image source: YouTube / Kings Resort
