WSOP Europe lands in Prague from March 31–April 12 with 15 bracelets on the line, including the €5,300 Main Event. Before the action begins, we’re counting down the greatest moments in the festival’s history.
Big stacks and a slow structure are the hallmark of the WSOP Main Event.
At the 2008 WSOP Europe, they combined to create a marathon final table that lasted 19 hours and 10 minutes (not including the dinner break). It also featured a grueling heads-up battle that started at 11pm, played through the night, and finally ended at 10:32 am.
It’s still the longest final table in WSOP history – and it was stacked. Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Bengt Sonnert, Ivan Demidov (runner-up in the 2008 WSOP Main Event), and Scott Fischman all made the final nine.
Juanda lasted the distance, defeating Stanislav Alekhin – who won over £500K in his first recorded live cash – heads-up, with both players visibly exhausted by the end.
Only a handful of people were there to witness it – myself included, as editor of PokerPlayer magazine. Juanda later revealed that his secret weapon was English breakfast tea – “about 80 cups” over the course of the final table.
The chips went back and forth, and Alekhin looked set to win the bracelet until his stamina finally gave out.
On a flop of 
, Alekhin fired out a bet of 325,000. Juanda moved all-in for over 3 million with top pair, and Alekhin wearily called with 
.
After more than 22 hours, including breaks, Alekhin put his tournament life on the line with a flush draw. When a club failed to come on the turn or river, it was effectively over, and Juanda sealed the title with quad sixes a couple of hands later.
John Juanda: The marathon final table in his own words
In the immediate aftermath, when the dust had settled, the prize money had been counted, and everyone involved had grabbed some much-needed sleep, Juanda took a moment to talk through the events of the epic final table.
We all started with a lot of chips at the final table, and when everybody has a big stack, I tend to play like it's a cash game, playing suited connectors and small pairs.
Usually, it's only towards the end, when the blinds are so high, that you have to start to shift gears into more of a tournament playing style.
I was very happy to have Bengt and Daniel to my right as I had position on them. I've been playing with Daniel for over 10 years now, so I know his game pretty well. He's said many times that he's not able to play his normal game when I'm on the table, especially to his left, and I think I was able to take advantage of this.
I wasn't happy to have Ivan on my left, though. He played really great poker and was able to take away some of my weapons.
One of the key hands of the final table was against Alekhin. I raised with 
and the flop came 
with a king on the turn.
I had two pair and a flush draw, but there were also two hearts. Stanislav checked the flop and turn, calling my big bets each time.
He then checked the 
river, bringing a possible straight and flush. I bet around 340K, and he check-raised me all-in.
I had less than 600K left, so it was really tough to fold, but I decided to lay the hand down. I just went with my read – I didn't think he was capable of check-raising me with nothing, and at the end I was told he had a flush, so I would have been out of the tournament.
Endurance test
When we started heads-up, I was super confident. Stanislav played great, but I've been playing for 12 years, I had more chips than him, and I was the more experienced player, so I thought I would be a big favorite to win.
I ground him down to 1.3M, then I rushed it a little bit as I wanted to finish, so I made a couple of boneheaded plays. I went crazy with A-2 when he had A-Q and doubled him up.
I may have been feeling too confident, as I had five million chips, but I should have been thinking that I wasn't getting the best of it.
After a few hours he had me down to one million or so. I wasn't going to give up, but I started to have doubts about winning.
When I had A-K and he had K-J and flopped the jack, I ended up hitting one of my cards on the river. That hand took a lot of wind out of his sails, and I could sense he was a little frustrated, as he was so close to winning.
In the final key hand, I raised pre-flop with 
and he called me with , which is reasonable.
The flop came K-Q-7 with two clubs, and he came out betting, which is kind of an unorthodox play. I was sure my king was the best hand, and I didn't want to give him any free cards, so I decided to move all-in on him for over three million.
I really didn't want to play a big pot – I just wanted him to fold so we could move on to the next hand. He didn't get the right pot odds to call and I think he knew it, but I heard him say, ‘I'm tired.’ He was about a two-to-one underdog to make his flush.
After I won, I was like, 'Wow, this is it?' I was almost disappointed that we had to stop! I was exhausted but still in playing mode.
It feels really great, and it's a feeling of satisfaction, happiness, and relief all rolled into one. I haven't won a WSOP event since 2003, and it was starting to get to the point where it was almost embarrassing. I said on ESPN afterwards, ‘Most people want to keep up with the Joneses, but I have to keep up with the Iveys, Cunninghams, Negreanus, and Seidels!’
2008 WSOPE Main Event results
- John Juanda (Indonesia) – £868,800
- Stanislav Alekhin (Russia) – £533,950
- Ivan Demidov (Russia) – £334,850
- Bengt Sonnert (Sweden) – £271,500
- Daniel Negreanu (Canada) – £217,200
- Scott Fischman (USA) – £171,950
- Robin Keston (UK) – £135,750
- Toni Hiltunen (Finland) – £108,600
- Chris Elliott (UK) – £81,450
The first event of the 2026 WSOP Europe in Prague starts at 12pm local time on March 31. The Main Event runs from April 3-10.
Stick with PokerOrg for all the news from the tournament floor at Hilton Prague.
