Sweden's Tobias Garp has triumphed in the first mystery-bounty event ever to be offered at the World Series of Poker Europe. Garp, a 35-year-old part-time player from Bergshamra, Sweden, outlasted an 803-entry field to win Event #8 of the 2023 WSOPE, €1,100 NLH Mystery Bounty.
Garp's first bracelet win came in the mystery-bounty format's debut in the WSOP Europe at Kings Casino, after becoming a popular offering in the WSOP in Las Vegas over the past couple of years. The mystery-bounty event wasn't even part of the 2023 WSOP Europe's original slate, but instead, due to popular demand, it replaced a €2,200 short-deck offering that seemed destined to pull in far fewer entrants.
Garp spent several years as a full-time poker pro before widening his life's horizons, including his current job in Sweden as an assistant youth football (soccer in the US) coach. The football coaching gig still leaves him plenty of time for poker, and his visit to Rozvadov turned into a €92,300 payday, his largest career cash to date, in a live career spanning nearly 15 years.
Three €30,000 mystery bounties claimed
The event offered three separate €30,000 bounties once the players reached the money, and two of the three largest prizes went to final-table players. Austria's Adi Rajkovic and Germany's Otto Lemke claimed those awards, while the third €30,000 bounty went to Dutch player Ercan Atmaca, who finished in 12th.
Garp held off Rajkovic to win the title and the €92,300 top prize, though for Rajkovic, the €57,000 runner-up payday also marked a career best. The two were the final survivors of an extended stretch of four-handed play that defined the final table's action. France's Benjamin Pitoun ultimately exited in fourth for €29,050, while Turkey's Koray Korkmaz finished third for €40,400.
Garp built a massive chip lead during the four-handed stretch, and he ultimately finished off a short-stacked Rajkovic when his pocket eights held up against an all-in Rajkovic's pocket fours. Garp, Rajkovic, and Korkmaz also collected Main Event seats via their top-three finishes.
431 unique players contributed an additional 372 re-entries to create the tourney's €521,950 prize pool, which was distributed among the event's top 121 players. The final-table finishers and payouts in Event #9, €1,100 NLH Mystery Bounty, were as follows:
- Tobias Garp (Sweden) - €92,300
- Adi Rajkovic (Austria) - €57,000
- Koray Korkmaz (Turkey) - €40,400
- Benjamin Pitoun (France) - €29,050
- Otto Lemke (Germany) - €21,200
- Stanislaw Miadzel (Poland) - €15,700
- Alexander Romme (Germany) - €11,800
- Martin Schamaun (Switzerland) - €9,000
- Yehor Shumeiko (Ukraine) - €6,990
Featured image source: WSOP.com (Tomas Stacha)
