Daniel Pidun is the WSOP Europe Main Event champion after he capped off a brilliant heads-up comeback with pocket aces to win €1.1 million and his first gold bracelet.
The first WSOP bracelet comes in a rare appearance for the champ, who only has a handful of cashes under his belt. Pidun is an EPT Main Event winner from the Berlin stop in 2013 and can be seen in a few of the high rollers at WSOPE, but that's about it. He will now have a chance to make the trip to nearby Prague to defend his title next April.
Neugebauer fades early
The day started with Brazil's Murilo Garcia on top of the final eight, with Pidun among a group of four players who started with more than 40 big blinds. The top heavy bunch also included Max Neugebauer, who won this event in 2023.
Matthias Gude started with six big blinds and managed a hope spot when he doubled early, but he was gone soon after that. His exit kicked off a final session that had a late start thanks to Day 4 playing until the early morning. Catalin Pop left next and six-handed play set up the downfall of Neugebauer.
The Austrian basketball player had started the day in second on the leaderboard but it all went to dust in the opening hours. He gave the last of it to eventual runner-up Gerald Karlic, who was on a tear to the chip lead after starting in the middle of the pack.
Karlic continued his rampage with the elimination of Claudio Di Giacomo in fifth and went into four-handed play with a big lead over Garcia, Pidun, and a short-stacked Teemu Jaatinen. The Finlander couldn't make it happen and they were quickly down to three.
Heads-up comeback ends with aces
Pidun was the one to grab the last of Jaatinen's stack, and he had a lot of work to do after a major clash between Garcia and Karlic. The two big stacks got into it, with Garcia running into self-induced trouble after a jam with ace-three. Karlic's pocket tens held up and the heads-up battle started with Pidun chasing slightly worse than a three-to-one chip deficit.
The champ grabbed the momentum immediately with a flush and Karlic paid off a full double on the first hand of heads-up play with a set of fours. The two were effectively tied after that and they exchanged punches for a while until Pidun gained the upperhand when Karlic tried to end the tournament with a hero call.
The hand started with a raise from Karlic with 
and Pidun called with 
. Two diamonds and a queen hit on the flop and Pidun was in good shape when Karlic tossed out a bet. Pidun raised and Karlic called to see a deuce of hearts on the turn and a full-grown pot.
Pidun led with a big bet and Karlic called once again, prompting a river shove when the 
hit to add a second pair. Karlic went into the tank to consider an ace-high call for the win, eventually pushing out a stack to pay him off. Pidun seized the chip lead and started his march toward victory.
A late double rescued Karlic and brought the stacks near even again, but it all came to a head right away when he picked up pocket jacks and Pidun looked down at pocket aces. Pidun raised and Karlic three-bet, setting up a four-bet and a shove that put the tournament on the line. A few draws appeared on the board for Karlic but the aces held up and Pidun won his first WSOP bracelet and €1.1 million.
WSOP Europe will now transition to Prague next spring, where Pidun will have the opportunity to defend the last Main Event title held in Rozvadov. The series will call Hilton Prague home from March 31–April 12.
Winner's image courtesy of Tomas Stacha/PokerNews.
