2018 WSOP Europe Kicks-Off Next Tuesday at King’s Casino Rozvadov

2018 WSOP Europe Kicks-Off Next Tuesday at King’s Casino Rozvadov

The 2018 WSOP took place this summer in Las Vegas, during which time 78 bracelets were awarded during its 50 day schedule. Two months later, and its junior cousin, the WSOP Europe is set to kick-off on Tuesday, October 9 in the Czech Republic, with a further 10 gold bracelets up for grabs across its 20-day run.

King’s Casino in Rozvadov

The United States first hosted the WSOP in 1970, but almost four decades would pass before Europe got its own iteration, with London hosting the first series in 2007. Nevertheless, the WSOP Europe would subsequently move onto France and then Germany before finding a permanent home in 2017 at the King’s Casino Rozvadov in the Czech Republic.

The venue would seem to be a perfect fit for the brand, too, as the country is situated in Central Europe providing easier access across the whole continent. Furthermore, the King’s Casino is owned by Leon Tsoukernik, an avid poker player who has $3,217,816 in tournament earnings to his name, including placing fourth at the 2017 $300k Super High Roller Bowl for $1.8 million.

Tsoukernik opened the King’s Casino Rozvadov in 2003, but in 2009 he transformed the venue into a poker-oriented casino, reflecting his increasing passion for the game. The venue has since become Europe’s biggest poker room, featuring an impressive 160 poker tables, and in 2014 Tsoukernik became the European Poker Awards ‘Industry Person of the Year’ in honor of the significant contributions he has made to the game of poker over the years.

€13M in Guarantees

In 2017, the WSOP Europe found a permanent home at the King’s Casino Rozvadov, with the Series attracting 7,689 players and awarding €25 million in prizes across its 11 bracelet events. This year, there will be 10 WSOP gold bracelets available, with €13 million in guarantees already set aside for the tournaments, including €5 million for its Main Event. As Tsoukernik recently commented:

“It was a dream to host WSOP Europe and I can’t wait to do it again. We hope everyone who came last year comes back for our warm hospitality and generous offerings, and for those who missed out, please join us for Europe’s biggest poker event of the year.”

10 Event Schedule

The 2018 WSOP Europe will take place from October 9 to November 2, and feature buy-ins ranging from €550 to €100,000. The full tournament schedule is as follows:

Oct 9th: €550 COLOSSUS NLHE (4 starting days)
Oct 14th: €1,650 NLHE 6-Handed Deepstack
Oct 15th: €550 PLO 8-Handed (2 starting days)
Oct 17th: €1,100 NLHE Turbo Bounty Hunter
Oct 18th: €1,100 MONSTER STACK NLHE (3 starting days)
Oct 21st: €1,650 PLO/NLHE Mix
Oct 22th: €2,200 PLO 8-Handed
Oct 24th €25,000 NLHE Super High Roller
Oct 26th: €100,000 NLHE King’s Super High Roller
Oct 27th: €10,350 WSOP Europe Main Event (2 starting days)

€10,350 Main Event

The €10,350 WSOPE Main Event will naturally be the highlight of the Series, with the first of three starting days getting underway on Saturday, October 27, before eventually crowning a champion on Friday, November 2. Last year, the flagship tournament drew 529 entries, and was eventually won by Spanish player Marti Roca De Torres for €1,115,207 ($1,297,551).

2018 WSOP POY Race

The 2018 WSOP Player of the Year race will be determined following the conclusion of this year’s WSOP Europe. The 2017 POY award was won by Chris Ferguson having cashed 17 times in Las Vegas and 6 times in the Czech Republic to clinch the title. This includes capturing a sixth career gold bracelet after taking down the €1,650 PLO event for €39,289 ($45,677)

This time around, Shaun Deeb is currently in pole position having already won two bracelets, while another two time winner this year, Joe Cada, is in 4th place. The overall POY race remains tight, though, which should motivate many of the game’s best pros to make the journey across the pond to compete in the competition.

1: Shaun Deeb 4,386.84
2: Ben Yu 3,746.04
3: John Hennigan 3,552.69
4: Joe Cada 3,531.86
5: Scott Bohlman 3,155.88
6: Paul Volpe 2,859.76
7: Eric Baldwin 2,516.30
8: Justin Liberto 2,459.84
9: Mike Leah 2,406.91
10: Anthony Zinno 2,330.37