Kalidou Sow Wins PSC Main Event Prague for €675k

French player Kalidou Sow has just claimed the PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event title, after besting a huge field of 855 players over six days, including US pro Jason Wheeler heads-up, to walk away with a first place prize worth €675,000 ($795,456). Following a victory which now pushes his career earnings to $1,200,846, Kalidou commented:
“It’s very prestigious so it’s a dream to win it. When you see so many great players who haven’t won it, I realize how fortunate I am to be in this position.”
The €5,300 PSC Main Event Prague was held at the Hilton Prague Hotel, and featured a prize pool of €4,146,750 ($4,886,751). Reconizable pros then seeing a return on their money included Igor Kurganov in 103rd (€9,100), Nick Maimone in 86th (€10,300), Jake Cody in 54th (€14,100), Louis Salter in 41st (€14,100), and Fatima Moreira De Melo in 18th (€30,000).
When the final table had been reduced to just six players, Kalidou Sow was in pole position as the chip leader. Placed just one big blind behind, though, was Jason Wheeler, who was by far the most experienced player at the table, with his past accolades including making two WSOP final tables, and last year taking down the $1,675 WSOP CircuitBally’s Las Vegas for $323,236.
Wheeler and Sow then progressed all the way through to heads-up play where the duo agreed a deal in which each was guaranteed a payday of at least €560,000, with €105,000 and the title going to the eventual winner. Wheeler’s competitive spirit then kicked into overdrive, exemplified by his continual needling banter, and as as commented after one particular hand which he won holding just ace-high:
“Try to win every pot, bro. You get one cooler, you think the tournament’s yours. I’m still the one to beat.”
Nevertheless, Sow managed to improve to a 3-to-1 chip advantage when the deciding hand was played after a re-raising war lead to Sow (10-10) and Wheeler (A-9) moving all-in preflop. The J-7-4-5-K board which ensued then sealed the deal, and so Kalidou Sow was crowned the PSC Main Event Prague champion. Meanwhile, Jason Wheeler’s runner-up finish also pushed his earnings to $3,852,771, and commenting upon the needling tactics of his formidable opponent, Sow later stated:
“I let him get away with it because I knew he wanted to have a go at me and troll me. I think he thought he was facing amateur players so he wanted to get under our skin. I’m not one to play that kind of game.”
Final Table Results:
1: Kalidou Sow $795,305
2: Jason Wheeler $671,591
3: Michal Mrakes $391,172
4: Gabriele Lepore $293,379
5: Harry Lodge $230,933
6: Colin Robinson $173,200
7: Matas Cimbolas $122,720
8: Valentyn Shabelnyk $85,963
9: Aleksandr Mordvinov $67,850