UK’s Jack Sinclair Triumphs at 2018 WSOP Europe Main Event

British Poker Pro Jack Sinclair has taken down the 2018 WSOP Europe Main Event, navigating his way past a field of 534 players to claim the coveted title, as well as a first place prize of €1,122,239 ($1,277,013). Describing his victory as a dream come true, Sinclair said that his progress throughout the whole week had been “super smooth”, explaining:

“I never really lost a big pot as far as I can remember and just got all the hands when I needed them. Every time I felt like things were getting precarious, I instantly won a big pot. I’m very happy with how I played and even more happy with how I ran!”

Past English WSOP ME Champions

In 1990, Iranian-born Mansour Matloubi became the first English competitor to win a WSOP Main Event, earning $835,000 for his incredible performance. In 2010, James Bord then won its junior cousin, the WSOP Europe Main Event, for £830,401 ($1,281,048) while on home turf in his native England.

Following his latest triumph, Jack Sinclair completes a hat-trick of WSOP Main Event winners from England. Sinclair also increases his career earnings to $3,393,632, which is impressive when one considers he only cashed at his first live tournament in April 2017. Furthermore, the win now represents his biggest score to date, narrowly beating the $1.2 million he was awarded last year after finishing the WSOP Main Event in 8th place.

€10,350 WSOP Europe Main Event

The WSOP Europe Main Event attracted 534 runners, resulting in a prize pool just €73,000 above its €5 million guarantee. Amongst the numerous recognizable pros seeing a return on their €10,350 buy-ins was Mustapha Kanit in 78th (€15,074), Rainer Kempe in 52nd (€18,210), Sergio Aido in 47th (€20,262), Jack Salter in 37th (€23,025), Niall Farrell in 27th (€26,712), Igor Kurganov in 22nd (€31,623), Andy Black in 13th (€47,019), Vladimir Troyanovskiy in 11th (€59,011), and Koray Aldemir in 7th (€130,350)

Final Table

Milos Skrbic scored the first final table elimination after being dealt A-Q and sending Ihor Yerofieiev (6-6) to the rail in 6th. Soon after, however, Laszlo Bujtas used the same A-Q hand to oust Skrbic (K-J) from the tournament in 5th.

Next, Krasimir Yankov (A-A) took care of Ryan Riess (7-7) in 4th. A three-way hand then developed in which Jack Sinclair (7-7), Krasimir Yankov (5-5) and Laszlo Bujtas (2-2) took in a Q-7-5 flop. After Bujtas got out of the way, Sinclair eliminated Yankov in 3rd to usher in heads-up play against Bujtas for the gold bracelet.

Heads-Up Recap

Sinclair started the final battle holding a slight chip lead over his remaining opponent. Unfortunately for Bujtas, he was unable to gain any real traction in the game, and after being reduced to a small stack was ultimately forced to move all in preflop holding J-7. Sinclair opted to call with Q-9, and following a K-Q-3-6-7 board secured an emphatic victory.

Huge congratulations goes to the UK pro for his impressive performance throughout the tournament. In the meantime spare a thought for his opponent, Bujtas, who came so close to claiming one of poker’s most prestigious titles. At least the Hungarian player collected €693,573 for his deep run, but as he latter commented:

“I’m sad at the moment. Going into heads-up confident but card dead. My opponent played well so congratulations to him. Of course, I’m not 100% happy at the moment but…it happens.”

Final Table Results

1: Jack Sinclair (UK) €1,122,239 ($1,279,352)
2: Laszlo Bujtas (Hungary) €693,573 ($790,673)
3: Krasimir Yankov (Bulgaria) €480,028 ($547,232)
4: Ryan Riess (US) €337,778 ($385,067)
5: Milos Skrbic (Serbia) €241,718 ($275,559)
6: Ihor Yerofieiev (Ukraine) €175,965 ($200,600)

WSOPE Draws to Close

With the conclusion of the Main Event, the 2018 WSOP Europe now draws to a close. It has been a memorable series, which got off to an incredible start after three Israeli players claimed bracelets in its opening events. Other players winning accolades hailed from Austria, Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and now the UK. Many US players failed to make the journey across the Atlantic, though, as is reflected in their poor showing in the bracelet department.