Dutchman Albert Hoekendijk Triumphs at WSOPE One Drop Event

Albert Hoekendijk has become the 5th Dutch player ever to win a WSOP bracelet after taking down Event #8 of the 2017 WSOPE, the €1,100 NLHE Little One for One Drop for €170,764 ($198,787). Commenting following his victory, Hoekendijk, who now boasts $282,729 in career earnings, stated:
“When I wake up tomorrow, and I see that bracelet, I know they’ll never take it from me. A great feeling!”
The €1,111 Little One For One Drop event attracted 868 players to create a prize pool of €866,654, with €50 from each buy-in subsequently donated towards the titular charity which aims to provide impoverished communities with access to clean water.
Amongst the recognizable pros then seeing a return on their investment was Allen Kessler in 118th (€1,660), Roland Israelashvili in 112th (€1,660), Mike Leah in 98th (€1,738), Marcel Luske in 81st (€2,016), Barny Boatman in 77th (€2,016), William Kassouf in 75th (€2,016), Maria Lampropulos in 68th (€2,231), David Urban in 23rd (€4,812) and Willem de Jong in 15th (€7,351).
On the final day of play, while Albert Hoekendijk started in 7th place out of the 11 remaining players, the Dutch player was able to survive long enough to see his fellow compatriot Hakim Zoufri bow out in 4th. After Germany’s Johannes Toebbe followed suit in 3rd, the heads-up phase of the competition then got underway between Hoekendijk and Switzerland’s Thomas Hofmann for the title.
However, a further three hours of play would ensue before the deciding hand was played with a short-stacked Hofmann raising all-in preflop holding Q-3, and Hoekendijk making the calll with a commanding A-10. The dealer then laid out an A-J-6-7-A board to eliminate Hofmann in a runner-up position worth €105,532 ($122,850).
Meanwhile, Hoekendijk walked away with a coveted gold winners bracelet, and commenting upon the WSOPE currently taking place at the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, stated:
“It’s a very well organized tournament and I really like it here.”
Final Table Results:
1: Albert Hoekendijk $199,794
2: Thomas Hofmann $123,472
3: Johannes Toebbe $86,644
4: Abdelhakim Zoufri $61,663
5: Oleh Haisiuk $44,514
6: Jonas Lauck $32,602
7: Serghei Lisiy $24,231
8: Artan Dedusha $18,279
9: Przemyslaw Klejnowski $14,000