2015 WSOP Europe: Pavlos Xanthopoulos Wins €3,250 NLHE

One week after Greek/German restaurant owner Makarios Avramidis took down WSOP Europe Event #1: €2,200 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, Greece’s Pavlos Xanthopoulos has now brought the country’s all-time WSOP bracelet tally to two after his winning performance in Event #6: €3,250 No-Limit Hold’em. Following an impressive performance which earned him €182,510 ($207,558), Xanthopoulos commented:
“I am super excited. This is my first big tournament win. I am very excited that this is our second bracelet in Berlin. But the poker community is small in Greece. There are only one or two tournaments a year, so I don’t expect a lot more results.”
A total of 256 players turned out for the €3,250 buy-in event to create a prize pool worth €744,960. Amongst the notable pros subsequently cashing in at one of the 27 money spots was Nikolaus Teichert in 25th (€6,035), Asher Conniff in 24th (€6,855), Allen Kessler in 23rd (€6,855), Adrien Allain in 21st (€7,970), and Emanuel Failla in 16th (€9,385).
At the final table, Pavlos Xanthopoulos (A-K) then eliminated Alex Rocha (9-9) in 6th (€34,270), before being dealt A-A and doing likewsie to Thierry Gogniat (7-7) in 3rd (€81,500) to set up the final heads-up against Argentinian Mario Lopez for the bracelet.
Soon after, however, Xanthopoulos had Lopez on the ropes, with the deciding hand being played with Lopez moving all-in with pocket fives, only to be called by his opponent with A-9. The A-9-8-8-3 board then sealed the deal, and Mario Lopez had to settle for a runner-up finish worth €112,785, while Xanthopoulos collected a prestigious gold bracelet.
“I was second in chips [at the final table] and there were three big stacks”, commented Xanthopoulos. “At first I played tight, but as time went on and three or four players busted, I began to play aggressive. I think that aggression is what won me the tournament”.
Final Table Results:
1: Pavlos Xanthopoulos – €182,510
2: Mario Lopez – €112,785
3: Thierry Gogniat – €81,500
4: Sam Chartier – €59,970
5: Farid Jattin – €44,920
6: Alex Rocha – €34,270
7: Fabrice Soulier – €26,520
8: Artan Dedusha – €20,860
9: Sergi Reixach – €16,685