Czech Players Enjoying Huge Home Advantage at 2017 WSOPE

If ever there was any doubt as to the difference a home advantage can have on a competition, the 2017 WSOP Europe currently taking place in the Czech Republic provides the perfect demonstration. With 9 of its 11 tournaments completed, players hailing from the country have so far won a third of all the bracelets awarded.
First, Martin Kabrhel won Event #3: €1,100 NLHE Super Turbo BOUNTY for €53,557, followed by Lukas Zaskodny, who did likewise at Event #6: €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha for €366,529. This week, Matous Skorepa then became the latest Czech player to earn an accolade for his country after besting a huge field of 4,115 competitors at Event #5: €550 No Limit Hold’em (The Colossus) to walk away with a coveted bracelet, and a top prize worth €270,015 ($317,269).
Interestingly, Skorepa (photo) is also a recreational player whose latest victory accounts for all but $27,528 of his career earnings, and when asked if he intended to play any of the remaining tournaments at the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, replied:
“Actually, I don’t think so because I need to go to work tomorrow. I run a restaurant and don’t have a waitress if somebody want to work at my restaurant…and I need to be there.”
Final Table Results:
1: Matous Skorepa €270,015
2: Florian Fuchs €166,855
3: Jonathan Khalifa €123,241
4: Ivaylo Sivinov €91,711
5: Makarios Avramidis €68,771
6: Roman Motovsky €51,968
7: Pascal Pflicks €39,576
8: Nebojsa Ankucic €30,386
9: Gaetan Cauchy €23,499
Prior to this year’s WSOP Europe, just two Czech players had ever captured WSOP bracelets, the first being Tomas Junek who in 2012 won a $1,500 NLHE event for $661,022, with Artur Rudziankov subsequently doubling the Czech Republic’s tally in 2017 after once again claiming a $1,500 NLHE event for $395,918. Both these successes took place over the span of half a decade in Las Vegas, while the recent brace of wins occurred over just a few short weeks in their home country.
Whether a home advantage is due to local support, a lack of travelling far, a range of psychological factors, or a combination of these and other reasons, the incredible success Czech players are currently enjoying at the 2017 WSOP Europe serves as a testament to this very real phenomenon.