Lukas Zaskodny Wins 2nd Bracelet for Czech Republic at 2017 WSOPE

The 2017 WSOP Europe currently taking place in the Czech Republic has produced a second home-grown winner, after Lukas Zaskodny joined Martin Kabrhel in capturing a prestigious gold bracelet. With five events completed, other winners at the King’s Casino include those hailing from Germany, Ukraine, and France.
WSOPE Event #6: €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha attracted 191 entries to create a prize pool of €366,529 ($425,652). Following three days of action, Zaskodny then managed to overcome the small but tough field, including US pro Allen Kessler heads-up, to claim the victory, and a top prize of €93,677 ($108,788). Commenting upon a win which also pushes the amateur player’s career earnings to $288,634, Zaskodny stated:
“There is so much poker action in the Czech Republic. We don’t necessarily have to travel. There is a lot of really, really good poker players. I think you will hear about them in the future much more. This year showed that we have good players.”
Leading the country’s ‘All Time Money List’ is Martin Staszko ($6,232,909), who in 2011 finished runner-up at the WSOP Main Event for $5,433,086, followed by Vojtech Ruzicka ($3,624,173), who last year booked a 5th place finish in the same event for $1,935,288. Lying in 3rd place is this year’s WSOPE bracelet winner Martin Kabrhel with $3,135,720 in winnings, while Lukas Zaskodny currently lies in 29th place.
The €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha event featured 29 money places, and amongst the notable pros cashing in at the tournament was Chris Ferguson in 29th (€3,215), Mike Leah in 20th (€3,594), John Racener in 19th (€3,594), Erik Cajelais in 18th (€3,594), and Dario Alioto in 9th (€7,193).
Zaskodny then progressed all the way through to three-handed play, where after five hours of play Allen Kessler sent Krasimir Yankov to the rail in 3rd, ushering in the heads-up phase of the competition. At this stage, Kessler held the chip lead, but unfortunately for him lost the momentum and was reduced to a short stack when the deciding hand was played.
Allen Kessler now boasts $3,503,390 in live earnings after his runner-up finish, although he has still to capture a coveted WSOP bracelet. For Zaskodny, however, the result was a dream come true, and as he later stated:
“It’s an amazing feeling. I’m really happy. It’s the wish of every poker player.”
Final Table Results:
1: Lukas Zaskodny (Czech) €93,677
2: Allen Kessler (USA) €57,897
3: Krasimir Yankov (Bulg) €40,353
4: Pim van Holsteyn (Neth) €28,702
5: Sergej Barbarez (Ger) €20,842
6: Liran Twito (Isr) €15,458
7: Georgios Koliofotis (Gre) €11,715
8: Willm Engelke (Ger) €9,076