Lithuanian Marius Kudzmanas was crowned last Sunday (12) the first Main Event champion of the WSOP Europe in Prague (Czech Republic). After several annual editions in Rozvadov, the European version of the world series moved to the Czech capital, and crowned this debut with a prize of € 2 million for the grand champion.
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The field and prize pool of the Main Event are proof that the move worked. With entries at € 5,300, the main event recorded 2,617 entries, an absolute record, and surpassed the guaranteed € 10 million, reaching a prize pool of € 13,085,000. For beating all opponents, Marius Kudzmanas earned exactly € 2 million, in addition to the bracelet.
This is Kudzmanas’ third career bracelet. However, it is the first won at live tables. This is because his other two world series titles came in versions of the WSOP Online. In 2023, he won a $1,000 NLH, and the following year, he won the $777 Lucky Sevens on virtual felt.
The last opponent in Marius Kudzmanas’ path was the Japanese Akihiro Konishi. Although he started the heads-up with an advantage, the Asian suffered a turnaround after a failed bluff, and even managed a double with KQ versus 87, but did not survive a new all-in. The pre-flop was good, as he had KK against 76o, but the board 7547J gave the victory to Kudzmanas.
Check out the final standings of the Main Event:
| Position | Name | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Marius Kudzmanas | Lithuania | € 2,000,000 |
| 2 | Akihiro Konishi | Japan | € 1,200,000 |
| 3 | Chris Hunichen | USA | € 800,000 |
| 4 | Nikolay Bibov | Bulgaria | € 575,000 |
| 5 | Antonio García | Spain | € 425,000 |
| 6 | Hengtao Zhu | Finland | € 320,000 |
| 7 | Thomas Eychenne | France | € 245,000 |
| 8 | Brandon Shells | United Kingdom | € 185,000 |
| 9 | Joona Nyholm | Finland | € 140,000 |
The WSOP Europe Main Event was the stage for several interesting stories. The main one was the return of Norwegian Annette Obrestad, champion of this same tournament in 2007 and who, after her peak in the early 2010s, stepped away and had not recorded live results since 2018. She finished in 35th place, earning € 40,000.
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Finally, it is also worth mentioning that Brazil was present in this Main Event. The representative of the green and yellow flag who went the furthest was Belarmino Souza, owner of the 65th best campaign. For his performance, he earned € 22,500.
More champions at WSOP Europe
In addition to Marius Kudzmanas, WSOP Europe crowned other important champions in its final stretch. In the Event 11 (€ 20,800 Super High Roller NLH), the most expensive competition on the schedule, German Christopher Nguyen took the title, pocketing € 1,100,000 and securing the bracelet. In the heads-up, he defeated Chinese Ren Lin, who took home € 700,000.
Also among the high-stakes contests, the European edition of the world series had Event 13 (€ 8,400 GGMillion$ High Roller NLH). The live version of the renowned GGPoker online tournament attracted 359 entries, and Dane Christian Pedersen won, taking home € 600,000. Punnat Punsri from Thailand was second and left with € 400,000.
And finally, two single-day events with more accessible buy-ins. Richard Geyer from the United States won Event 14 (€ 1,100 PLO Double Board Bomb Pot) to secure his bracelet and a payout of € 60,000. Meanwhile, David Wintersberger from Germany won Event 15 (€ 2,750 The Closer Turbo Bounty), adding € 140,000 to his bankroll and a bracelet to his collection.
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