Emil Olsson Wins 2012 World Poker Tour Copenhagen for $229,938

Emil Olsson

The latest stop on Season XI of the World Poker Tour is in the books after Emil Olsson bested a field of 229 players to win the WPT Copenhagen Main Event at Casino Copenhagen on Saturday. Olsson defeated Morten Klein heads-up to claim his first WPT title and the top prize of 1,200,000 DKK ($229,938), which includes a $25,000 seat in the WPT Championship at Bellagio next spring.

Olsson began the final table with the chip lead but endured a tumultuous ride en route to the title. Here's how the seat draw looked going into Saturday's final table:

SeatPlayerChip Count
1Emil Olsson2,208,000
2Steve Barshak1,597,000
3Robin Ylitalo934,000
4Philip Jacobsen742,000
5Jan Djerberg824,000
6Morten Klein568,000

It didn't take long for Denmark's Philip Jacobsen to claim the role of table captain as he was clearly the most aggressive player right out of the gate. Within the first hour Jacobsen had nearly caught Olsson for the chip lead after eliminating the first player from the final table, Jan Djerberg. With the blinds at 10,000/20,000 and a 3,000 ante, Jacobsen raised from under the gun and Djerberg moved all-in from the next seat over for 408,000. After Klein tank-folded, Jacobsen made the call and the cards went on their backs:

Jacobsen: 1010
Djerberg: A9

Jacobsen's rowdy rail exploded as the board ran out Q63Q5, ending Djerberg's tournament. He collected $40,989.

The second player to hit the rail was Robin Ylitalo, who was crippled after running into Klein's two pair and busted a few hands later. Ylitalo was all-in preflop with KQ but Steve Barshak had him dominated with KK, and Yitalo was unable to find a miracle to stay alive.

Olsson still occupied the chip lead with four players remaining, but he got involved in a massive three-way battle that saw Jacobson take control. Barshak raised to 60,000 from the cutoff, Jacobsen three-bet to 140,000 and Olsson put in a cold four-bet worth 310,000 from the big blind. Barshak fired right back, five-betting to 505,000, and Jacobsen had the final say with a six-bet shove for around 1.4 million. Olsson and Barshak both folded, and Jacobsen was suddenly the man in front with 2.2 million chips.

Barshak was suddenly the short stack and was unable to regain any momentum he had when he held the chip lead on Day 5. On his final hand of the tournament, Barshak saw a heads-up flop of J103 against Olsson, who led out for 65,000. Barshak raised to 155,000, Olsson moved all-in and Barshak called immediately.

Olsson: QJ
Barshak: J9

Olsson had Barshak outkicked and in trouble, and the turn and river provided no help to Barshak, who exited in fourth place.

Olsson was back near the leaders, but soon thereafter he hit another dry spell and suddenly found himself on the short stack. Most of his chips went to Klein, who picked up several pots against Olsson without getting to showdown. But when it mattered, Olsson managed to show up with the best hand, especially against Jacobsen.

First, Olsson shoved from the small blind for around 600,000 with 44 and Jacobsen called from the big blind with A8. The board ran out K10223 and Olsson faded a huge draw to survive. Then, moments later, Olsson used pocket fours to cripple Jacobsen in a pot worth more than 3 million. Klein raised to 125,000 from the button, Olsson moved all in from the small blind and Jacobsen re-shoved from the big blind. Klein folded and the cards were tabled:

Olsson: 44
Jacobsen: 1010

The J102 flop left Olsson nearly dead, but the 6 gave him some added hope with a flush draw. Sure enough, the 7 landed on the turn and Olsson went runner-runner for a flush and a miracle double-up. Jacobsen was left with seven big blinds and was eliminated on the very next hand when his Q5 failed to outdraw Klein's AK.

The heads-up duel beteen Olsson and Klein lasted about an hour before Olsson was finally able to put his opponent away. On the final hand of the tournament, Klein moved his short stack in preflop with K8 and Olsson looked down at KK. Snap call.

The dealer rolled out a J5393 board, securing the title for Olsson. He was bombarded by his friends on the rail but stepped away from the celebration to shake the hands of Klein, who collected $145,164 for his runner-up finish.

Here's a look at the final table results of the Season XI WPT Copenhagen Main Event:

PlacePlayerPrize
1Emil Olsson$229,938
2Morten Klein$145,164
3Philip Jacobsen$93,080
4Steve Barshak$68,316
5Robin Ylitalo$51,237
6Jan Djerberg$40,989

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Data and lede photo courtesy of WorldPokerTour.com.

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