Ten Gold Bracelets to be Awarded at 2018 World Series of Poker Europe
The countdown for the 2018 World Series of Poker Europe has begun! From October 9 until November 2, King's Casino in Rozvadov will be in the spotlight for nearly a full month as the WSOP will set up shop once again in the small Czech municipality. Ten gold bracelets will be up for grabs this year, on top of the 78 WSOP bracelets awarded during the summer in Las Vegas.
With the WSOPE having found a permanent home at King's Casino, the schedule for this year's 25-day festival features a smashing €13,000,000 in guarantees for all bracelet events, including a €5,000,000 guarantee for the €10,300 No-Limit Hold'em WSOPE Main Event.
2018 World Series of Poker Europe Schedule
| Dates | # | Buy-in | Event | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 9-13 | #1 | €550 | COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold’em | €1,000,000 |
| Oct. 14 | #2 | €1,650 | No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Deepstack (single re-entry) | €200,000 |
| Oct. 15-16 | #3 | €550 | Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed (unlimited re-entry) | €100,000 |
| Oct. 17 | #4 | €1,100 | No-Limit Hold’em Turbo Bounty Hunter ($300 bounties) | €200,000 |
| Oct. 18-20 | #5 | €1,100 | MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold’em (1 entry/flight) | €1,000,000 |
| Oct. 21 | #6 | €1,650 | Pot Limit Omaha/No-Limit Hold’em Mix | €200,000 |
| Oct. 22 | #7 | €2,200 | Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed (unlimited re-entry) | €200,000 |
| Oct. 24 | #8 | €25,000 | No-Limit Hold'em Super High Roller (single re-entry) | €1,000,000 |
| Oct. 26 | # 9 | €100,000 | No-Limit Hold'em King's Super High Roller (unlimited re-entry) | €5,000,000 |
| Oct 27-28 | #10 | €10,350 | WSOP Europe Main Event (two entries allowed; can re-enter on Day 1B or at Level 12) | €5,000,000 |
The hunt for poker's most coveted prize starts with the ever-popular Event #1: €550 COLOSSUS No-Limit Hold'em. Last year, this event drew a bumper field with 4,115 entries in total. Matous Skopera won his first bracelet by conquering the field to collect €270,015. The COLOSSUS will begin on Tuesday, October 9 with the first of eight starting days and run until Wednesday, October 15. Unlimited re-entries are allowed and players can register up until the end of the tenth level of each day.
Another returning highlight on the schedule is Event #5: €1,100 MONSTER STACK No-Limit Hold'em. Oleksandr Shcherbak won the event last year, when it was the series kickoff, and topped a 561-entry field to collect €117,708 and a gold bracelet. Players in this year's MONSTER STACK will get 40,000 in chips to work with and can enter up to three times, one for each starting flight. The MONSTER STACK will begin on Saturday, October 18.
WSOPE Main Event comes with €5,000,000 guarantee
King's Casino is noted for its famous high roller action and the WSOPE wouldn't be complete without catering to those with deeper wallets. On Monday, October 24, the two-day Event #8 - €25,500 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em will commence, followed by the three-day Event #9 - €100,000 King's Super High Roller No-Limit Hold'em starting on Wednesday, October 26.
Scottish superstar Niall Farrell won his maiden bracelet in last year's 25K for €745,287, completing poker's Triple Crown in the process. The 100K is a new event on the 2018 schedule, replacing last year's €111,111 High Roller for One Drop. Dominik Nitsche won his fourth bracelet in the most expensive event on last year's schedule, worth a mouth-watering €3,487,463.
Event #10: €10,350 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event, the highlight of the series, will have cards in the air for its first of three starting days on Saturday, October 27. Marti Roca de Torres is the defending champion, and the 888poker qualifier etched his name in poker history by defeating a 529-player field to win the bracelet and €1,115.207, besting a final table that included Maria Ho and Niall Farrell. Like last year, this year's Main Event will once again boast a €5,000,000 guarantee.
The WSOPE Main Event will begin on Saturday, October 27 and run until Friday, November 2, when the new WSOPE Main Event champion is crowned. Players can enter up to two times and late registration will be open deep into Day 2.
PokerNews will be on the floor as it all unfolds, covering all ten bracelet events start to finish and providing 25 days of continuous live coverage from Rozvadov. The PokerNews video team will also be on hand to provide video coverage and capture all the excitement in King's Casino. Video coverage will begin on October 26 with the €100,000 King's Super High Roller, followed by the €10,300 WSOPE Main Event through the conclusion of the series.
2018 WSOP Player of the Year race heating up
The exciting 2018 WSOP Player of the Year race will also come to a conclusion at the WSOPE. Shaun Deeb, fresh off another WCOOP-victory, is leading the way before Ben Yu and Joe Cada. If one thing is certain this year, it's how consistent the top guys have been performing over the summer.
Deeb had a monstrous summer, winning two bracelets, cashing 17 times, running deep in the Main Event and winning over $2.5 million dollar total. However, runner-up Yu remains in striking distance after winning one bracelet, as well as noting a second and third-place finish.
2009 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Cada sits in third place. Cada added two more bracelets over the summer, including one in The Closer, and John Hennigan also won a bracelet and finished second in the prestigious $50K PPC. It will be interesting to see who will travel to the Czech Republic to battle it out for the top spot.
2018 WSOP Player of the Year Standings
| Rank | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Deeb | 4,334.06 |
| 2 | Ben Yu | 3,746.04 |
| 3 | Joe Cada | 3,531.86 |
| 4 | John Hennigan | 3,499.91 |
| 5 | Scott Bohlman | 3,155.88 |
| 6 | Paul Volpe | 2,859.76 |
| 7 | Eric Baldwin | 2,516.30 |
| 8 | Justin Liberto | 2,459.84 |
| 9 | Mike Leah | 2,354.13 |
| 10 | Anthony Zinno | 2,330.37 |
Hotel rooms for the WSOPE are running out fast, so make sure to secure your WSOPE booking! For more information on packages, go to the King's Casino website or book directly at www.pokerroomkings.com. Qualifiers are running on partypoker and in NJ and NV on WSOP.com
A former professional poker player with a background in sports marketing and journalism. Yori has been a part of PokerNews since 2016 and manages the content team.
