Ukraine's Renat Bohdanov Wins First Bracelet of the 2019 WSOPE
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The first of 15 WSOP gold bracelets to be awarded at the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe is going to Ukraine. Renat Bohdanov outlasted Norbert Mosonyi after a long heads up to win Event #1: €350 Opener No-Limit Hold'em for €53,654 and a WSOPE Main Event ticket worth €10,350. It was the seventh WSOP bracelet for Ukraine in the tour's rich history.
Eyal Bensimhon saw his attempt to add a WSOP bracelet to his WSOP Circuit Ring end in third place. Rafi Elharar, third in the 2019 WSOP's Big 50 earlier this summer, was seventh, while six-time bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro finished in eight place.
"I'm not realizing it yet that I just won a bracelet," was the first thing Bohdanov said to PokerNews after claiming the most coveted reward in all of poker.
"I think I'm really going to be happy," he added with a smile. "It's a good feeling."
Bohdanov said after cutting his teeth in tournaments back home, he wanted to take a step up and therefore moved much of his play to King's Casino, where he has racked up a number of cashes in the small tournaments for which the venue is known.
"I’ve been here five times already and I really like the poker room," he said.
And with a freshly minted WSOP bracelet now firmly around his wrist, as well as the WSOPE Mini Main and Main Event coming up on his poker schedule, his love for King's can only grow even further.
Event #1: €350 Opener No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) | Prize (~US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renat Bohdanov | Ukraine | €53,654* | $59,392 |
| 2 | Norbert Mosonyi | Hungary | €33,112* | $36,653 |
| 3 | Eyal Bensimhon | Israel | €23,386 | $25,886 |
| 4 | Mykhailo Hryhoriev | Ukraine | €16,736 | $18,525 |
| 5 | Samuel Mika | Slovakia | €12,138 | $13,436 |
| 6 | Michal Kral | Czech Republic | €8,923 | $9,877 |
| 7 | Rafi Elharar | Israel | €6,651 | $7,362 |
| 8 | Jeff Lisandro | Australia | €5,026 | $5,563 |
| 9 | Ricardas Vymeris | Lithuania | €3,853 | $4,265 |
*Also won WSOPE Main Event ticket worth €10,350
Lisandro Misses Out On Bracelet No. 7
Ten players returned at 2 p.m. to continue their quest for WSOP gold. Each of them had already plowed their way through a bumper 1,011-entry field, kicking off the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe in proper fashion. Mere minutes into the day, Marcus Mondel lost his final few chips to let the other nine break to a final table right off the bat.
At that final table was six-time bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro, who had to spin it up from the shortest of stacks if he was to make No. 7 happen. While he snatched a pay jump after Richaras Vymeris busted first, Lisandro went down in eight place when his ace-seven remained behind against Samuel Mika's pocket queens.
Rafi Elharar, coming off a hot summer that included a third place in the Big 50 for $534,574, was the next to go. The Israeli lost an all-in on the flop with top pair against Bohdanov's top pair, who held the better kicker.
Bohdanov Straightens Out Mika, No Bracelet for Bensimhon
Michal Kral followed Elharar out the door before Mika's tournament ended with a bad beat against Bohdanov that undoubtedly was the key hand at the final table. With sevens versus fours, Mika was poised to grab the chip lead. Instead, a rivered straight handed Bohdanov a massive lead — and ultimately, the bracelet — instead.
With four players left, Mosonyi shot himself up the leaderboard by knocking out Mykhailo Hryhoriev in a hand where both players had two pair. Hryhoriev held the inferior hand and was reduced to mere scraps, which he lost shortly after.
Eyal Bensimhon already possesses a WSOP Circuit Ring but a WSOP Bracelet will remain elusive to the Israeli star for the time being. Directly after Hryhoriev busted, Bensimhon ran king-three into Bohdanov's ace-six and, eerily similar to the previous hand, ended up with an inferior two pair to finish in third place.
The heads-up became a drawn-out affair, where the calculated and more experienced Bohdanov tried to lure the volatile Mosonyi into a trap.
However, Mosonyi's big bet style paid dividends, boldly wresting the chip lead twice after uncontested, sizable all ins, as well as timely double-ups.
Ultimately, the bracelet would go to Ukraine as Bohdanov held up in the decisive all-in with ace-nine versus king-five to capture his maiden, and Ukraine's seventh, WSOP bracelet.
The first bracelet has been awarded at the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe, but fourteen more are yet to follow. Don't miss anything as PokerNews will be on the floor to capture the action of every bracelet event start to finish!
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.
