Crowning Moment for Fabian Gumz in WPT Prime Slovakia Championship
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There's been no time to rest for the folks at the World Poker Tour. Following their successful outing on the WPT Voyage, which saw Aram Oganyan and Gregory De Faria pick up major titles, the iconic poker brand immediately jetted off to Europe to host the WPT Prime Slovakia Championship.
Taking place at Card Casino Bratislava, the €1,100 buy-in event saw 732 entries across six starting flights. The top 95 players made the money and grabbed a share of the €702,720 prize pool.
Poker pro Fabian Gumz defeated Maor Zaharagi in heads-up play to capture the title, along with the €117,280 ($125,902) up top, which includes a seat into the $10,400 WPT World Championship.
The win gave Gumz his first WPT title and marked his first live tournament triumph since 2018, according to The Hendon Mob.
WPT Prime Slovakia Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabian Gumz | Germany | €117,280* ($125,902) |
| 2 | Maor Zaharagi | Israel | €72,000 ($77,783) |
| 3 | Jozef Cibicek | Slovakia | €53,000 ($57,257) |
| 4 | Andras Matrai | Hungary | €40,000 ($43,212) |
| 5 | Iulian Tataru | Romania | €30,000 ($32,409) |
| 6 | Emil Bise | Switzerland | €23,000 ($24,847) |
| 7 | Dennis Gerschengoren | Germany | €17,700 ($19,121) |
| 8 | Lukasz Adamczewski | Poland | €13,700 ($14,800) |
| 9 | Alexey Mishuk | Israel | €10,800 ($11,667) |
Final Table Action
The final table began with fireworks as two players were eliminated in the first 15 hands. Alexey Mishuk ran Jacks into Zaharagi's kings, and then Lukasz Adamczewski saw his jacks head into the muck after they lost a flip to the ace-queen held by Iulian Tataru.
Dennis Gerschengoren found himself on the wrong side of the rail soon after. His pocket tens fell to Jozef Cibicek's ace-queen, which paired up on the turn. Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Emil Bise followed Gerschengoren out of the door the following hand when his ace-seven failed to leapfrog Zaharagi's pocket fours in all-in preflop encounter.
Gumz bagged his first scalp at the FT, seeing off Tataru in fifth place. On the 10♣8♥7♥ flop, Tataru put in his last two big blinds with A♠5♦ and was quickly called by Gumz's A♥K♥. The latter's flush draw immediately came in on the turn to bring the tournament to its final four players.
Gumz then ousted the start-of-day chip leader Andras Matrai to put one hand on the trophy. The eventual winner's ace-five rivered a nine-high straight, besting his opponent's ace-jack.
At three-handed play, Cibicek was the short stack and and made his final move with jack-seven and got looked up by Zaharagi, who had the superior hand in king-nine. Neither player connected on the runout, meaning Zaharagi's high card was enough for him to book his spot in the heads-up duel with Gumz.
Heads-up play would last just 13 hands, with Gumz not giving Zaharagi an inch. Gumz immediately widened the gap and took consecutive pots to keep momentum on his side. The final hand of play saw Zaharagi send it in with ace-three and Gumz calling with queen-ten. A ten on the flop gave Gumz the lead and his pair remained best after the turn and river delivered bricks.
What's Up Next for the WPT?
April continues to be a busy month for the WPT, with two more stops pencilled in. The WPT goes down under once again with their WPT Prime Gold Coast, and the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is taking place on American soil.
Following those festivals, three more stops round out the first half of WPT Season XXII, with WPT Choctaw, WPT Prime Vietnam and WPT Prime Sanremo being those destinations.
| Date | Festival | Buy-in | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18 | WPT Prime Gold Coast | AU$2,000 ($1,263) | The Star Gold Coast | Gold Coast, Australia |
| Apr 19 | WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown | $3,500 | Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood | Hollywood, FL |
| May 3 | WPT Choctaw | $3,800 | Choctaw Casino Resort | Durant, OK |
| May 23 | WPT Prime Vietnam | ₫25,000,000 ($1,062) | Crown Poker Club | Hanoi, Vietnam |
| Jun 6 | WPT Prime Sanremo | €1,100 ($1,199) | Casino di Sanremo | Sanremo, Italy |
The WPT has also released its schedule for the second half of Season XXII, which you can see here.
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum's proudest poker achievement is winning the only tournament he has ever played in Las Vegas, the prestigious $60 Flamingo evening event.
