EPT Champion Denied By Footballer for First 2025 WSOP Europe Bracelet

Copy link Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Sep 20, 2025 4 min read

The first bracelet of the 2025 World Series of Poker Europe has been awarded, and it is Pawel Wojciechowski who captured the title in Event #1: €1,200 NLH Bounty Hunter Opener at King’s Resort Rozvadov. The Polish player outlasted a field of 385 entries to secure the €58,850 top prize, along with a coveted WSOP gold bracelet and a €10,350 ticket to the Main Event.

The tournament marked its debut on the WSOPE schedule and generated a prize pool of €435,000, drawing players from across Europe and beyond looking to kick off the festival in style. Across two opening flights, 59 contenders advanced to Day 2, where the fast-paced bounty format ensured no shortage of action and drama on the road to the final table.

Wojciechowski began the last day as the chip leader and carried that momentum all the way through, overcoming a tough final table that included EPT champion Jan Bendik, who finished runner-up for €42,150, and France’s Dorian Melchers, who rounded out the podium in third for €31,750.

Event #1: €1,200 NLH Bounty Hunter Opener Final Table Results

*- includes a €10,350 Main Event ticket

Wojciechowski's Words

For Wojciechowski, the victory marks a life-changing moment just a year and a half after he left his full-time job to pursue poker professionally. “It means so much to me,” he said, visibly emotional after the win. “I’m just grateful for this day. I ran so hot, it couldn’t be any other outcome than winning this bracelet.”

He credited much of his run to a string of pivotal setups, particularly pocket aces that appeared multiple times at the final table. “It really felt like destiny. From the beginning of the tournament, everything went my way. I even had the set over set spot, and while that was tough, I took a deep breath, moved on, and then doubled right after the break. That brought me back into it.”

A former footballer, Wojciechowski said his sports background helped him keep composure under pressure. “Bad beats don’t affect me the same way. I know how to recover quickly and focus on the next hand. That mindset made the difference today.”

While he admits he still has work to do, especially in heads-up play and ICM, today was all about celebrating the breakthrough. “I never thought I was going to win it, because the opponents were very tough, much better than me. I just tried to play every hand as well as I could. Today was the day, and it’s an amazing feeling.”

Navigating Ups and Downs

It was by no means smooth sailing for Wojciechowski, who navigated plenty of ups and downs on his way to victory. Starting the day as chip leader certainly helped, and that momentum stayed with him as he dispatched both Modestas Plauska and Luigi Pignataro early on, the latter with pocket aces against ace-king.

Wojciechowski also eliminated Czechia's number-one ranked tournament player, according to TheHendonMob, when his ace-queen was too strong for the ace-jack of Martin Kabrhel.

By the time the final table came around, Wojciechowski sat third in the counts, while runner-up Bendik was chip leader with almost a third of the chips in play. However, things didn't start too well for the Polish player as he found himself in a tricky situation against Pablo Heredia.

Holding pocket fives, Wojciechowski flopped a set and got the chips in on the turn against Heredia, who held pocket queens for a higher set. No miracle one-outer arrived on the river, and Wojciechowski's final table was off to a terrible start.

The luck wasn't against Wojciechowski for long, though, as he clashed in a pot with Bendik which resulted in them both getting their stacks in preflop. Wojciechowski held aces and was up against the big slick of Bendik, and a clean runout later, the eventual champion was back on track.

It's always great to pick up aces, but it's even better when you get dealt them twice at the same final table, especially when you get paid. That was the situation for Wojciechowski as he got his stack in once again with the bullets against the ace-queen of Heredia. The board changed nothing, and Heredia exited in eighth while Wojciechowski climbed to the top of the leaderboard.

Wojciechowski went on to send Georgios Mylonas, Ioannis Chorianopoulos, Mateusz Sikora, and Melchers to the payout desk, which left him with just one player standing between him and the title.

It was all over before it really began, as just three hands into the duel Wojciechowski had his hands on the elusive bracelet. After checking his option preflop, he check-called two streets before check-shoving the river after backdooring the nuts, a queen-high straight, with queen-jack. Bendik had turned two pair and couldn't let it go, which meant he had to settle for second.

• Tags WSOPE WSOPE25 Pawel Wojciechowski
• Related Tournaments World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE)
• Related Players Pawel Wojciechowski