Event #15: €3,000 NLH Closer
Day 2 Completed
Event #15: €3,000 NLH Closer
Day 2 Completed
After a full 12 hours of poker, Alessandro Pichierri has closed things out in the last few minutes of the night to win his first-ever gold bracelet in the 2020 World Series of Poker Europe Event #15: €3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Closer. Pichierri outlasted 228 total entries and defeated Timo Kamphues heads up to take home the first-place prize of €148,008.
The clock was ticking down to 10 p.m. when the tournament would be halted due to the government restrictions, but Pichierri went on a late-night heater and accumulated a massive heads-up chip lead. The Italian poker player, who said he mostly plays online, wasn't about to let another opportunity pass by after finishing fourth in Event #3: €1,350 Mini Main Event. That was Pichierri's first six-figure score and now he has recorded his second just two weeks later.
Place | Player | Country | Prize (EUR) |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Alessandro Pichierri | Italy | € 148,008 |
2nd | Timo Kamphues | Germany | € 91,468 |
3rd | Manuel Fischer | Germany | € 62,534 |
4th | Claudio Di Giacomo | Italy | € 43,876 |
5th | Romain [Removed:338] | France | € 31,616 |
6th | Thomer Pidun | Germany | € 23,414 |
7th | Milos Petakovic | Serbia | € 17,834 |
8th | Anil Ataoglu | Germany | € 13,983 |
9th | Georgios Tsouloftas | Cyprus | € 11,295 |
"I finished fourth in the Mini Main and winning this bracelet means so much to me," Pichierri mumbled through his tears as he held on to his new piece of jewelry. "I know you need some luck in tournaments but I was really focused today."
Pichierri gave a shout-out to his opponents who put up a strong fight and admitted he might be the underdog despite having a chip lead throughout much of the day: "This was a tough field. These guys on my left and my right, they are all regulars, so it's special to come through a field like this."
This was Pichierri's first stop competing for a WSOP title and said it definitely won't be his last going forward.
"I've never been to Las Vegas before, and it's the first time I have come here. My friend told me to go take a shot in Rozvadov so here I am," Pichierri has to fight back some more tears as he gathered his thoughts. "I will definitely be in Las Vegas this summer, this feeling is amazing."
There were 50 players who returned to the felt for the start of Day 2 but only 35 of them would make the money and a min-cash of €5,029. It was a fast-paced start to the day as the short stacks continued to fall by the wayside. In fact, there was no hand-for-hand process necessary as two players were eliminated at the same time, making Saeed Rehman the bubble boy.
Some of the notables to finish in the money include Tobias Peters, Antoine Vranken, Julien Sitbon, Vadzim Lipauka, and Maria Teixeira, who bubbled the official final table. Once the final nine players were formed, the pay jumps became more significant and the action seemed to screech to a halt. An average of 45 big blinds also gave the players a lot of room to maneuver their way around.
Slowly the chip stacks got shallower and the short stacks started to bow out. Thomer Pidun came into the final table as one of the chip leaders but he could only last until sixth place after a couple of coolers decimated his lead. Pichierri was, if not the chip leader, at least among the top three throughout the entire day and it was quite an impressive showing.
Despite getting lucky in monster three-handed pot that eliminated Manuel Fischer in third place, Pichierri said he was rather proud of how he played. He took a commanding five-to-one chip lead into heads up with Kamphues and wrapped things up in just a few hands. Kamphues found himself at risk with ace-high but Pichierri had two live cards and managed to hit one of them on the flop. He held on through the turn and river and the Italian was left stunned when the dust settled.
That wraps up the coverage from this event but the PokerNews live reporting team will be back for one final day at the 2021 WSOP Europe to bring you updates on the Main Event. Stay tuned to find out who will be crowned the new WSOP Europe Main Event champion tomorrow.
Alessandro Pichierri jammed his covering stack from the button and Timo Kamphues called.
Timo Kamphues:
Alessandro Pichierri:
Pichierri was up against the hand that had haunted him throughout the latter stages of the final table however it would be his turn to connect best on the flop. The turn had Kamphues on the ropes and the sealed the deal.
Kamphues picked up €91,468 for his silver medal finish while Pichierri takes home the WSOP gold bracelet and the €148,008 first-place cash prize.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alessandro Pichierri |
11,400,000
2,000,000
|
2,000,000 |
|
||
Timo Kamphues | Busted |
Manuel Fischer shipped all in on the button for 3,310,000. Alessandro Pichierri asked for a count in the small blind and gave it some thought before making the call. Timo Kamphues quickly folded and the cards were tabled.
Manuel Fischer:
Alessandro Pichierri:
Despite being in a dominated position, Pichierri found a flop of to take the lead with two pair. The on the turn and the on the river changed nothing as Fischer was eliminated in third place.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alessandro Pichierri |
9,400,000
5,600,000
|
5,600,000 |
|
||
Timo Kamphues |
2,000,000
-2,325,000
|
-2,325,000 |
Manuel Fischer | Busted |
Level: 31
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 160,000
Time Kamphues jammed from the button and Manuel Fischer called off his stack in the small blind.
Manuel Fischer:
Timo Kamphues:
Fischer would go onto river the better straight following the completed board.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Timo Kamphues |
4,325,000
-1,625,000
|
-1,625,000 |
Manuel Fischer |
3,410,000
1,785,000
|
1,785,000 |
Timo Kamphues raised to 250,000 from under the gun and was called by Claudio Di Giacomo in the small blind and Alessandro Pichierri in the big blind. The flop came and Di Giacomo led out with a bet of 550,000. Pichierri folded but Kamphues elected to call.
The turn brought the and Di Giacomo shoved all in for just over 1,000,000. Kamphues snapped him off and turned over for the nut straight. Di Giacomo was left drawing dead with so the on the river was just salt in the wound as he exited in fourth place.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Timo Kamphues |
5,950,000
1,950,000
|
1,950,000 |
Claudio Di Giacomo | Busted |
Timo Kamphues open-jammed for 1,900,000 and he was snap-called by Alessandro Pichierri in the big blind.
Timo Kamphues:
Alessandro Pichierri:
They say everyone has a kryptonite and it seems that it's ace-five for Pichierri as his opponent outflopped him again after the dealer turned over the flop. The runout gave Kamphues the big double up.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Timo Kamphues |
4,000,000
780,000
|
780,000 |
Alessandro Pichierri |
3,800,000
-1,900,000
|
-1,900,000 |
|
Alessandro Pichierri raised to 250,000 on the button and Manuel Fischer called from the big blind. The flop came and Fischer check-called a bet of 200,000 from Pichierri.
The turn brought the and both players checked to the on the river. Fischer led out with a bet of 450,000 and Pichierri instantly threw in a chip to call. Fischer showed for a missed straight draw while Pichierri held for top pair.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alessandro Pichierri |
5,700,000
3,885,000
|
3,885,000 |
|
||
Manuel Fischer |
1,625,000
-1,095,000
|
-1,095,000 |
Manuel Fischer jammed from the button and Alessandro Pichierri called in the big blind.
Manuel Fischer:
Alessandro Pichierri:
Fischer hit both of his hole cards on the flop and secured an immediate double-up after the runout.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Alessandro Pichierri |
4,600,000
1,365,000
|
1,365,000 |
|
||
Manuel Fischer |
2,720,000
1,420,000
|
1,420,000 |