Event #5: €5,300 WSOPE Main Event NLHE European Championship
Day 3 Completed
Event #5: €5,300 WSOPE Main Event NLHE European Championship
Day 3 Completed
Another stage of the race to the 2026 World Series of Poker Europe €5,300 Main Event NLH European Championship Event bracelet has come to a close at King’s Casino in Hilton Prague, with 85 of the returning 356 players bagging and tagging stacks at the end of Day 3.
Rokas Asipauskas climbed steadily during the day and ended Day 3 on top with 6,000,000 in chips. He has over $1,000,000 in live earnings and one bracelet from a WSOP Super Circuit Online event.
When he realized he is chip leader, he asked the players around his table, “Do you like that?” and then smiled, “Three more days of chip leading and we are good, right?” Big hands helped a lot, like when he had aces against Lulei Hu’s nines and stayed alive in the tournament.
Giovanni Zanette is in second with 5,715,000 and seems happy: “I can't complain! I'm quite happy, let's see how is tomorrow, there is still a long way to go.” Close behind, Werner Lootsma bagged 5,300,000, and Jack Loraine ended Day 3 in fourth with 5,290,000. Loraine also got help from aces when he eliminated Day 2 chip leader Daniel Rezaei. About his day he said, “I ran good, every bluff got through. I had aces three times but no expectations, the tournament is still far too long.”
Two women are still in the mix: two-time WSOP $1,000 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em Championship bracelet winner Shiina Okamoto with 3,130,000, and Annette Obrestad with 1,025,000. Obrestad will need to fight from the bottom of the pack to make any final table hopes real.
Other notable stacks are Chris Hunichen (4,050,000), Triple-Crown winner Roberto Romanello (3,830,000), Josh Arieh (2,350,000), and Thomas Eychenne (1,640,000).
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rokas Asipauskas | Lithuania | 6,000,000 | 150 |
| 2 | Giovanni Zanette | South Africa | 5,715,000 | 143 |
| 3 | Werner Lootsma | Netherlands | 5,300,000 | 133 |
| 4 | Jack Loraine | United Kingdom | 5,290,000 | 132 |
| 5 | Johan Espholm | Denmark | 4,315,000 | 108 |
| 6 | Chris Hunichen | United States | 4,050,000 | 101 |
| 7 | Sondre Stormyr | Norway | 4,020,000 | 101 |
| 8 | Roberto Romanello | United Kingdom | 3,830,000 | 96 |
| 9 | Safwane Bahri | France | 3,720,000 | 93 |
| 10 | Sonny Franco | France | 3,680,000 | 92 |
The day started relaxed because the bubble already burst on Day 2, and players were already in the money. But relaxed doesn’t mean quiet—Martin Kabrhel kept the room entertained from the start. He lost a big part of his stack quickly and was left with 2.2 big blinds and 18 time bank cards. One hand alone with those 18 cards took ten minutes to play out. He doubled up two times, but then lost eights against ace-ten and busted.
Many players were lucky with aces, but Alex Keating wasn’t. He got his aces in preflop against Vasileios Panagiotidis’ ace-jack, but the board came four hearts, and Panagiotidis’ ace of hearts completed the flush, taking a big part of Keating’s stack. He couldn’t recover and busted later.
Markus Bonus didn’t need aces to make a big move; he eliminated two players with kings in one hand and got a big boost into the upper third of the chip counts for Day 4.
Even with big hands like aces and kings, reading your opponent is important. Carl Shaw showed that against Alexandre Bermon. Shaw flopped a set of jacks, but the board left room to make a straight. On the river, he let go of his hand after Bermon raised a big bet. “Ace-King?” Shaw asked, and Bermon showed ace-king while taking the sizable pot.
Some famous faces fell before the end of play, like Simone Andrian, Alexandre Reard, Shaun Deeb, Dimitar Danchev, and Espen Jorstad.
Everyone still in the field has at least €18,000 locked up, with the next pay jump (€20,200) coming when 79 players remain. Day 4 starts at 12 p.m. local time on Wednesday, April 9. Six levels are planned, with a 60-minute dinner break after Level 26. Play will start at Level 23 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and a 40,000 big blind ante.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | € 2,000,000 | 12–15 | € 75,000 |
| 2 | € 1,200,000 | 16–23 | € 60,000 |
| 3 | € 800,000 | 24–31 | € 50,000 |
| 4 | € 575,000 | 32–39 | € 40,000 |
| 5 | € 425,000 | 40–47 | € 35,000 |
| 6 | € 320,000 | 48–55 | € 30,000 |
| 7 | € 245,000 | 56–63 | € 25,000 |
| 8 | € 185,000 | 64–71 | € 22,500 |
| 9 | € 140,000 | 72–79 | € 20,200 |
| 10–11 | € 100,000 | 80–85 | € 18,000 |
Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates from the 2026 WSOPE.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,000,000
2,220,000
|
2,220,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
5,715,000
480,000
|
480,000 |
|
|
5,300,000
865,000
|
865,000 |
|
|
5,290,000
945,000
|
945,000 |
|
|
4,315,000
530,000
|
530,000 |
|
|
4,050,000
750,000
|
750,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
4,020,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
3,830,000
1,425,000
|
1,425,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,720,000
520,000
|
520,000 |
|
|
3,680,000
955,000
|
955,000 |
|
|
3,445,000
2,120,000
|
2,120,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
3,420,000
1,930,000
|
1,930,000 |
|
|
3,300,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
3,170,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
|
3,130,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,715,000
290,000
|
290,000 |
|
|
2,610,000
520,000
|
520,000 |
|
|
2,500,000
280,000
|
280,000 |
|
|
2,400,000
380,000
|
380,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,350,000
585,000
|
585,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,200,000
450,000
|
450,000 |
|
|
2,150,000
215,000
|
215,000 |
|
|
2,070,000
570,000
|
570,000 |
|
|
1,955,000
325,000
|
325,000 |
|
|
1,905,000
390,000
|
390,000 |
More than ten minutes after all the other tables, one of the outer feature tables finally played its last hand of the day.
Stay tuned as PokerNews provides you chip counts and a recap of today's action!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
Annette Obrestad, famously the youngest-ever World Series of Poker bracelet winner, is making a long-awaited return to the felt after nearly a decade away from the game. The Norwegian pro, who stunned the poker world by winning the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event at just 18, spoke candidly about her decision to step away, citing burnout and a desire to explore life beyond poker.
Now back at WSOP Europe, Obrestad says she’s rediscovered her competitive spark and is eager to test herself once again against elite fields. During her time away, she focused on a variety of creative pursuits and personal interests, giving her a fresh perspective that she believes will benefit her game as she re-enters the spotlight.
Shiina Okamoto opened from the button to 60,000 and got a call from Yuhan Wang in the big blind.
The flop came 4♥A♥K♦, and Wang checked. Okamoto bet 35,000, and Wang called to see the 10♦ turn.
On the turn, Wang checked again, Okamoto fired 80,000, and Wang stuck around.
The river brought the 2♣, and Okamoto bet 230,000. Wang check-called once more. Okamoto showed J♦8♥ for a missed straight, but Wang’s A♠7♠ for top pair was enough to take the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,855,000
600,000
|
600,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,100,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
|
||
Four more hands will be played on today's Day 3 before wrapping up.
With 125,000 in the big blind, John Ishak moved all-in and faced Alf Martinsson who opened from the hijack.
John Ishak: 7♥6♣
Alf Martinsson: Q♠Q♣
Ishak couldn't do much against queens and was eliminated on A♣9♦4♦9♠7♠.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,400,000
2,180,000
|
2,180,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted |
After he lost a big pot to Safwane Bahri, Danilo Velasevic faced another tough situation.
On a board of 9♣7♠9♥4♠7♥ with 635,000 in the pot, Pol Vela in middle position jammed for 970,000. Velasevic with 805,000 behind went deep into the tank and eventually made the call with A♣Q♥.
Vela only had K♠Q♣ and lost most of his chips. He was eliminated a few hands later.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,500,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||