The 2017 World Series of Poker Europe is among the most reputable poker festivals, which is currently underway. Many poker players from around the world blocked the streets of the Czech Republic’s picturesque poker destination Rozvadov. King’s Casino plays host to WSOP Europe for the very first time and it promises to offer quality poker action in huge quantities and attractive prize pools. The coveted WSOP-branded gold bracelets, which the festival offers to the winners, are with 1 less, after Oleksandr Shcherbak emerged victor in Event #1: €1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack. The player finished off his heads-up opponent Viliyan Petleshkov to bank the solid amount of €117,708. There are still 10 gold bracelets and many cash prizes up for grabs, so the competition is to be fierce.
The Ukrainian poker player is making his first steps on the poker scene, but he seems determined to demonstrate his poker skills. His latest poker accomplishment gave a strong push forward to the player’s poker career. Apart from winning his first-career piece of gold, Shcherbak scooped his second cash prize. Previously, the champion collected €2,160 from PokerStars Championship Barcelona. Shcherbak seems to enter the poker scene with a splash.
Oleksandr Shcherbak’s March to Success
Oleksandr Shcherbak saw a star-packed field of 561 players, who generated a life-changing prize pool of €538,280. Payouts were set for the top 85 finishers and the money bubble was burst sometime on Day 2. The tournament featured 3 starting days, over which players were vying for the piece of jewelry and the lion’s share of the prize pool. Only 3 hours after the final day of the event started, the field was whittled to only 9 players to give a start to the official final table play.
The first to leave the official final table was Ali Sameeian. He settled in 9th place for a cash prize of €7,605. Ismael Bojang was also cut short early. The player was eliminated in 8th place, pocketing a cash prize of €9,934. Serge Danis exited the game in 7th place, claiming a cash prize of €13,225. Peter Bstieler was the player, who demonstrated accomplished poker skills on the official final table, but he needed to succumb in 6th place for €17,940. Walter Treccarichi was the next player, who was knocked out of the final table in 5th place. He scooped a cash prize of €24,787. Carlo Savinelli’s game strategy can be described only as aggressive, throwing his opponents under pressure. But he ran out of steam and he was eliminated in 4th place with €34,869 richer than before.
Down to three-handed, Sergio Fernandez got the rest of his short stack from the button and fell victim to Shcherbak’s winning hand. He sccoped a cash prize of €49,929 Here it is interesting to note that during the early stages of the game, Fernandez was towering a massive stack of chips.
Fernandez’ elimination left Shcherbak and Viliyan Petleshkov under the spotlight of the heads-up battle. Shcherbak entered the final clash with a commanding chip lead, but shortly after the heads-up match began, Petleshkov managed to gain the upper hand over his rival. But his happiness lasted only a few moments, as Shcherbak quickly gained back momentum to finish off his opponent. The final hand in play occurred when the 2 players were locked in an all-in confrontation. At that moment, Shcherbak was holding the winning hand, which secured him the 6-figure pot to Shcherbak and the trophy. Petleshkov cashed €72,747 for his runner-up performance.
