Event #7: €5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Day 2 Completed
Event #7: €5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Day 2 Completed
At the end of play on Day 2 of Event #7: €5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, Maximilian Klostermeier walked away as the champion after a dominant final table display. He defeated Joni Jouhkimainen heads up for the €204,010 top prize and his second WSOP bracelet.
The third and final PLO tournament of the 2021 World Series of Poker Europe registered 184 entries to create the €830,300 prize pool, which Klostermeier claimed the lion’s share of. Jouhkimainen also took home a six-figure payday, cashing for €126,091.
Klostermeier won his first piece of WSOP hardware at the 2019 World Series of Poker. He bested the 1,130 strong field to triumph in Event 78: $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha – Bounty. For his efforts in Sin City, he walked away with the WSOP bracelet and $177,823.
The Netherland’s Bjorn Verbakel also reached the “unofficial” final table but was unable to make it two bracelets in a single a series. He bowed out in ninth-place for €17,669.
PLACE | WINNER | Country | PRIZE (EUR) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Maximilian Klostermeier | Denmark | € 204,010 |
2 | Joni Jouhkimainen | Finland | € 126,091 |
3 | Ermanno Di Nicola | Italy | € 88,520 |
4 | Armando D'Avanzo | Italy | € 63,613 |
5 | Nikola Minkov | Bulgaria | € 46,821 |
6 | Jaroslav Peter | Czech Republic | € 35,317 |
7 | Vasil Medarov | Bulgaria | € 27,317 |
8 | Veselin Karakitukov | Bulgaria | € 21,681 |
"I think I would have won less if it was a bounty tournament except it was a progressive knockout," the eventual champion joked as his previous WSOP victory came in a bounty event two years ago. This time, he certainly did the lion's share of the duty to reduce the field and went through the final table like a wrecking ball after knocking out five of his eight opponents once the field combined to one table.
There were plenty of Danish flags in the winner shot in Las Vegas for a specific reason. Klostermeier was born in Germany but calls Denmark his home as he has been living in Copenhagen for the past 15 years. Some Danish friends were on the rail during the final stages as well even though his "best friend is sitting there playing cash and couldn't even be bothered to watch" as he admitted with a grin on the face.
In 2019, he didn't consider himself a PLO player but that has since changed as he only plays PLO these days, be it with four or five cards. He skipped the in-person festival in Las Vegas due to the international travel restrictions and had a coin toss between attending the now postponed EPT Prague or a trip to Las Vegas after. Especially the promising cash games played a pivotal role in his switch and he had already planned in advance to attend the series at the King's Resort in Rozvadov.
"Especially live, all the good games are PLO and nobody really wants to play No-Limit Hold'em anymore." That will also be his main focus for the next few days before jumping into the upcoming €10,350 WSOPE Main Event. "I will probably be playing cash, that was the main reason to come here. Tournaments are mostly for fun and this was an extra bonus,"
The final day brought back 62 hopefuls in pursuit of the elusive WSOP gold bracelet and many players had entered at the very last minute before Day 1 concluded and the registration closed. During the first two hours, the field was cut into more than half and the money bubble was looming already.
Among those to bust before the money were the WSOP bracelet winners Stoyan Madanzhiev, Eelis P?rssinen, Julien Martini, Jack Sinclair, and Tomas Ribeiro. Day 1 chip leader Dorel Eldabach suffered a similar fate as in previous events and went from big stack to bust after being involved in a lot of multi-way hands. On the money bubble itself, it was Jonas Kronwitter who came up short and that triggered a frantic period of eliminations thereafter.
En route to the final table, Klostermeier consistently increased his stack and sent several opponents to the rail. He entered the nine-handed unofficial final table just one big blind ahead of Joni Jouhkimainen. However, from there on his lead was never threatened anymore as one opponent fell victim to his hot run.
Another two WSOP bracelet winners were among the finalists and it was Italy's Armando D'Avanzo who drew the first blood after knocking out Verbakel and PLO specialist Veselin Karakitukov. Event #4: €2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 4th place finisher Vasil Medarov was the next to fall all the while Klostermeier was busy to accumulate chips left and right.
His domination culminated in the knockouts of his final five opponents in fewer than 90 minutes to wrap up the victory. For runner-up Jouhkimainen, it was the fourth WSOP final table but he was unable to overcome the massive chips disadvantage in a one-sided duel for poker's most coveted prize.
I guess the shirt was a sign. First bracelet will have to wait but thats alright. Next up 25k NL ?# #WSOPE https://t.co/ITkP8c65BD
— Joni Jouhkimainen (@Jouhkb)
That concludes the PokerNews updates for his event but the live reporting team is on the floor throughout the entire 2021 World Series of Poker Europe festival until all 15 gold bracelet winners have been crowned.
Joni Jouhkimainen raised the pot on the button out of a stack of around 1.9 million, Maximilian Klostermeier repotted and then called the shove of his opponent.
Joni Jouhkimainen:
Maximilian Klostermeier:
The flop improved Jouhkimainen and he retained the lead on the turn. However, the fell on the river as Klostermeier completed his flush.
For Jouhkimainen, another close call for a WSOP bracelet ended in 2nd place and he takes home €126,091. Klostermeier has claimed his second gold bracelet in the Pot-Limit Omaha variant and pads his bankroll with the top prize of €204,010.
A full recap of today's action is to follow.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Maximilian Klostermeier |
18,400,000
1,800,000
|
1,800,000 |
|
||
Joni Jouhkimainen | Busted | |
|
Maximilian Klostermeier opened to 360,000 on the button and Joni Jouhkimainen defended his big blind.
Jouhkimainen check-folded when his opponent continued for 425,000 on the flop.
Jouhkimainen limped the button and Klostermeier checked. The flop came . The latter check-raised to 480,000 after the Finnish pro bet 175,000 which got him off the pot.
It was the chip leaders turn now to just call the big blind and Jouhkimainen checked to see a free flop of Action checked through to the turn where Jouhkimainen check-called a bet of 325,000.
Both players checked the river, Jouhkimainen announced top two but it was no good against the German's for a turned straight.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Maximilian Klostermeier |
16,600,000
1,480,000
|
1,480,000 |
|
||
Joni Jouhkimainen |
1,800,000
-1,480,000
|
-1,480,000 |
|
Level: 24
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 160,000
The first three hands of heads-up play saw a chip change of just 20,000 as both players traded back and forth pots. Joni Jouhkimainen then raised the pot to 360,000 and Maximilian Klostermeier called out of the big blind.
The flop fell and Klostermeier checked. Jouhkimainen bet the full pot for 840,000 and that won the pot uncontested.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Maximilian Klostermeier |
15,120,000
-460,000
|
-460,000 |
|
||
Joni Jouhkimainen |
3,280,000
460,000
|
460,000 |
|
Maximilian Klostermeier and Joni Jouhkimainen have returned to their seats and heads-up play for the €204,010 first-place and WSOP bracelet is underway.
The two remaining players are now on a short break before heads-up play begins.
Short stack Ermanno Di Nicola got his chips in following the open from Maximilian Klostermeier and was called.
Ermanno Di Nicola:
Maximilian Klostermeier:
Klostermeier's demolition of the final table continued, he had his opponent drawing thin following the flop. The turn and river were no help.
Di Nicola shook the hands of both remaining players before departing the final table. Klostermeier goes into heads-up with a commanding chip lead.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Maximilian Klostermeier |
15,580,000
2,480,000
|
2,480,000 |
|
||
Joni Jouhkimainen |
2,820,000
-1,080,000
|
-1,080,000 |
|
||
Ermanno Di Nicola | Busted | |
|
Exactly one hand after the previous elimination, Maximilian Klostermeier raised the pot out of the small blind and called the shove of Ermanno Di Nicola in a heart beat.
Ermanno Di Nicola:
Maximilian Klostermeier:
Di Nicola remained behind on the flop and but had plenty of outs with his double gutshot and flush draw. One of the outs came on the river as he doubled for 690,000.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Maximilian Klostermeier |
13,100,000
-700,000
|
-700,000 |
|
||
Ermanno Di Nicola |
1,500,000
610,000
|
610,000 |
|