Nov 07, 2018
Jack Sinclair Wins 2018 WSOP Europe Main Event and €1.1 Million
By RTR Dennis
Jack Sinclair first made a name for himself by finishing eighth place in the 2017 WSOP Main Event. He recently found himself on a major poker stage once again at the 2018 WSOP Europe Main Event. And this time, Sinclair wasn't settling for eighth.
He battled through a field of 534 players to claim victory and a top prize worth €1,122,239 ($1,290,575). Afterward, he spoke about maintaining his focus throughout the tournament.
“I wasn’t thinking about it,” Sinclair said regarding the 2017 Main Event. “It was a completely different tournament. Vegas was huge for me but it’s in the past now and I don’t think about it now.
“Vegas was my first ever time playing a $10k and the first time in Vegas in general. The whole thing has been so surreal from the start of my poker career until now. I’m not used to it really, but… I don’t wanna get used to it!”
Recap of 2018 WSOPE Main Event
The 2018 WSOPE Main Event was held at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic and offered a €5,000,000 guarantee. This amount drew 534 entrants, which helped the prize pool surpass its original guarantee.
The field was whittled down to a six-player final table after five days of action. Laszlo Bujtas held the lead going into the final table, while 2013 WSOP Main Event champ Ryan Riess had the third-biggest chip stack. Sinclair was just behind Riess with the fourth-largest stack.
Ihor Yerofieiev was the first to go, busting out in sixth place and collecting a €175,965 payout. Milos Skrbic was the next to hit the rail when his KJ combo couldn’t overcome Bujtas’ AQ hand.
Riess was trying to match Phil Hellmuth as the only player to win both the WSOP Las Vegas and Europe Main Events. He fell short, though, after his pocket 7s were bested by Krasimir Yankov’s pocket aces.
Despite eliminating Reiss in fourth place, Yankov had the shortest stack to begin three-handed play. His final hand saw him go all-in against Sinclair. Yankov was eliminated in third place when Sinclair’s set of 7’s trumped his set of 5’s.
Heads Up Play
Sinclair and Bujtas began heads-up play nearly even in chips. They fought back and forth for a while, before Sinclair finally won a big pot with a two pair.
Things would get worse for Bujtas, with his stack falling to 10 big blinds. He eventually went all-in with J7, which prompted Sinclair to call with Q7. The latter won the hand and tournament after pairing his queen with the board.
Bujtas collected a €693,573 prize for his second-place finish. Meanwhile, Sinclair celebrated winning over €1.1 million and his first-ever WSOP gold bracelet. The Brit now has $3,393,632 in live tournament winnings.
2018 WSOP Europe Main Event Final Table Results
- Jack Sinclair – $1,290,575 (€1,122,239)
- Laszlo Bujtas – $797,609 (€693,573)
- Krasimir Yankov – $552,032 (€480,028)
- Ryan Riess – $388,445 (€337,778)
- Milos Skrbic – $277,976 (€241,718)
- Ihor Yerofieiev – $113,030 (€175,965)