WSOPE Event #14: No-Limit Hold'em Bounty Hunter

The 2022 World Series of Poker Europe has now seen a champion emerge in Event #14:€300 Bounty Hunter here at King's Resort and Casino. The 436 entry field created a €283,400 prize pool that had the eventual winner set to pull in €62,111 along with a prestigious WSOP bracelet.

The quick structure of the tournament saw play end after just twelve hours, adding Belgium's Karim Maekelberg to the WSOPE winner's column after besting Theo Schmitt heads-up. Maekelberg started playing poker four years ago and has the vast majority of his earnings online, having roughly $11,000 in live cashes before today.

"I started playing four years ago, took things seriously but I mainly played online and just grind everything online. I studied, became better, and now I'm getting into the live scene."

The Belgium native noted that this is just one of his first live events, although his calm, clear, and concise decision making had given off a different impression at his first WSOP final table.

When asked about his ability to play with such a calm manner during his first live victory he had a simple answer. "I have confidence in my game, know what I'm doing and I've put a lot of hours into the game so I'm pretty confident," and that cool collective confidence shined through right up until the last hand.

 Final Table Results 

1.  Karim Maekelberg - €62,111 
2.  Theo Schmitt - €38,375
3.  Brian Cornell - €26,542
4.  Rolando Camardese - €18,715
5.  Dinesh Alt - €13,458
6.  Aaron Duczak - €9,873
7.  Antonino Calabro - €7,393
8.  Hossein Ensan - €5,653
9.  Balakrishna Patur - €4,415

Action of the Day

The first turbo event of the series saw 436 entries accumulated during the 12 levels of late registration which created a prize pool of €283,400. A total of 66 were set to score at least a min-cash and when the bubble approached, none other than Martin Kabrhel was the executioner. Luca Maerki was one of the top stacks at the time but an ill-timed shove with air dubbed him as the bubble boy. Maerki shoved a king-high board for heaps, only for Kabrhel to snap with top set. Along with bubbling, he also received some classic motivational words from Kabrhel on his way out of the tournament.

Once the money had hit an onslaught of eliminations was soon to follow and it took just a few hours for the official final table to be reached. Brian Cornell held the lead but the eyes were on Balakrishna Patur, who was closest to Cornell when the the table was formed. Patur sent three quarters of his stack into the middle during the first hand, covering the all-ins of Theo Schmitt and Antonino Calabro. An unlikely river gave a straight to both players at risk, leaving Patur as the new short stack. He fell shortly after during a blind-on-blind collision with Rolando Camardese who held with queen-high.

Schmitt put his newly acquired chips to use, dropping 2019 Main Event champion Hossein Ensan and Calabro in the same hand. Schmitt landed a bullet to top the pocket pairs of his opponents, leaving just six. Canada's Aaron Duczak was next on the chopping block when an unlikely runout saw his ace-queen fall to the dead man's hand of Cornell who landed a runner-runner straight. Dinesh Alt looked down at ace-eight suited and was happy to get his stack in the middle but Camardese held on with his pocket tens, sending Alt to the payout desk.

Camardese was in the thick of things when four-handed started but a quick plummet saw his remaining chips go in with ace-jack versus the king-trey of Maekelberg. A three in the window sent Camardese to the rail. When three-handed play began, Cornell saw his once massive stack, on the bottom of the board. He check-shoved with middle pair, running into the overpair held by Maekelberg.

The heads-up portion of this event saw the quick-pace action instantly shift as each player had their eye on the bracelet. Schmitt quickly took the lead when he landed an bullet on the river during a classic race. Maekelberg struck back quickly with a double and then applied pressure until the final hand was dealt. The chips went into the middle on a king-high board with Schmitt holding pocket sevens, while Maekelberg had kujo. A clean runout meant Schmitt took the title of runner-up, earning a respectable €38,375 for his efforts.

That wraps it up for the coverage of the penultimate event but check in tomorrow at WSOP.com for all of the updates on the Main Event as it enters Day 4.

Event #14: Bounty Hunter Results

The last hand of the night saw both partake to a     flop where Theo Schmitt bet 600,000. Karim Maekelberg announced 1,800,000 and before he could put in a ship, Schmitt shoved. Maekelberg called just as swiftly and Schmitt was at risk.

Theo Schmitt:   
Karim Maekelberg:   

"Good hand," Schmitt said as he prepared for the   turn where he started to stand up. The dealer burned and turned a   river card, sealing the win for Maekelberg.

Schmitt finished as runner-up, taking home a respectable €38,375 for his efforts.

Karim Maekelberg - Event #14: Bounty Hunter Winner €62,111
Theo Schmitt - Runner-Up €38,375

When three-handed play began it seemed Brian Cornell was the odd man out and was on the short stack after sitting at the top for the better part of the day.

Karim Maekelberg opened from the button, Cornell defended his big blind, and the dealer spread     on the felt. Cornell check-shoved around 1,600,000 and Maekelberg instantly called.

Brian Cornell:   
Karim Maekelberg:   

An   on the turn had Cornell in need of some love but he failed to find any on the   river. Cornell took an exit, leaving just two for a heads-up showdown.

Karim Maekelberg - 8,080,000
Brian Cornell - Eliminated in 3rd Place

Rolando Camardese shoved from the button and Dinesh Alt called his last chips in the middle, having under a million. 

Alt tabled    and was up against the    of Camaradese. The board ran out clean for Camarades and Alt was sent to the rail.

Rolando Camardese - 3,850,000
Dinesh Alt - Eliminated in 5th Place

Brian Cornell opened to roughly 325,000 which was met with a shove of roughly 650,000 by Duczak. Cornell called and Duczak was at risk as the cards were turned.

Aaron Duczak:   
Brian Cornell:  

The flop fell     and the Canadian was still well in front with his queen kicker. A sweaty-looking   hit the felt to give Cornell a straight draw and he completely smacked it on the   river.

Cornell piled in the chips, dropping Duczak from the field in sixth-place.

Brian Cornell - 2,925,000
Aaron Duczak - Eliminated in 6th Place 

Antonino Calabro shoved for 280,000 and Theo Schmitt jammed for his 1,400,000. Balakrishna Patur had the chips in for a call and the cards were tabled.

Antonino Calabro:   
Theo Schmitt:   
Balakrishna Patur:   

The board rolled out       and a rivered straight sent a part of Patur's stack to each opponent. 

Antonino Calabro - 900,000
Theo Schmitt - 2,240,000
Balakrishna Patur - 462,000

The action saw Jonathan Mahdjoub shove and Martin Kabrhel then put in his 440,000 stack. Rolando Camardese jammed 540,000 and Mahdjoub called, putting both at risk.

Martin Kabrhel:   
Rolando Camardese:   
Jonathan Mahdjoub:   

The flop fell     and that was a wrap as Camardese landed four queens. The    runout landed while Kabrhel was walking out the door.

Rolando Camardese - 1,550,000
Jonathan Mahdjoub - 360,000
Martin Kabrhel - Eliminated