WSOPE Event #15: €550 No-Limit Hold'em Closer

Marius Schneider delivered a thrilling finale to the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe, capturing his first-ever bracelet in Event #15: €550 Closer at King's Resort in Rozvadov. Schneider's remarkable run earned him a career-best score of €44,000, as he overcame a tough heads-up battle against Romania's Tiberiu Tirca, who took home €28,800 for his own career-high cash.

What made Schneider's win even more remarkable was that he almost didn't play. The night before, he considered skipping the final day after starting with one of the shortest stacks. After discussing with his friends, he decided to play Day 2, and will be extremely pleased that he did as he is now the proud owner of a WSOP bracelet.

Final Table Results

Winner's Reaction

"Surreal," was the first word from Schneider after capturing his first WSOP bracelet. "I think I was 39th in chips at the start of the day, and I didn't think I'd make it this far. Winning it... it's quite surreal, to be honest," he admitted.

For Schneider, poker has always been a hobby, and the thought of winning a bracelet felt distant. "It was kind of a dream, but so unreachable that I never thought much about it," he reflected. "I'm actually a student right now in Germany, so my focus is on that, but I'm sure I'll play more poker in the future."

Adding to the disbelief, Schneider almost didn't play. "My friends and I were really tired, and last night we even thought about leaving because I had such a short stack. Luckily, we decided to stay, so I have to thank my friends for that." were Schneider's closing words.

Day 2 Action

A total of 473 entries were logged across the two opening flights, generating a prize pool of €222,310. Out of those, just 58 players secured their spot in Day 2. However, notable names like Sergiu Covrig (17th), Gab Yong Kim (37th), Wing Po Liu (53rd), and Ilija Savevski (55th) all fell short of the final table.

Day 2 began with Jacob Amsellem leading the pack, bringing a towering stack of exactly one-million chips into play, well clear of De Han Kim in second, who had 669,500. Amsellem's momentum continued as he dispatched Pawel Zawadowicz, whose ace-king was no match for the Cowboys of the French player. Amsellem continued to knock out opponents, including Arshavir Hakobya and Michele Tocci, but, as the tournament neared the final two tables, he hit a rough patch. His downfall came in Level 27 when his ace-five couldn't overcome Kim's ace-queen, leaving him to exit in thirteenth place.

Martin Kabrhel, one of the chip leaders when play got underway, made an early surge up the leaderboard. He turned trips in a hand against Amsellem, extracting a sizable river bet that propelled him even higher. Kabrhel then caught another break when his ace-nine cracked the pocket kings of Torsten Kowalke, eliminating the German player in sixteenth place.

At one point, Kabrhel sat comfortably atop the chip counts. However, a series of tough hands soon brought him back to reality. He first doubled up Catalin Diac in a blind-on-blind confrontation, then made what he declared as the "greatest laydown in poker history" against Musa Jusaj.

His misfortune continued when an ill-timed shove left him on fumes, with Schneider seizing the chip lead. Schneider's time at the top was short-lived, though, as in a dramatic three-way pot, Ran Shahar's queen-nine cracked the aces of Karl Strasser, simultaneously sending Joerg Schneegass to the rail. Shahar then capitalized on his momentum, picking up pocket kings to eliminate Strasser in tenth place, which set the stage for the final table.

Diac came into the final table in last with just ten big blinds, and he soon had zero after his ace-six ran into the pocket queens of Ib Poulsen, who made quads. Kabrhel quickly followed as he called a turn shove from Tirca with a pair and a flush draw holding jack-ten, but bricked the river as Tirca's ace-king held up on the ace-high board.

Ron Jeda saw his pocket nines go down in flames as he couldn't hold up in a flip against Schneider's queen-jack, which left the German player with over a third of the total chips in play. Shortly after, Shahar also gained a commanding stack, eliminating Jusaj when his pocket tens bested his opponent's ace-ten. With both Schneider and Shahar holding massive portions of the chips, the final table dynamics were set to be intense.

Five-handed play stretched over two levels, and despite Shahar starting Level 30 with a healthy stack, his tournament journey came to an abrupt end before the close of Level 31. Hand after hand, the chips slipped away, and his luck ran dry. In his final hand, Shahar limped from the small blind with king-five and found himself all-in on a five-four-three flop. Schneider, holding three-deuce, was looking to extend his chip and completed a straight when an ace hit the turn, sending Shahar to the payout desk in fifth.

At this stage, Schneider controlled roughly two-thirds of the chips in play and seemed poised to claim the bracelet. However, his momentum stalled in a big pot against Tirca. Schneider, holding eight-seven, flopped an open-ended straight draw and three-bet shoved the flop. Tirca, with queen-ten and a flopped pair of queens, made the call and watched the board brick out, which allowed him to close the gap and pull within striking distance.

Meanwhile, Kim had been nursing a short stack for much of the day. Although he managed to double up during four-handed play, his luck soon ran out when his ace-ten couldn't hold up against Schneider's jack-seven after both got their chips in preflop, with Schneider turning a seven to seal Kim's elimination.

Poulsen quietly navigated his way to a podium finish, despite starting the final table in the middle of the pack. The Day 1a chip leader eventually shoved with queen-ten for his last eight big blinds, but ran into Tirca's ace-ten. The board provided no help, forcing Poulsen to settle for third place.

Tirca entered heads-up play with a narrow seven-to-five chip lead over Schneider, a margin he steadily increased by winning several small pots. With his advantage growing to nearly three-to-one, Tirca had a chance to clinch the title when he flopped top pair with king-nine and got the chips in the middle. Unfortunately for Tirca, Schneider held pocket aces and managed to double up, reclaiming the chip lead he had held earlier.

Schneider's time as chip leader was short-lived, as Tirca quickly chipped away and regained control shortly after losing it. Applying relentless pressure, Tirca left Schneider struggling for answers. Before long, the chip lead swung back to a three-to-one advantage in favor of the Romanian player.

However, Schneider never gave up and found a huge double-up after he called a three-bet shove with ace-king and held against the king-six of Tirca. Moments later it was all over as Tirca got in his last few big blinds with eight-three and was put at risk by the king-four of Schneider. A king on the flop all but sealed the deal, and Schneider erupted into celebration with his rail. A great effort by Tirca, but he had to settle for second.

That concludes the PokerNews coverage from the €550 Closer, but be sure to tune in tomorrow to the conclusion of the Main Event to see who will take home the top prize of €1,300,000.

Tiberiu Tirca was left with 800,000 after the previous hand and called when Marius Schneider moved all in on the button.

Tiberiu Tirca:   
Marius Schneider:   

Both players hit a pair on the     flop as Schneider remained in the lead with a pair of kings. The turn was the  , while the   fell on the river and Schneider's rail erupted in celebration as he secured the WSOP bracelet.

Marius Schneider	11,825,000	7,025,000
Tiberiu Tirca	0	-7,000,000

In a limped pot, Tiberiu Tirca bet 350,000 from the button on a flop of     and Marius Schneider called.

The turn was the   and Tirca bet 1,100,000. Schneider folded this time and Tirca took the pot.

The two players again limped the next hand as the flop came    . Schneider then bet 300,000 on the button and Tirca called.

The   fell on the turn and Schneider bet 1,100,000. Tirca folded.

Tiberiu Tirca	7,000,000	250,000
Marius Schneider	4,800,000	-275,000

Tiberiu Tirca called on the button. Marius Schneider checked his option.

The     flop was checked around and Schneider checked again on the   turn. Tirca then bet 350,000 and Schneider called. THe   brought another check from Schneider, which prompted Tirca to bet 1,200,000. Schneider took a moment before check-raising all in.

Tirca tanked for a moment before folding. Calls of "show the bluff" were heard from the rail.

Tiberiu Tirca	6,750,000	-1,550,000
Marius Schneider	5,075,000	1,575,000

Marius Schneider opened from the button to 500,000. Tiberiu Tirca called.

He check-called a bet of 300,000 on the     flop from Schneider. He checked again on the   turn and Schneider sized up to 560,000. Tirca then check-raised all in and Schneider mucked.

Tiberiu Tirca	7,600,000	700,000
Marius Schneider	4,325,000	-575,000

Marius Schneider raised to 450,000 on the button and Tiberiu Tirca called.

Schneider bet 325,000 on the     flop and Tirca raised to 900,000. Schneider then moved all in for 2,650,000 and Tirca snap-called.

Marius Schneider:   
Tiberiu Tirca:   

"Wait for Romanian bracelet," Sergiu Covrig said as he came over to film the action in support of Tirca. The   fell on the turn. "Okay, other way around," Covrig said, but the river was the   and Schneider held on to double up.

Marius Schneider	6,200,000	3,200,000
Tiberiu Tirca	5,600,000	-3,200,000

Tiberiu Tirca called on the button. Marius Schneider checked his option.

Marius Schneider checked the flop of     which prompted Tirca to bet 200,000. Schneider then put in the check-raise to 600,000. Tirca folded.

Schneider then opened to 450,000 from the button. Tirca called before checking the     flop to Schneider who continued for 300,000. Tirca quickly folded once again.v

Tiberiu Tirca	7,250,000	-950,000
Marius Schneider	4,575,000	975,000

On the second hand of heads-up play, Tiberiu Tirca raised to 320,000 on the button and Marius Schneider called.

The flop came     and Tirca bet 250,000. Schneider called and the   fell on the turn. Tirca then bet 1,500,000 and Schneider again called.

The river was the   and Tirca bet 2,600,000. Schneider paused momentarily but eventually tossed his cards into the muck as Tirca took the pot.

Tiberiu Tirca	8,200,000	1,325,000
Marius Schneider	3,600,000	-1,350,000

Marius Schneider raised to 320,000 on the button and De Han Kim reraised to 700,000 in the small blind, leaving himself just 40,000 behind. Schneider put him all in and Kim tossed in his last chips.

De Han Kim:   
Marius Schneider:   

The     flop kept Kim in the lead, but Schneider hit the   on the turn to make a pair and move in front. The   river marked the end of Kim's tournament as he was eliminated in fourth place.

Marius Schneider	4,800,000	550,000
De Han Kim	0	-1,700,000