WSOPE Event #11: €1,100 Turbo Bounty Hunter

The latest bracelet from the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe has found a new home—on the wrist of Darius Neagoe. Neagoe emerged victorious over a field of 458 entrants in Event #11: €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo Bounty Hunter to take home his first WSOP bracelet.

Romania's Neagoe snagged the €63,650 top prize from the €430,520 prize pool after somewhat cruising through a short-stacked final table. He wrapped things up fast heads-up, defeating Nikolay Traskevich on the very first hand. This win ties his career-best score and sees him jump into the top 100 on Romania's all-time money list.

Traskevich walked away with €45,750 for his runner-up finish, while Switzerland's Michael Wingeyer rounded out the podium spots with €34,450 for his efforts. With three spots to the €10,350 WSOP Europe Main Event up for grabs, Neagoe, Traskevich, and Wingeyer will all be taking their seats tomorrow, chasing the poker dream of becoming a world champion on Europe's biggest stage.

Event #11: €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo Bounty Hunter Final Table Results

*the top three prizes include a €10,350 WSOPE Main Event ticket

Winner's Reaction

Neagoe said he was feeling amazing about winning his first bracelet and hoped it wouldn't be the last.

"Right now, I am pretty stoked, I am really happy. Overall, I feel amazing. This is the first bracelet for me and hopefully not the last!"

The Romanian poker player said having the support of his friends on the rail for the final table really helped him.

"I'm feeling really lucky because I see a lot of guys here who are alone, so having an amazing group of friends I love supporting me all the way really helps."

Neagoe said there wasn't really any hand that stuck out to him as being important and he just takes it one hand at a time.

"There were no real hands that stuck out to me. You take it one hand at a time, and you do your best with the cards you have."

Once late registration closed, and the payouts were posted, it was confirmed that 69 players would walk away with at least a min-cash of €1,375. Just two hours later, the bubble burst without even needing hand-for-hand play. Arturo Paduano and Paul Runcan busted on the same hand, sending the rest of the field straight into the money.

Now that everyone had locked up a trip to the payout desk, eliminations started coming fast, as players with short stacks were eager to gamble in hopes of making a push for the final table. Four more levels passed before the three-table redraw took place, with several notables such as Or Nezer (26th - €1,790), Shaun Deeb (36th - €1,445), Dongwoo Ko (44th - €1,445), and Martin Zamani (61st - €1,375) busting in the money.

For the last 27, the final table was now in sight, with the gold bracelet shimmering on the horizon. Only ten players could make it to the tournament's last table, and unfortunately, bracelet winners Vivian Saliba (19th - €1,790) and Simone Andrian (16th - €2,075) didn't make the cut. After Ilija Savevski brutal exit in eleventh place, where Wingeyer rivered a two-outer, the final table was finally set.

Final Table Action

Neagoe entered the final table with the chip lead and pulled away from the rest of the table in the early orbits by putting relentless pressure on the middle stacks. With the average stack of around ten big blinds, it was only a matter of time before a clash was bound to happen. Giuseppe Rosa was the first to bust, as Neagoe hit trips to send him home.

De Han Kim would be the player next to vacate his seat when he came in last place during a three-way all-in that saw Mikkel Plum triple up with sailboats against ace-jack and ace-king of Kim and Traskevich. After the stacks were counted, Kim had fewer chips than Traskevich, forcing him to settle for a ninth-place finish.

Romania's Traian Stanciu claimed the eighth-place prize money after failing to improve against Aaron Duczak's pocket jacks. Not long after, Plum followed him out, calling off his four-big-blind stack with king-queen but not connecting with any Broadway cards to beat Paulo Costa's ace-high.

Next to feel the wrath of Neagoe's final table dominance was Holger Klock, who got it in good but an unfortunate runout gave Neagoe the winner with a turned straight. After Klock exited in sixth, Canada's Duczak's chip stack would be sent to Neagoe. Duczak jammed with ace-nine and was called off by Neagoe holding king-queen. A couple of queens on the flop spelled the end of Duczak in fifth.

With three €10,350 WSOPE Main Event tickets up for grabs, you'd expect four-handed play to drag on—but in true turbo style, that wasn't the case. Costa got his chips in with Big Slick, but Traskevich caught a lucky four-flush to send Costa out in fourth. The remaining three players had secured their seats in the Main Event.

Neagoe didn't let up with three remaining; he went full throttle by jamming the very next hand with nine-seven of hearts from the button. Wingeyer decided to make a stand with pocket threes, but Neagoe's sun-run continued as a nine hit the flop, meaning Wingeyer ended up picking up the cheque for third place.

Heads-up play lasted all of one hand as Neagoe called Traskevich's five big blind shove with pocket fives and was up against Traskevich's ten-eight of clubs. A five in the window sealed Traskevich's fate, who was overjoyed with his performance in the event. Meanwhile, Neagoe erupted in celebration with his rail, jumping and singing with joy at becoming a WSOP champion.

That concludes coverage of the €1,100 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo Bounty Hunter. Stay tuned as Friday, October 4 marks the first day of the 2024 WSOP Europe Main Event, where up-to-date coverage can be found right here at PokerNews every day.

There will be a short break before the start of heads-up play

Darius Neagoe	12,000,000	0
Nikolay Traskevich	1,700,000	-1,000,000

Paulo Costa shoved for 675,000 from the button and Nikolay Traskevich called from the big blind to put him at risk.

Paulo Costa:   
Nikolay Traskevich:   

The board ran out       giving Traskevich a flush to eliminate Costa in fourth place. The three remaining players are now guaranteed a seat to the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in addition to their cash prize.

Nikolay Traskevich	2,700,000	1,700,000
Paulo Costa	0	-1,475,000

Aaron Duczak shoved from the button for 3,000,000 and Nikolay Traskevich called for his last 400,000 from the big blind.

Nikolay Traskevich:   
Aaron Duczak:   

Traskevich needed a lot of help with some hearts or a king to survive. The flop of     put Traskevich firmly ahead with a flush. The   turn offered Duczak a glimmer of hope, but the   river wasn't what he needed and Traskevich had doubled.

Aaron Duczak	1,800,000	-1,050,000
Nikolay Traskevich	1,000,000	600,000

Aaron Duczak shoved from the button for 1,600,000. Darius Neagoe called from the small blind with the covering stack and Nikolay Traskevich called for his last 250,000 from the big blind. Neagoe had the chance to eliminate two players and take a commanding chip lead.

Nikolay Traskevich:   
Aaron Duczak:   
Darius Neagoe:   

The flop of     put Duczak ahead with top pair and a flush draw. The   turn meant only an ace or eight that wasn't a heart would see a double knockout. The river came the  , which was exactly what Traskevich needed to survive and he had tripled up, while Duczak almost doubled with a pair of queens against Naegoe.

Darius Neagoe	3,700,000	-2,300,000
Aaron Duczak	2,600,000	875,000
Nikolay Traskevich	1,350,000	420,000

Michael Wingeyer shoved for 500,000 from the hijack and was called by Aaron Duczak in the big blind who had a covering stack.

Michael Wingeyer:   
Aaron Duczak:   

The board ran out       giving Wingeyer a pair of tens to double up through Duczak.

Michael Wingeyer	1,300,000	145,000
Aaron Duczak	800,000	-340,000

The players are now on a short 15-minute break.

Darius Neagoe shoved from the button with a huge stack and Giuseppe Rosa called from the small blind for his last 550,000. After the big blind folded the cards were revealed.

Giuseppe Rosa:   
Darius Neagoe:   

Rosa just had to avoid a three or an ance to stay alive. However the flop of     put Neagoe firmly ahead with top pair. There was no help for Rosa on the   turn or   river and he was the first player to exit the final table.

Darius Neagoe	6,000,000	1,425,000
Giuseppe Rosa	0	-700,000