Thursday, October 3, 2024 5:54 AM Local Time
Amir Mozaffarian Cracks the Code, Secures First WSOP Bracelet and €69,050 Payday in €1,100 NLH Mystery Bounty
A total of 515 hopefuls descended on the baize at King's Resort for the €1,100 NLH Mystery Bounty at the 2024 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), but only one player cracked the code. Amir Mozaffarian emerged victorious, securing his first-ever WSOP bracelet along with a hard-fought €69,050 top prize.
Having come agonizingly close earlier in the series with a runner-up finish in €5,000 PLO event, Mozaffarian finally struck gold. Over two intense days, he skillfully navigated the stacked field and the pressure of high-stakes bounty hunting to clinch poker's ultimate prize— the elusive gold strap.
Mozaffarian ran rampant at the final table, tearing through the competition with his relentlessly aggressive style. He sent four of the seven other players to the rail, including a devastating clean-up of the last three competitors standing in his way.
The final hurdle for Mozaffarian was none other than his compatriot Paco Kaplan, but the heads-up match proved to be more of a formality than a fierce showdown. In lightning-fast fashion, Mozaffarian dispatched Kaplan, wrapping up the battle in almost no time at all to claim the largest share of the €484,100 prize pool.
Final Table Results
Place | Name | Country | Prize |
1 | Amir Mozaffarian | Germany | €69,050* |
2 | Paco Kaplan | Germany | €49,550* |
3 | Viorel Gavrila | Romania | €36,750* |
4 | Shaun Deeb | United States | €18,200 |
5 | Lorenzo Arduini | Italy | €12,850 |
6 | Zdenek Zizka | Czech Republic | €9,275 |
7 | John Armbrust | United States | €6,850 |
8 | Yehor Shumeiko | Ukraine | €5,175 |
*the top three prizes include a €10,350 WSOPE Main Event ticket
Winner's Reaction
"It feels wonderful, amazing. Having a bracelet is one of the most desired things you can get as a poker player," were the first words Mozaffarian said after speaking exclusively with PokerNews.
"I was really riding the rollercoaster today, really really. My stack was up and down so much and then I was winning a lot of flips, so I thought oh, maybe there is something possible today," he stated in reference to whether he felt that today was going to be his day.
"I had a huge chip lead but the job is never done, never because Shaun [Deeb] is a really, really good player and is very dangerous. Nothing is safe when you have a chip lead," were Mozaffarian's words when he was asked about having a huge chip lead during the final table and if he felt confident during that moment.
Final Day's Action
When the day got underway, there were 103 bounty-hunting hopefuls who were all eligible to fight for their share of the €154,500 bounty pool, despite not yet being in the money.
A total of 78 spots were on offer in the money and the last player to leave empty-handed was Genc Zekaj when his ace-king couldn't overcome the pocket jacks of Dan Maricuta.
Shaun Deeb then started to rise up the counts after picking up two bounties in the same hand when his ace-jack held against two weaker ace-holdings.
One of the players that Deeb busted in that hand was Philipp Krieger, but it wasn't all doom and gloom for the German player as he had collected three bounties before his demise. The first bounty he pulled was worth €900, but the second was the biggest of the bunch — €45,000. A third bounty of €3,000 brought the haul to €48,900, plus his cash of €1,435 — not a bad way to exit a tournament!
Some of the notables that made the money but fell short of the final table include Martin Kabrhel (70th), Ankit Ahuja (51st), Gabi Livshitz (23rd), Fabio Peluso (22nd), Tobias Peters (15th), and the final table bubble boys Genc Shabani (10th) & Ondrej Goetz (9th).
With ten players remaining, Shabani and Goetz were eliminated almost simultaneously, with the former hitting the rail just moments before Goetz fell to Deeb, which brought around an eight-handed final table instead of the expected nine.
Going into the final table it was Viorel Gavrila who held the chip lead with around 42 big blinds, and he was closely followed by Kaplan & Deeb who both had 30 big blinds each.
Yehor Shumeiko was the first to fall when he stuck in his last five big blinds with queen-six, and couldn't overcome the ace-king of Mozaffarian. Just moments later, John Armbrust joined him on the rail when his flopped two pair with seven-eight was no good against the straight of Gavrila, who held five-six.
The elimination continued at a rapid pace as Zdenek Zizka got his last eight big blinds into the middle with pocket eights, but came up short against the pocket tens of Lorenzo Arduini.
A crucial pot then played out between Mozaffarian and Gavrila that severely impacted the dynamic of the table. Mozaffarian opened the button then called off his stack of twenty-five big blinds after Gavrila shoved from the big blind. Gavrila's ace-ten was miles ahead of Mozaffarian's ace-nine, but a flush on the river gave Mozaffarian the win, which prevented Gavrila from being the runaway chip leader.
It was then Deeb's turn to take his place at the top of the counts after he woke up with aces in the big blind when Gavrila had three-bet shoved over Kaplan's open.
Arduini then lost a flip with ace-king against the pocket jacks of Kaplan, which brought play down to four-handed. The confidence levels of Mozaffarian were evident when he bluffed Deeb with ten-high right before a break in play, which catapulted him into the chip lead and left Deeb with a short stack.
With there being three €10,350 WSOPE Main Event tickets on offer to the podium finishers, four-handed play was a tight affair with chips being exchanged back-and-forth between the players. Deeb started to build momentum but that was forced to bet-fold the river against Mozaffarian, which again sent him tumbling down to the bottom of the counts.
Moments later, Deeb's run had come to an end after he shoved with king-four and couldn't overcome the king-nine of Mozaffarian. That meant the final three players had navigated their way to a WSOPE Main Event ticket, and it was game on for the remaining payouts.
They very next hand after eliminating Deeb, Mozaffarian claimed another bounty after he sent Gavrila to the rail, which gave him a commanding four-to-one chip lead over Kaplan heading into heads-up play.
Mozaffarian's lead swelled to roughly eight-to-one, and in the final hand of the night, Mozaffarian shoved with king-six and Kaplan called with queen-five. The board left both players unimproved, which meant Mozaffarian's king-high was good for the pot and the title.
That wraps up the PokerNews coverage from the €1,100 NLH Mystery Bounty. Stay tuned for more action as the final bracelets of the series are awarded over the coming days.
Thursday, October 3, 2024 4:01 AM Local Time
Paco Kaplan Eliminated in 2nd Place (€49,550)
Amir Mozaffarian shoved from the button and Paco Kaplan called for his last 2,000,000 out of the big blind.
Paco Kaplan:
Amir Mozaffarian:
If Mozaffarian could hold, he would be the newest owner of a WSOP bracelet. The board came , meaning Kaplan was out in second place and Mozaffarian had won the tournament.
Amir Mozaffarian | 15,400,000 | 1,900,000 |
Paco Kaplan | 0 | -1,700,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:45 AM Local Time
Mozaffarian Holds a Commanding Lead
Paco Kaplan and Amir Mozaffarian went heads-up to a flop of where they both put in 300,000 to see the on the turn. Kaplan checked, Mozaffarian bet 800,000, and Kaplan called.
When the hit the river, Kaplan check-folded to Mozaffarian's shove.
Amir Mozaffarian | 13,500,000 | 1,500,000 |
Paco Kaplan | 1,700,000 | -1,600,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:37 AM Local Time
Chip Counts Going Into Heads-Up
Amir Mozaffarian | 12,000,000 | 0 |
Paco Kaplan | 3,300,000 | 100,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:35 AM Local Time
Viorel Gavrila Eliminated in 3rd Place (€36,750)
Viorel Gavrila shoved for his last 1,500,000 from the small blind with Amir Mozaffarian making the call out of the big blind.
Viorel Gavrila:
Amir Mozaffarian :
Mozaffarian's ace-high stayed ahead on the runout and Gavrila was the third-place finisher.
Amir Mozaffarian | 12,000,000 | 2,000,000 |
Viorel Gavrila | 0 | -1,500,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:31 AM Local Time
Shaun Deeb Eliminated in 4th Place (€18,200)
Shaun Deeb shoved for 1,030,000 and Amir Mozaffarian called on the button.
Shaun Deeb:
Amir Mozaffarian:
The situation went from bad to worse for Deeb on the flop as Mozaffarian improved to two pair, which meant Deeb's best hope of survival was a chop. However, no such thing happened as the runout of meant Deeb was out in fourth.
Amir Mozaffarian | 10,000,000 | 500,000 |
Paco Kaplan | 3,200,000 | -1,100,000 |
Viorel Gavrila | 1,500,000 | -300,000 |
Shaun Deeb | 0 | -1,100,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:25 AM Local Time
Mozaffarian Winning All the Big Pots vs Deeb
Amir Mozaffarian raised to 260,000 from the cutoff and Shaun Deeb three-bet to 850,000 from the big blind. Mozaffarian called.
Both players checked the flop to see the come on the turn. Deeb led out for 725,000 and Mozaffarian called.
Deeb bet 1,500,000 on the river, leaving just 1,100,000 behind. After a few moments, Mozaffarian jammed to put Deeb all in. Deeb pondered over the decision before ultimately folding and forfeiting the pot to Mozaffarian.
Amir Mozaffarian | 9,500,000 | 3,100,000 |
Shaun Deeb | 1,100,000 | -2,900,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:21 AM Local Time
Level 32 started
Level: 32
Blinds: 80,000/160,000
Ante: 160,000
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:20 AM Local Time
Deeb Raking Lots of Small Pots
Shaun Deeb is gradually building his stack and is up to around 4,000,000 now.
Deeb just raised from under the gun to 240,000 and Viorel Gavrila defended his big blind.
On the flop, Gavrila check-called a bet of 120,000 from Deeb to see the turn, where Gavrila then check-folded to Deeb's 330,000-chip bet.
Shaun Deeb | 4,000,000 | 1,000,000 |
Viorel Gavrila | 1,800,000 | -600,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:18 AM Local Time
Gavrila Shoves the Turn
Amir Mozaffarian opened the button to 260,000 and Viorel Gavrila called in the big blind.
They went to a flop of which checked through to the turn. Gavrila checked, Mozaffarian bet 270,000, Gavrila shoved for around 1,400,000, and Mozaffarian folded.
Amir Mozaffarian | 6,400,000 | 400,000 |
Viorel Gavrila | 2,400,000 | 600,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:10 AM Local Time
Mozaffarian Takes From Deeb
Amir Mozaffarian raised from the cutoff and Shaun Deeb defended from the big blind.
On the flop, Deeb check-folded to Mozaffarrian's 200,000 continuation-bet.
Amir Mozaffarian | 6,000,000 | -100,000 |
Paco Kaplan | 4,300,000 | 400,000 |
Shaun Deeb | 3,000,000 | 200,000 |
Viorel Gavrila | 1,800,000 | -600,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 3:02 AM Local Time
Deeb Gaining Momentum
Shaun Deeb just won back-to-back pots which gave his stack a much-needed boost.
First, Deeb defended from the big blind after Viorel Gavrila made it 300,000 from the small blind.
On the flop, Gavrila fired 225,000, which Deeb called. Both checked the turn and Gavrila check-folded on the river after Deeb fired around 500,000.
In the next hand, Deeb limped from the small blind and Amir Mozaffarian checked in the big blind.
They both checked the flop to the turn where Deeb fired 175,000, and Mozaffarian called.
On the river, Deeb fired around 450,000, and Mozaffarian folded.
Amir Mozaffarian | 6,100,000 | -400,000 |
Shaun Deeb | 2,800,000 | 700,000 |
Viorel Gavrila | 2,400,000 | -400,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 2:57 AM Local Time
Mozaffarian Slowly Pulling Away
Shaun Deeb opened from the cutoff to 240,000 and only Amir Mozaffarian called on the button.
Both players checked the flop to see the come on the turn. Deeb checked, Mozaffarian bet 350,000 and Deeb folded.
Amir Mozaffarian | 6,500,000 | 900,000 |
Shaun Deeb | 2,100,000 | -800,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 2:55 AM Local Time
Gavrila Almost Doubles Without Going to a Turn
Paco Kaplan opened from the cutoff to 250,000 and Viorel Gavrila three-bet to 1,000,000 from the button with 600,000 behind. Kaplan called.
On the Kaplan check-folded to Gavrila's 600,000 jam.
Paco Kaplan | 3,900,000 | -1,200,000 |
Viorel Gavrila | 2,800,000 | 1,000,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 2:45 AM Local Time
Mozaffarian Folds the River
Shaun Deeb limped in from the small blind and Amir Mozaffarian checked his option from the big blind.
On the flop of , both players checked to the turn where Deeb fired 175,000, and Mozaffarian called.
When the dropped on the river, Deeb bet 375,000, and Mozaffarian folded.
Amir Mozaffarian | 5,600,000 | -1,000,000 |
Shaun Deeb | 2,900,000 | 500,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 2:40 AM Local Time
Updated Chip Counts
Amir Mozaffarian | 6,600,000 | 1,300,000 |
Paco Kaplan | 5,100,000 | 1,400,000 |
Shaun Deeb | 2,400,000 | -1,000,000 |
Viorel Gavrila | 1,800,000 | -800,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 2:40 AM Local Time
Level 31 started
Level: 31
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 120,000
Thursday, October 3, 2024 2:26 AM Local Time
Break Time
The remaining 4 players are now on a 15-minute break.
Thursday, October 3, 2024 2:23 AM Local Time
Mozaffarian Bluffs Deeb Again
Amir Mozaffarian raised to 225,000 from the cutoff and Shaun Deeb defended out of the big blind.
Deeb check-called a bet of 225,000 from Mozaffarian on the flop.
Deeb led out for 525,000 when the came on the turn and Mozaffarian called.
The river came the and Deeb checked. Mozaffarian then bet 1,100,000 and Deeb went deep into the tank. After almost two minutes Deeb decided to fold and Mozaffarian flipped over for a total bluff.
Amir Mozaffarian | 5,300,000 | 750,000 |
Shaun Deeb | 3,400,000 | -1,400,000 |
Thursday, October 3, 2024 2:19 AM Local Time
Lorenzo Arduini Eliminated in 5th Place (€12,850)
Paco Kaplan raised to 250,000 from under the gun and Lorenzo Arduini made it 900,000 on the button. Once the blinds got out of the way, Kaplan shoved, and Arduini called off his stack of around 1,700,000, which left him at risk.
Lorenzo Arduini:
Paco Kaplan:
Arduini looked excited as the window card was the , but it was closely trailed by , which gave Kaplan a set. The on the turn did give Arduini a Broadway draw, but the river didn't complete it.
Paco Kaplan | 3,700,000 | 1,800,000 |
Lorenzo Arduini | 0 | -2,000,000 |