Kalidou Sow wins PSC Prague Main Event for €675,000

The Frenchman won his biggest score by winning the prestigious title in the Czech capital. He outlasted a field of 855 during the process.

The last champion of the PSC

The tournament attracted several big name pros with the likes of Igor Kurganov (103rd; €9,100) who won the €25,000 Single-Day High Roller II event just recently, 2011 WSOP Main Event Runner-up, Martin Staszko (66th; €12,200), England's Jake Cody (54th; €14,100) or 2017 WSOPE Main Event champ, Marti Roca De Torres (50th; €14,100).
However, the final table was made up by less known players from 5 different countries - proving yet again that poker is a global game. The table was lead by Kalidou, even though he only had a tiny lead over Jason Wheeler. There were also some short stacks at the table, so the fast start was guaranteed.

Final table chip counts before the start:

These guys look better than a '90s band

Colin Robinson was the first player to bust when he shoved for his remaining stack of 940,000 with , only to lose against Sow who held pocket 8's.

The board:

Robinson earned €147,000 for finishing 6th.
 

23-year-old pro from England, Harry Lodge, got 5th in a blind versus blind confrontation. Wheeler from the small blind put Lodge all-in and he called for his last 1,015,000.

Wheeler:
Lodge:
Board:

Even though Harry flopped a flush draw, he wasn't able to hit any of his outs. He left the table to collect his €196,000 at the cage.

It took another 27 hands for the next player to get eliminated. It was none other than Gabriele Lepore - who famously got into Bitcoin back in 2013.
The hand started with Jason Wheeler opening from the first position which got called by Lepore from the big blind. The two put the money in the middle on the flop of: .
 

Wheeler:
Lepore:
Turn: :
River:

Gabriele lost the flip and left the table, booking a nice €249,000 score.

At this point, Wheeler held the chip lead with his 11.8 million chips, while Michal Mrakes and Kalidou Sow had 9.265 and 4.57 million.
Probably the most important pot of the tournament was shipped by Sow in the 67th hand of the final table. Wheeler opened the small blind with: and Sow called from the big with . A horrible flop for Jason meant an awesome one for Sow as the first three community cards happened to make a straight for both of them.

The flop:

Kalidou called the continuation bet of 350,000 on the flop, and raised to 1,550,000 on the turn after Jason fired 700,000. The latter moved in and was immediately called by Sow, who held the nuts. The river was a meaningless , the Frenchman doubled up, to take a commanding chip lead.

Sow: 14,480,000
Wheeler: 6,980,000
Mrakes: 4,260,000

It's safe to say this hand put Wheeler on tilt as he tried to intimidate Sow with some trash talk.

"Let's f****** go. Try to win every pot, bro. You get one cooler, you think the tournament's yours. I'm still the one to beat." - Wheeler started the beaf.
"Good luck." - replied Sow.
"I don't need luck."

After the short scene and some medium sized pots, Mrakes finally put his remaining chips in the middle and got called by Jason.

Wheeler:
Mrakes:
Board:

Wheeler managed to spike a set on the river, to send Michal to the rail. The Checz collected €332,000 for finishing 3rd. The remaining two went on a 20-minute break. At that point Sow held 14 million, while Wheeler sat on 11.6 mill. After returning from the break the players agreed on a deal, which guaranteed €570,000 for both of them, with an additional €105k and the trophy for the winner.

The negotiation

Sow was able to increase his lead in the following hands. He held a 3-to-1 when the last hand began. In hand 109 Jason opened the button, got three-bet by Kalidou and after a quick glance at his stack, moved in for his last 6 million. After some thinking, Sow called.

Wheeler:
Sow:
Board:

With this hand Kalidou Sow became the last champion of the PokerStars Championship. He earned €675,000 while runner-up Jason Wheeler got €570,000.