Ole Schemion wins WPT European Championship

The first ever World Poker Tour Europen Championship kicked off on Monday in Berlin at the Speilbank Casino. 25-year-old German wunderkind, Ole Schemion was the last man standing, after outlasting a field of 339.

Ole with the title

The prize pool surpassed the original €1 million GTD - even if by only €100. 43 places were paid, with €6,125 for the smallest prize. Familiar faces like WPT commentator, Tony Dunst (42nd; €6,125), Belgium's biggest tournament winner, Davidi Kitai (19th; €10,370) or long-time German pro, Martin Rettenmaier (10th; €17,775) all got pretty deep. The young German pro beat Czech Michal Mrakes in the heads-up for the title and the €218,435 prize, including a $15,000 WPT Tournament of Champions seat. Mrakes earned €143,845 for finishing runner-up in the tournament. Q♠ Q♥ Q♣ Q♦

The final table started with Ole and Han Kuo having the biggest stacks of around 100 big blinds. Schemion managed to hold and even extend his lead while Kuo got shorter and shorter as the time moved forward. The first player to bust from the six-handed TV table was Amjad Nader from Syria. Amjad put his last chips in the middle holding ♠K♦Q and got called by Ole and Michal Mrakes. Ole bet on the ♣A♦6♦5 flop and after Mrakes folding his nines, he tabled his ♥A♠T which was a heavy favourite against Nader's hand. No miracle happened and Amjad was out at 6th place good for €39,010.

20 hands later Hanyong Kuo found himself in a really bad spot, turning up ♦K♦9 against the ♠A♥9 of Ole's. As the board ran out clean, Hanyong left the table to collect his €46,705 for finishing 5th.

It only took 2 more hands for Michael Behnert to follow Kuo. He shoved from the small blind for his last ten big blinds which were called by Patrice Brandt in the big blind.

Behnert:
Brandt:

Board:

Patrice spiked a pair on the flopped which was good for the pot after a brick turn and river, so Behnert eliminated in 4th place for €60,730.

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The three-handed play wasn't long either as in another two hands Patrice was out after moving all-in on the flop with a flush draw and overcards, against the ace-high gut shot of Schemion's. The board bricked out again, meaning that Ole took down the pot and Brandt the 3rd place for €93,105.

After a 30-minute break, the last two remaining players returned to the table, with the German pro holding the chip lead over his Czech opponent.

Ole Schemion: 6,685,000
Michal Mrakes: 3,465,000

The duel

Schemion was dominating the heads-up and finally managed to bust out Mrakes in the following hand. The two put the money into the middle on the flop.

Flop:

Mrakes:
Schemion:

Turn:
River:

Ole's top pair held and he claimed his first WPT title and the €218,435 for the win. He's now 3rd on Germany's All-time Money List with $13,801,444 in total live earnings, while Mrakes added €143,845 to his account and has almost $1,5 million in tournament earnings.

Final results: