Alexander Kolonias became the first Greek player to win the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event on Thursday night at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. Kolonias bested a field of 541 players that included Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and Dario Sammartino to win €1.1 million, his biggest score ever.
While Ivey fell on the first day and Negreanu fell short of the money, Sammaratino made another Main Event Final Table. It was a stacked table that included Claas Segebrecht and Anthony Zinno.
Victory for Kolonias
This is Alexandros Kolonias’s first WSOP bracelet and biggest live cash. Before his Main Event win, Kolonias’s biggest cash was nearly a seven-figure score. In 2016 he finished second in the EPT Monte Carlo High Roller for $ 930,117. He also had five WSOP cashes, including one in the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop. His live tournament earnings now total $3.7 million, making him Greece’s all-time biggest Sportsbook.
According to WSOP.com, Kolonias is mostly an online player under the name “mexican222” and has $3.1 million in online cashes.
Kolonias made it to the final table second in chips but was able to take the lead away from Anthony Zinno early on. Kolonias tumbled later in the final table and was left short-stacked with three players left. It looked like Claas Segebrecht would run away with it, but then Kolonias doubled up and recovered.
The Kolonias Comeback
According to WSOP live updates, Kolonias moved all-in with ace-deuce offsuit and Segebrecht called with a pair of nines. The board brought a pair of kings and a pair of queens and Kolonias’s ace took down the pot. Then Kolonias doubled again and took the lead. Zinno moved all-in with a pair of threes and Kolonias called with a shorter stack and ace-jack suited. Kolonias hit an ace on the flop and took the lead while Zinno was left with scraps.
Zinno was able to hang on for a while but then fell to Kolonias. Kolonias started the heads-up match with a nearly 3-2 lead against Segebrecht. The heads-up match then lasted three hands. Kolonias won a big pot in the first hand, Segebrecht doubled up in the second and then he was eliminated on the third.
Kolonias raised the final hand with ace-king suited and Segebrecht moved all-in with a pair of threes. Kolonias hit a king on the flop and made a flush on the river. Segebrecht finished second for €700,639 while Kolonias became the new champ and won €1,133,678.
Another deep run for Sammartino
Even before the 2019 WSOP Main Event, Sammartino was a household name in Italian poker. He was the country’s second-highest earning player, right behind Mustapha Kanit. Then his stellar WSOP Main Event run put him in the lead.
Sammartino sailed through the Las Vegas Main Event field and started the final table sixth in chips. Then he got chipped down and was the short stack with five players left. Sammartino rebounded and got the heads-up chip lead against Hossein Ensan. But Ensan chipped away at him and eventually took down the title.
Sammartino got $6 million for that finish and became Italy’s top-earning player. Then he had another tremendous in Rozvadov. Sammartino made it to the final table of the WSOPE Main Event fourth in chips, and that’s where he’d finish. Sammartino never got his final table mojo going and he was chipped down throughout the day. Then he finally fell to Claas Segebrecht’s jack-ten offsuit. Sammartino had the lead preflop with ace-king of hearts, but a jack came on the flop to end his run.
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