Final Table Set for First-Ever WPT European Championship; Ole Schemion Leads

Day 4 of the Season XVI WPT European Championship  €3,300 Main Event saw 16 hopefuls from of a field of 339 entries return to Spielbank Berlin. From there, it only took five and a half hours to set the official six-handed final table, a final table that will be televised as part of the World Poker Tour’s Season XVI broadcast. German poker superstar Ole Schemion (pictured above), who has already cashed for more than $13.5 million in live tournaments, according to HendonMob.com, held the lead both at the start and the end of Day 4.

Schemion bagged up 2.84 million in chips, with Michal Mrakes (2.64 million) and Hanyong Kuo (2.505 million) not far behind. Amjad Nader made it through with 1.095 million, while Michael Behnert (600,000) and Patrice Brandt (470,000) will be the two shortest stacks to reach the final table, with 20 and 15 big blinds, respectively. Four of the six finalists in the first-ever WPT European Championship are from Germany.

Season XVI WPT European Championship Final Table

Seat 1: Hanyong Kuo – 2,505,000 (83 bb)
Seat 2: Patrice Brandt – 470,000 (15 bb)
Seat 3: Amjad Nader – 1,095,000 (36 bb)
Seat 4: Ole Schemion – 2,840,000 (94 bb)
Seat 5: Michal Mrakes – 2,640,000 (88 bb)
Seat 6: Michael Behnert – 600,000 (20 bb)

All six finalists have €39,010 ($47,323) guaranteed for their efforts so far. The winner will walk away with a payday of €218,435 ($255,352), which includes an entry to the WPT Tournament of Champions at ARIA in Las Vegas in May, and a luxurious Hublot Big Bang Steel watch.

The WPT Tournament of Champions event is a tournament restricted to WPT Champions Club members only. WPT Main Tour winners from the current season won entry when they won their WPT Main Tour event. Past champions have the option to buy in, rake-free, for $15,000. Heading into Day 4, Marvin Rettenmaier was the last WPT Champions Club member remaining, but with his elimination in 10th place, a new member will be added to the prestigious club of winners.

If Schemion was to go on to victory, the €218,435 top prize wouldn’t break into the top 15 largest live tournament scores for the German star, but it would give something Schemion doesn’t have: a World Poker Tour title. For all Schemion has conquered in poker, his run in Berlin in the WPT European Championship Main Event marks two career firsts. It’s the first time he has cashed in a WPT Main Tour event and his first-ever WPT Main Tour final table. The trifecta of firsts would be achieved should Schemion ride his chip-leading stack to his first World Poker Tour title on Monday.

It’s worth noting that Schemion did finish 30th in the opening event of the Season XVI WPT European Championship festival, the WPTDeepStacks Berlin €1,500 Main Event.

How the Final Table Was Reached

Jacob Ohlund became the first casualty of Day 4 after his ace-jack stood no chance against the pocket aces of Michael Behnert. Tibor Nagygyorgy followed to the rail just a few minutes later when the Hungarian got it in with pocket kings and Marius Pertea got there with ace-ten thanks to an ace on the river.

Marco Slacanac was the second player to run into pocket aces on the day, and he did so when his button shove with ace-deuce suited came at the worst possible time. Nader held the aces in the big blind and Slacanac was gone in 14th place.

Christoforos Chrysochoidis had to settle for 13th place after his ace-ten suited ended up second best on the river against the king-queen of Sirzat Hissou, and then the first big name to fall on the penultimate day came next with Thomas Muhlocker’s (pictured below) elimination in 12th.

With more than $5.3 million in live tournament earnings, according to HendonMob.com, the Austrian Muhlocker recorded his deepest run in a WPT event.

“I picked up one or two hands early in the day and chipped up a little,” Muhlocker told WPT.com. “Then one or two hands didn’t work out and I was left with 20 big blinds. I played here before at the WSOP Europe and I think its a really nice casino and I like the atmosphere.”

His final hand saw Muhlocker raise and call a three-bet shove from Schemion holding king-queen suited. Schemion flopped a flush with jack-nine suited right away to leave the Austrian drawing dead.

“Ole is difficult to beat,” Muhlocker admitted in front of the cameras before making his exit.

Jeffrey Cormier’s roller coaster ride then came to an end in 11th place. The Canadian doubled only to lose a big portion of the stack minutes later before busting on the very next hand. Cormier was all in and at risk with pocket fours and Hanyong Kuo’s ace-king improved to the nut straight when the board ran out queen high.

Despite doubling up early on, WPT Champions Club member Marvin Rettenmaier (pictured below) never got to run up a stack and he would eventually miss out on the final table. His elimination ensured that a new WPT champion will be crowned in Berlin. In the end, it was a coin flip with the pocket eights for Rettenmaier against the ace-jack of Nader, and two aces on the flop gave Nader trips to set up the final nine players.

Marius Pertea lost a big flip with pocket queens against the ace-king of Michael Behnert and hung around for a pay jump as Sirzat Hissou saw his tournament life come to an end with pocket aces. It was Michal Mrakes (pictured below) that flopped quads with pocket treys and Hissou could not find a fold on the river of a queen-high board.

Pertea followed to the rail soon after, his ace-eight failed to hold up against the king-nine of Amjad Nader when the deadly nine on the river gave Nader the better pair. Ultimately, it was Mrakes again that was responsible for the last elimination to bring the day to an end. The king-queen suited of the Czech had a flip against Maxi Lehmanski’s pocket jacks and a king appeared on the flop to conclude the day.

Mrakes has made a name for himself in the past 12 months with several big scores and will enter the televised WPT final table second in chips. When asked about his hot run in 2017 and the decent start to the new year, Mrakes had a smile on the face.

“I played in the €1,500 WPTDeepStacks six times and didn’t even make it to Day 2,” Mrakes said. “I think it is just variance. Sometimes it is good and sometimes not.”

When asked about the Action Clock, Mrakes had the following to say: “I played it for the first time and I can say I like it a lot. When it gets deeper, everyone tends to think longer because they want to make it into the money. With this [Action Clock] everyone plays faster and it is perfect. I don’t think it has an influence on my play because when I see my cards I already know what I want to do.”

The remaining six players will determine the latest addition to the WPT Champions Club, with action set to being at 3 p.m. local time on Monday, January 15, 2018. There are just under 27 minutes left in Level 25 at blinds of 15,000-30,000 with a running ante of 5,000. A live stream will be available on a delay of 30 minutes and the final table will also be recorded for broadcast on TV.