Alessandro Pichierri topples Alex Foxen in WSOPE €25K High Roller

Alessandro Pichierri 2024 WSOP Europe Event 8

Posted on: October 2, 2024 01:10 PDT

Italy's Alessandro Pichierri has claimed the title in Event #8, €25,000 NLH GGMillion€ High Roller of the 2024 WSOP Europe festival at King's Resort in Rozvadov, Czechia. Pichierri came from well back at the start of Day 2 action to reel in dominant early leader Alex Foxen and claim his second career gold bracelet, along with a €335,900 payday.

Foxen, who also is a previous WSOP bracelet winner and ranks 21st on the Hendon Mob's career tournament winnings list, cruised through most of the day and held roughly three quarters of all the chips in play when three-handed play began. Pichierri's late rush, however, was too much for Foxen to withstand, and he ended with a second-place score of €223,900.

Switzerland's Salih Atac finished in third for €141,500, and former King's Resort owner Leon Tsoukernik took fourth for €98,200. Norway's Tom-Askel Bedell and Germany's Sirzat Hissou rounded out the money spots an elite 38-entry field that paid out a million-euro prize pool to the top six finishers.

Alex Foxen couldn't convert a 4:1 chip lead heads-up and had to settle for second

Matthew Berglund

Several players bust Day 2 short of the money

The first order of business on Tuesday's Day 2 was to determine which players would make the final six and money. Fourteen players returned to Day 2 with chips and several others max-late-registered into the event, including eventual winner Pichierri. In early action, Foxen established himself as the dominant force at the table by the time the field dwindled to nine and and an official final table.

Three more bustouts were needed to reach the money, and Turkey's Orpen Kisacikoglu, who reached the final nine with the fewest chips, was the first to exit. Some of the table's star power departed next in the form of Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom, who began action with a healthy stack but never made a move up the leaderboard. Blom busted in a cooler hand against Pichierri when his pocket queens couldn't crack Pichierri's aces. That left Germany's Samuel Ju to bust on the stone bubble, whose all-in with A-K went nowhere against Atac's waiting aces, sending Ju to the rail and putting the remaining players in the money.

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Tsoukernik's star shines briefly

For a short while after the official six-player final table began, it was the Leon Tsoukernik Show. When he retired as the primary owner of King's he promised to spend more time playing in major tournaments, with a nod toward high-rollers such as this. Tsoukernik, an always-active player at the table, made a move by knocking out Hizzou, then soon took down another big pot that found him challenging Foxen for the lead.

Tsoukernik then sent most of his chips Pichierri's way but still had enough of a stack to oust Bedell, trimming the field to four. That quickly became three in another cooler hand, when Tsoukernik's pocket queens couldn't improve against Foxen's pocket kings.

Leon Tsoukernik led after Day 1 of the Coin Rivet Invitational

The Leon Tsoukernik Show ran out of steam in fourth

Joe Giron

Winning a race turns momentum to Pichierri

Tsoukernik's bustout gave Foxen another commanding lead, and he bullied Pichierri and Atac for a few hands to swell the margin further. Pichierri and Atac were both on short stacks when Foxen's A-10 held up against an all-in Atac's K-J for another knockout. Heads-up play arrived, with Foxen holding nearly a 4-to-1 edge.

Soon after, Pichierri was all in with pocket eights against Foxen's A-9. An all-paint K-K-J flop gave Foxen nine outs to a better two pair plus a few runner-runner possibilities, but a turn and river gave Pichierri the vital double-up and brought the duel nearly even. Pichierri then took the lead by taking down several smaller pots.

The final hand found Pichierri and Foxen getting the chips in after a 10-6-3 flop. Foxen had 10-Q for top pair/good kicker, but that was in deep trouble against Pichierri, who had called Foxen's four-bet shove with pocket queens. Again the higher pair held up, this time as a turn and a river completed the board and sealed Pichierri's come-from-behind win.